Betrayed By Beauty - Ashley Lane Page 0,3

of the summer sun on my back. I fucking hate the cold. I should move somewhere warmer. My chest squeezes painfully at the thought, almost as if my heart is punishing my stupid fucking mind for daring to think such a vile thought.

You’re a fool. My mind taunts the useless organ in my chest.

And it is exactly that. Useless. The heart that is supposed to serve me; to pump blood through my body and breathe life into the other parts, no longer lives to serve me.

It lives for him.

Each beat serves to keep me alive so that I can have one more taste of him. His love, his hate. I’ll take whatever he gives me and drink it up as if my soul is dying of thirst.

Because it is. I am.

I push through the door and into the bar that the club owns. I’m not one of them—a Heaven’s Guardian. But you wouldn’t know it from the way people look at me when I walk in. The men stand taller and straighten their shoulders. The women’s eyes turn calculating, hungry with desire.

I may not be a Guardian, but I’m fucking one. And to them that’s enough to garner the same respect. It’s not something I ask for or would ever expect, but it’s given to me all the same.

I make my way through the crowd of people, unsurprised to see it filled to capacity. It doesn’t matter that it’s Tuesday afternoon, the place never has a dull day. I reach the bar and my eyes connect with Malcolm, the bartender.

“What can I get ya, man?” he asks as he leans over the bar and crosses his arms over the weathered wood.

Though he’s been here a few years, my stance on the guy hasn’t changed.

I don’t like him. Never have, never will. There’s something slimy lurking beneath his murky green eyes, and I don’t like the feeling that crawls down my back every time he’s near. I’ve mentioned it to Angel a hundred times, but when the guys are around, it’s like a switch is flipped.

The silent psychopath disappears and out comes Mr. Nice Guy. He can charm them with his smile all he wants, but he can’t hide from me.

“My usual,” I grit through clenched teeth. Little fucker knows I always get the same thing, yet every time he plays dumb. It’s always his first tactic at getting under my skin, and I’m not proud to say it works damn near every time.

“No boyfriend today?” He smirks.

Motherfucker. His ability to hit me where it hurts never fails. The man is a fucking master manipulator and thrives at playing on all of my weaknesses.

“Nope.” Fucker knows they’re all at the courthouse for Tobias and Falcon’s adoption. He also knows I’m probably hurt as fuck that I wasn’t invited, and he’s right. It’s a knife I haven’t been able to pull from my chest since it was lodged there two days ago.

The way Priest hinted at Maddox—Angel—to extend the invitation was not missed by anyone in the room. Including Maddox. What they didn’t know was that for weeks he’s been pulling away from me. We’ve been dancing this dance for years and like clockwork, when Maddox catches himself getting too close, he throws on the brakes.

I knew it was coming. He’s been long overdue for a withdrawal into his broken, lonely shell. No matter how many times it happens, I can see it coming from a mile away, and it still shreds my soul to pieces every time.

The very heart that beats only for him, has also died by him a thousand times, only to be resurrected by the same hands. And the dance starts again. A never-ending encore I’m forced to endure as though I’m the unwanted co-star in his fractured fairytale.

“Excuse me, do you know who I talk to about applying for a job?” The question directed at Malcolm comes from the soft voice next to me. I glance to my right, curious at the newcomer. I can’t see the woman’s face due to the black hoodie that she has pulled over her head.

I roll my eyes when Malcolm turns, a prince charming grin already in place. But his grin is quickly replaced with a look of disgust. “I guess that depends which position you were looking to fill,” his words drip with undisguised revulsion.

The woman shifts uncomfortably before clearing her throat. “I um—I saw a sign out front that said you were looking for dancers, but I’ll take whatever