This is what I had watched with my mother. She had allowed my father to walk all over her and I would not allow Angel to do that to me. I wouldn't let him suffocate the life out of me. The only alternative was turning to drugs to dumb the pain. I would not suffer the same fate, no matter what circumstances forced us into a loveless marriage.

"You didn't hate me when you dressed in the skimpiest lingerie, promising to fulfill all my sexual fantasies," He said, reminding me of my adolescent mistake.

My past actions mortified me. Why did he have to throw that night in my face every chance he got?

Sex. Marriage entailed sex. With heated cheeks, I swallowed, very aware of him physically. In my dreams, we had been together more times than I would have liked to have admitted.

"That was lust. Don't confuse that for emotion," I said, determined to get the upper hand when he only saw me as some immature girl who had tried to seduce him.

This was going to be a battle of wills and as strong as I was, I didn't know if I could hold my own with him. He was domineering, and he was used to getting his way.

His phone rang, and he answered it.

"Send him in," he said before he ended the call. "Kaiden is here."

Although I was happy to see my brother again, I was unsure of how he would take the proposed solution. My brother had fought against the life we had been stuck with, so I didn't think for a moment he would endorse it. Especially committing my life to a way of life he didn't agree with and had been trying to outrun from the time he had become an adult.

The door to the study opened, and I rose to my feet. My brother came to me and lifted me off my feet with a bear hug.

"I still can't believe you're okay. You don't know how rough it's been the last two years." His eyes filled with emotion.

"I missed you." I hugged him back.

My brother's features tightened when he released me to face Angel. "Angel." He greeted stiffly.

"Kaiden." Angel gave him a brief nod while he remained seated behind his desk.

It was difficult to see the years of friendship they had shared before they had become adults and taken different paths. One into a life of crime, the other into a life of law enforcement. Complete opposites.

"Did you come up with a solution?" Kaiden asked Angel.

I shared a look with Angel, unsure of how my brother was going to react.

"We have been discussing it," Angel answered.

"Good. I'm happy to hear we have a solution. So what is it?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Kira will marry me."

The change in my brother's face was instantaneous. "Are you out of your mind? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

Angel rose from his seat, his expression hard. "Don't forget who you are speaking to."

Kaiden's jaw tensed and I reached for a hand to touch his arm to calm the situation before it spiraled.

"It's the only way." I tried to reason with my brother. "It's my choice."

I would not admit all my doubts about whether it would work. For my brother's sake, I wouldn't waver in my choice.

"Do you know what this means?" His eyes pleaded with mine, ignoring Angel.

I nodded slowly.

"You can never leave this life, never." The finality in his voice reminded me of the finality that only came from death. "It will never let you go. Do you understand that?"

I nodded. He gripped my arms.

"Let her go," Angel commanded softly, but there was a dangerous edge to his voice. My brother immediately released me, knowing Angel would act if he didn't.

"I understand Kaiden," I said, softly.

"This isn't temporary. This isn't a few months of playing pretend. Once you marry in, you can never walk away. I don't think you understand how serious this is."

I had grown up in this world and I knew the consequences of marrying a crime boss. I understood I became a target of a different kind from his enemies and the law would always look over my shoulder. Unlike my brother, I would never be free of it.

"Maybe you should look over the files of the innocent women the Vincents have murdered and abused before warning her off the only solution to keep her safe." Angel argued.

"But who will protect her from you?" My brother was walking a fine line and had he been anyone else, he would already have felt Angel's wrath.

"Remember your place, Kaiden." Angel walked around the desk. "I will protect her with every man I have. She will have everything money can buy. No one would dare touch what is mine."

He was already talking like I was his possession and not a person with hopes and dreams of my own.

Was I jumping from one dangerous situation to another?

"I need to speak to my sister alone." Kaiden said, still fully focussed on me.

Angel studied him before nodding. He left the room and as soon as the door closed behind him, my brother grasped my hands in his.

"We can get you out of here. We can put you in the witness protection program. You give up a few secrets. I'll be able to keep you safe."

I was already shaking my head. I couldn't live like that.

When he realized I would not go along with what he was suggesting, he grabbed my arms.

"Please Kira. You know where this will lead. Look what happened to mom. Do you want the same?"

"No, I don't," I breathed with every fiber of my being. There were plenty of things I was unsure of, but that was one thing I knew.

I didn't want to wilt away into an insecure, depressed shadow of myself.

"Angel isn't like our father."

"If you believe that, you're naïve," he scoffed. "You think you know him, but trust me, you don't."

"I know him. I've known him practically my whole life."

"You have only ever know one side of him, but you haven't seen the ruthless side to him. The one that people fear." He rubbed his chin. "I thought I had lost you and for two years I mourned your death. All the while, he knew you were alive and where you were. What kind of man does that?"

I bit my lip, feeling his grief as he spoke.

"He did it to protect me," I explained.

"Now that I have a second chance, I can't let you do this. I won't let you do this."

Then I sighed. "I can make my own decisions, Kaiden. I know you're coming from a good place, but this is my choice. It's not yours or Angel's."

He raked a hand through his hair. "I can't standby and do nothing while you make the biggest mistake of your life because I know the only way this will end is in tragedy."

Was he trying to make me choose between him and Angel? Not that simple. I was choosing the best way out of a really dangerous situation.

"If you do this, you will give up your only chance at love and happiness."

He was right, and it was an enormous sacrifice, but I didn't honestly see another way out of the situation.

"I know you believe going into the witness protection isn't for you, but you could have a good life and you could find love and happiness."

Slowly, I shook my head. "I can't do it. I've been living under a false identity for the last two years, and I hated every second. And I would always fear being discovered. What kind of life is that?"

My brother rubbed his hands over his face. "Becoming his wife will make you bigger enemies than you realize. And he won't be able to protect you from every danger. Surely you know it will be a life of fear. The best chance is for you to leave and never look back. Please let me help you."

"I'm no snitch Kaiden. I won't give up any secrets." Doing that would go against every value I held dear. I shook my head.

Our father had instilled it within us from a young age. In our world, people who snitched were are as good as dead. It went against everything he had taught me about revealing secrets about the family we belonged to.

"Is there anything I can do or say to get you to not marry Angel?"

I shook my head slowly.

He took my hands in his. "I should never have left you behind. I needed to get out of this way of life and by abandoning you, I sealed your fate in it."

His words made me tremble inside.

"None of this is your fault," I assured him. "This our father caused. He is the one who did this to me, not you."

My brother studied me. "One day you will see I was right and then it will be too late."

The fierceness of his features broke my heart. He turned on his heel and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

I trembled and reached a hand out to the chair to steady myself. I felt so alone.