Page 33 of Vicious Kingdom

Engrossed with my own relief at ending the terrible round early and the tangle of thoughts as to the state of the company I was buying, I didn’t see where I was going. I planned to buy Lawson Oil. Which meant I already suspected what Peter confirmed. It wouldn’t change the outcome, but now I wouldadjust my strategy. Move faster, strike harder, and soon, the company would fall into my hands.

A yelp, and then a shout broke my attention.

Just as I looked across the green, my heart jumping double in my chest, a whizzing in the air had me ducking.

“Che cazzo fai!” I hissed, my native tongue resisting the strict restraint I usually kept over it. That was how it was aroundher. Always slipping up.

Damn her!

The white missile landed over me, rolling down into the sand trap. It nearly clocked me in the skull!

Annaliese sprinted down the slope, charging after her ball. Sunlight made her tanned skin glow gold. Framed in the halo of light, hair fluttering around her face, she looked fresh and beautiful.

The beast in my chest growled approvingly.

I fisted my own club, beyond angry at the instinctual reactions I seemed to keep having whenever she was near.Dio!I had to get a grip!

Chapter 13 – Annaliese

The last time I saw him, I was tipsy. Then I got plastered. I spent two days in bed, and when I emerged, I couldn’t find Leo if my life depended on it. The attempts at an accidental run-in were a complete failure. Now, here he was.

“What in the hell was that? Are you trying to kill me?” Leonardo shouted, his voice cracking.

Ignoring his outburst, I waved my hand dismissively at him as I passed. My focus locked onto the ball, I dashed toward the sand. I pounced. The ground, treacherous and shifting beneath me, betrayed my feet. My momentum was relentless, and in a desperate attempt to regain my balance, I overcorrected.

And pitched gracelessly into the sand.

Agony shot through my ankle, a piercing scream of protest as it twisted harshly at an unnatural angle.

Shit.

The pain was sharp and unmistakable, a searing reminder of my recklessness. When Serena and I tried gymnastics in middle school, I fell after an overly enthusiastic vaulting pass. That same ankle was badly sprained, to the point the physicaltherapist suggested surgery, and it cut my hopes of being an Olympic gymnast to shreds.

The same pain radiated through my ankle now.

Rolling onto my bum, I sat in the sand, breathing hard. Worse than the damage to my body was the knowledge that Leo saw the whole thing. I risked a peep in his direction.

“Stalking me is a touch pathetic, don’t you think?” Leo snapped, standing like a god of vengeance at the edge of the sand trap.

He was wrong. I wasn’t at the Providence Club for him. Did it just so happen that my new hobby lined up with his schedule? It seemed that way. But having him see me make an idiot of myself on the fairway wasn’t a good part of the plan.

“I’m not stalking you.”

“Bull.”

“I’m not!” I swung my arm wide, and since I was still holding my club, albeit in a loose grip, the driver flung wide. It escaped my hands, sped through the air, and—

Leo dodged.

“Shit! Sorry!” I gasped.

He glared at me. Black wrath dripped from his aura.

“Fine, don’t believe me,” I panted. “But I warned you that we were going to run into one another. So if anyone is doing the stalking this morning, it’s you.”

Leo scoffed.

I pointed a finger at him, ignoring the throb in my ankle. “Hey! I’ve been at the driving range at dawn every morning for the last two week and then stay out here for a game of golf. I’m trying to improve myself.”