✓ WICKED VOWS| JAKE (Book II )

38-And I Wonder & Yearn For Your Desires

Anna's pov

I feel burned out.

The morning after, I woke up to Jake nowhere in sight. Instead, Jude now occupied his spot. I pulled myself to the bathroom. The dull pain in my bruised shoulder did not fail to slap me in the face with what had happened last night. I splashed water on my face with one hand, being careful not to put pressure on the bruised shoulder.

"Your clothes are laid out, Ace," Jude's voice cut through the haze as I emerged. I nodded absently, wishing I could shed these clothes and what they held in their folds. My shoulder betrayed my attempts at normalcy—swollen and throbbing.

Stepping out, my eyes fell upon the rejected roses from Terrence, now crumpled in the trash. The image resembled a rather somberly old man Harry's fixation on flowers, like a sour note from the past. A dark curiosity gnawed at me as I wondered who might have tossed them in the trash.

David appeared in the hallway, his expression as unreadable as ever. The guards flanked us, their presence a constant, unspoken threat. "His Highness requests that you wait for him," David announced, his voice devoid of warmth.

"I've already spoken with him. He knows I'm leaving today," I replied, frustration simmering beneath my calm exterior.

"He doesn't want you driving alone," David insisted, his tone cold and unyielding.

"I'm not alone, David." My patience frayed. The layers of authority and concern felt like chains tightening around me. The previous day's events had left me with a steroid shot, painkillers, and a stern warning from Dr. Will. The doctor's orders were clear: rest and avoid strain. He granted me at least two weeks off training, a command I accepted with practiced compliance.

David's voice remained unyielding. "I'm simply following orders."

Before I could respond, Jake's voice sliced through the tension, cutting off further argument. "You don't need to make a scene. You've been instructed to rest for at least two weeks, smart woman." His words carried a sharp edge as he emerged from the shadows, dressed in a high-necked turtleneck and casual jeans, a stark contrast to the suit he had worn the previous day. "Let's go."

Jake motioned me to stand before him as we exited the building; our steps echoed coldly against the concrete. Silence ran all the way, choking, the thickening tension getting heavier with whiplashes of wind jerking me out of the daze of a lost autumn. The brutal reality hit me hard—I had to find out what had happened with the fire, the inferno that had consumed my office and hid all the evidence. The police were stumped in their investigation; it only turned up the cold fact that two bombs had made such havoc. My exhaustion was a blur, but my mind ran like a wild beast about to embark on two weeks of enforced rest and recuperation.

The fire had eradicated all traces of my office—cameras, records, every piece of incriminating evidence turned to ash. The bombs were strategically placed: one outside my office and the other targeting the jackpot rooms. If the intent was to destroy the casino, the bombs should have struck the bar and private rooms. But the attack was precise, sinister. "We already have your bike here, Boss," Jude's voice cut through the fog of my thoughts as we entered the grand hall of the house.

"Schedule an immediate meeting with the T-brothers," I commanded, my voice steely and resolute.

"Why? Do I need to inform Sin as well?" Jude asked, her brow furrowed.

"No. Don't alert Sin. We don't need more complications, I don't want my capos to interfere they catch wind of this before I know what was the strike for," I snapped, sinking into a plush couch, my body aching with the weight of recent events.