Burn Me, Break Me, Love Me, Hate Me

Summary: AU for the Carter Series Unrequited love has pushed Jesse DeFlair to his breaking point. His love for Katherine Murphy, his brother’s wife, will cause him to do the unthinkable…and see just how far he can go before he breaks her.

Prologue

“Can I help you, Sir?”

He lowered the dark shades covering his hazel eyes. “Yes, I think so. I’m here to pick up my daughter… Lara Murphy.”

The teenage girl at the desk shuffled through some papers. “I’m sorry, Sir… It looks like Mrs. Murphy arranged to pick her up.”

“I know. My schedule changed and I called my wife earlier. She wants me to pick up Lara instead. I’m going away on a business trip soon and Katherine thought it’d be good for us to spend some time together.” He flashed a smile at her.

“Can I see some ID?”

“Sure, sure…” He fished his wallet out of his back pocket. He flipped out a driver’s license. “Here you go.”

She examined the license, comparing it to the one on file. “I’m sorry, Mr. Murphy… I didn’t recognize you!”

He smiled. “That’s fine, Gina. I’ve been working out some lately…I get that a lot. Kat’s the only one who never really changes.”

The girl nodded. “I’ll go get Lara for you.”

“No, that’s okay. Can you just show me what room she’s in?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Murphy. Follow me…”

The little girl’s dark curls were the first clue.

“Lara!”

She spun around, her blue eyes assaulting him. Her mother’s eyes—the only deviation from the dark coloring of the DeFlair family. The only clue that Carter blood ran through her veins. Killer’s blood.

“Daddy?”

He nodded. “Come here, Lara.”

The petite five-year-old with the intelligence of at least an eight-year-old shyly stepped towards her. Her eyes pierced him, her body tense and ready for flight.

“Where’s Mummy?”

“She’s at home.”

“Mummy said she was picking me up today.”

“Mummy changed her mind.”

Lara frowned. “Can I talk to Mummy?”

“Mummy’s waiting for us at home, Lara. We have to go now.” He reached for her arm, already carrying her backpack.

“Daddy, no!” The girl jerked away from him.

“Lara… let’s go.”

“Mummy said no. I can’t go unless Mummy says so.”

“Mummy told me to get you.”

“No! Not gonna go!” Her arms were crossed.

“Lara, listen to me.”

She glared at him. “You look funny, Daddy.” She sniffed the air. “You smell funny, too.”

“Lara, let’s go.”

He grabbed her arm and the girl yelped. “Daddy, no!” she cried, her thin arm starting to bruise.

Ignoring her protests, he picked her up. She immediately started to twist and writhe in his grasp.

“Knock it off!” he hissed at her, growing impatient.

Frightened blue eyes looked into his own hazel ones. “NOT DADDY!” she shrieked, trying to jump from his arms. “NOT—“

He covered her small mouth with his large hand, smothering her.

He had to give Katherine credit—she’d certainly been trying to protect her only child. The security measures at her school were hard to wiggle around, even for a man of his ingenuity. He was lucky that Aidan Murphy wasn’t much of a presence around the school and that he could, with a certain amount of preparation, pass for his brother.

But the girl knew. She knew that this wasn’t her daddy picking her up. Somehow, the little girl knew.

Her head slumped against his hand, the oxygen-deprived kid unconscious.

“Sweet dreams,” he whispered, touching the black curls.

Author’s Notes:

Burn Me, Break Me, Love Me, Hate Me is an AU set in the same world as the Carter series (Coldest Degree and Fatal Target) and contains many of the same characters. However, there are a few key differences. In Burn Me, Break Me, Love Me, Hate Me, Kat meet Aidan earlier on and they married when she was nineteen. Lara was born on Aidan’s birthday, March 15th, just before Kat’s twentieth birthday.

More details will come out as the story progresses. This should be much shorter than my usual works, at least in chapter-length. It’s just a quick idea I had to get out of my system.

Enjoy and please read/review!