Tarnished Empire: A Standalone Enemies-to-Lovers Billionaire Romance

by Ava Harrison

  Tonight, we call him. Tonight, Alaric will tell him of the proposed swap. I’ll tell him our location. I’ll make sure he knows where we are. And I’ll trust my father to do what is needed to survive, even if I’m a casualty.

  My days have been numbered for a long time. The sand in the hourglass should have run out when I was ten, but I was given another chance. So maybe it’s time.

  16

  Alaric

  She is unusually quiet today. I’m not sure what I expected. More pushback, I guess. Which is why I’m sure she will do something to sabotage the call to her father.

  We’re sitting on the deck when I pull out my phone. Phoenix’s eyes go wide at my movement. Her skin, which normally sports a healthy tan, seems to whiten in fear.

  “Yes?” I ask in a teasing tone. Its only purpose is to play up her fear.

  “I thought … I thought phones don’t work here?” She’s wondering if this whole time she could have done more to escape. More to warn him.

  “They don’t usually.” I smile wickedly. “Not unless I allow them to.”

  Her mouth opens and shuts at my admission. “I thought you would be using the radio thing?”

  “Were you hoping you could call for help?”

  She scowls at me. All traces of fear are now gone, replaced by the anger I have grown to like in her.

  “Unfortunately for you, calling the Coast Guard is not an option. Now come over here,” I pat the seat beside me, “and speak to your father.”

  She shakes her head.

  “No. Interesting. And I assumed you would want to warn him of my trap.” I smirk as her eyes narrow at me. “No need. I’ll tell him point-blank that it is a trap.”

  I grab my phone from the table and then dial. It rings one time before he picks up.

  The phone is on speaker when he answers.

  “Give me back my daughter.” His anger echoes through the air, and I laugh.

  “Work on your manners. That is no way to say hello.”

  “Cut the shit and tell me what you want. I’ll give you anything.”

  I lean forward in my chair. “Here is the thing, Michael, you don’t get to make suggestions on how we handle things. Phoenix is in no danger.” He scoffs on the phone, obviously not believing me.

  “She got on my boat,” I remind him.

  “What do you want?”

  “Here’s what you don’t understand. I have everything I want already. I have your guns. Both shipments. I have your money. And best of all … your daughter. The most important person in your life is on my boat as my guest, so there is nothing you can give me other than yourself.”

  I’m dangling the hook. Let’s see if he bites.

  “Fine.”

  Hook. Line. Sinker.

  “No.” Phoenix stands, rushing over to where I am and grabbing the phone from my hand. I let her have it, loving the fire that plays in her eyes as she thinks she can pull one over on me yet again. “Don’t do it. I’m not worth it,” she pleads.

  “You are.” His voice is soft, pleading with her to let him do what he needs to do. “Take me off speaker, Alaric.”

  Standing from where I’m sitting, I make my way over to her. She’s nibbling her bottom lip. The movement calls attention to how her mouth trembles. “Phone.” My hand reaches out, and she looks into my eyes. Her big blue eyes beg and plead for me to reconsider. That ship has sailed already. There is no going back. Unless I give him back his money or his guns, he’s dead. Truth. He’s dead regardless, and he knows it. This is his best option.

  “Please,” she mutters as I take the phone. “Please don’t do this.” She’s speaking to both of us.

  To her father for offering himself on a platter and to me for doing this in the first place.

  I grab the phone from her hand and place it on my ear.

  “We’ll meet at The Port of La Guaira. You will come alone.”

  “You won’t harm her?” His voice is broken. He loves her. I should care, but I don’t. He deserves what’s coming to him.

  “You have my word.”

  “And you’ll make sure they don’t.”

  “As soon as you are with me, I will have the guns dropped off for the Camerinos.”

  He’s silent as he considers this. He is probably trying to find a way around this, which would require him to find the guns first.

  Would he risk his daughter for one last Hail Mary?

  “You have a deal. How long until you’re there?”

  “One day. You have one day to get your life in order.” He understands my meaning. He has one day to make sure his affairs are in order to make sure Phoenix is forever taken care of. With the guns and money returned to him after the exchange, he will have to transfer everything into her name. A lot of work to do in one day, but that’s his problem, not mine.

  “Very well.” He pauses, and for a moment, I wonder if he hung up. “Will I see her?”

  “Yes.”

  It’s the least I can do. I can grant him that little mercy, although he never granted me the same. Had I known that day four years ago would be the last time I spoke to my brother, I might have said something different or done something different.

  But unlike this man, I won’t do the same.

  With nothing more to say, I hang up the phone. My gaze slides toward Phoenix, who is now sitting in the chair across the table from where I was sitting.

  Tears stream down her face.

  I take the seat across from her, staring at her as she cries. She’s mesmerizing as she lets her walls crumble.

  I shouldn’t enjoy her crying.

  Normally, watching a woman cry would put me on edge, annoy me.

  But the love she feels for him, it’s real. Genuine. He is her world.

  The two sides of this man don’t reconcile with me.

  He killed my brother. No remorse. He killed him because he thought he was me. Unforgivable.

  “Don’t do this.” She hiccups as she sobs.

  “I am offering him an option the Camerino won’t. I will give him a swift death and make sure you are safe.”

  “You did this to him. He’s only in this position because of you.”

  “Your father started this war, dove. I’m only finishing it.”

  I stand and grab a box of tissues, placing them in front of her.

  “Clean yourself off and pack.”

  “There is nothing here I want,” she fires back, tears now dry from her rage. It simmers beneath the surface, the red flames peeking out from behind her eyes. They remind me of burning coals full of fire and heat.

  “Then don’t pack. This is our last night together. Join me for dinner.”

  “No.”

  I shrug. “Very well.”

  Turning from her, I stroll out of the room, ready to make the final provisions for the exchange.

  By this time tomorrow, vengeance will finally be mine.

  17

  Phoenix

  Time is running out, and there is absolutely no way out of this situation.

  It’s late. Probably around midnight, maybe later. I still don’t have a clock, but seeing as the boat is quiet, I have to imagine the time to be after everyone has fallen asleep.

  With so much nervous energy jumping in my veins, I decide to go for a walk.

  I’m too cooped up in this stateroom. I throw on a pair of yoga pants, a tank, and sneakers.

  I don’t get very far before I hear a crash at the same time the boat lurches forward.

  What the hell?

  Screams pierce through the air.

  Did we crash? How is that possible?

  Then I hear footsteps running.

  Pop. Pop. Pop.

  The noises echoing through the boat makes my blood run cold.

  Those were gunshots. Someone is shooting on the boat.

  It feels as though my legs are stuck in quicksand. I can’t move. I don’t know who is firing or where to go.

  The sound of steps has me shaking out of my
fog as I dash for the staircase. The one place I don’t want to be is caught without a chance to escape. If I’m at the back of the boat, I can …

  What?

  Jump?

  There is no place to go.

  The extra boat.

  Although I’ve never seen it, there must be something. Isn’t it mandatory to have a lifeboat, raft, something?

  I’m running now, as fast as I can, but the gunshots get louder. My heart pounds in my chest as I make my way toward the back of the ship.

  What if that’s where they are?

  I’m not sure what’s happening, but soon I will as I swing open the door and make my way out in the warm summer air.

  “Phoenix.” My movements stop, and I turn to see Alaric. He looks disheveled, like he’s been fighting. Dressed in gray sweats and a white T-shirt, he looks like he could have been working out. But I know better, and if I need any more evidence to prove he wasn’t, he has a gun in his hand.

  My brow furrows. Maybe he was firing at his own men, but as he lifts his free hand to his mouth, I know that’s not the case.

  He’s being hunted too.

  “Follow me,” he whispers as we move toward the passage that will lead us to the back.

  “What’s happening?” My voice is low enough that I don’t think he can hear me.

  “Pirates.”

  My feet stop short, and he turns around to look at me, imploring I move.

  “Nice try, Captain Sparrow. Pirates don’t exist. This isn’t a Disney movie,” I deadpan. “Tell me the truth!”

  “Not that we have the time to argue, but there are, in fact, pirates in the Caribbean, and as funny as that sounds, it’s no joke. They are ruthless, out for blood, and they are about to board this ship.”

  “What are they after?” I whisper, hoping they don’t hear me.

  “You.”

  Before I can ask more questions, he grabs my arm and is pulling me.

  Why would someone want me? Unless …

  “My father?” I whisper. That’s the only thing that makes sense. But does it? They are shooting and firing—

  Crash.

  Our bodies fling in the air as an explosion rocks the ground.

  A bomb.

  “They’re trying to blow up the ship.”

  “It can’t be my father.” Could it?

  Why would he have bombs on a boat? Especially a boat I’m on.

  “I don’t know. Maybe he decided you weren’t worth the hassle. Now, let’s go unless you want to die on this boat.”

  He pulls me around, and I allow it. The air is filled with smoke. Fire engulfs the space behind us.

  Panic fills my veins.

  I always knew that death was a possibility, but now that I’m looking at it in the face, fire and smoke billowing from behind me, I know I don’t want it.

  I need to fight. My brain becomes more alert, and I see where we are going.

  “Come on. We are headed toward the Zodiac. If we get on it, we can escape,” he says, his words giving me the strength to push on.

  Another series of gunshots ring out through the air. My arms pump harder.

  The sound of footsteps approaching.

  “They boarded,” he whispers, and I wonder if he’s worried about his men. “I can’t let them get you.” His words sting. If it really is my father behind this, wouldn’t it just be easier to give him what he wants?

  It makes little sense. “It can’t be him.”

  “We won’t be here long enough to find out. As much as I should fight, I can’t let anything happen to you.”

  Heavy footsteps are gaining on us as we get to where the large Zodiac tender is. There’s no way we will make it out of here, though. Not without them hearing us open the back of the boat to escape. If they hear, they will just come after us.

  “We won’t have time.”

  “What should we do?”

  He pulls me out of the room then starts to guide me farther away. I follow him blindly in the dark as we keep moving through the yacht until we are finally outside. The warm air hits my face once we are on the stern of the boat.

  “Help me grab the raft.”

  “Seriously? You want to take a raft out into the ocean instead of the boat?”

  “One, we would never have had enough time to get the tender in the water before they found us. Two, even if we were able to, there is no quiet way to do it. The sound alone will have them firing at this.”

  “Fine, I guess we are taking the raft. Where is it?” It might be dark, but there is enough visibility out here, and I don’t see anything at all resembling a raft.

  “It’s on the transom.”

  “Do you have that in English?”

  He points at a large white canister that’s attached to the horizontal wall of the boat right above the waterline in front of us.

  “What the hell is that?” I whisper-shout.

  “That’s the raft.” My eyes go wide at his words. “Once I throw it in the ocean, and pull the painter out, it will inflate.”

  “And then what? We get on a raft and pray?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “There’s no way whatever is in that box will have enough room for both of us.”

  “It’s built for six. This isn’t Titanic. I have no intention of letting you push me off.”

  He moves away from me and grabs something, then he throws the white canister into the water before pulling on a rope, which I guess from his earlier description is called a painter. It starts to inflate before my eyes. The bottom looks like a large black inflatable tube, and on top is a red canopy.

  My eyes are wide, and Alaric must see my distress because his hand reaches out and reassuringly squeezes my own. “It’s not fully inflated. It will be okay; we just have to wait a few more seconds.”

  The sound of air seeping out has my nerves on edge that someone will hear, but Alaric doesn’t seem worried. I have to assume that with the gunshots sounding in the distance, no one will hear.

  Once it’s full size, Alaric pulls it close until it’s hovering right by the boat in the blackness of the water below.

  It reminds me of the type of life raft the Coast Guard uses in movies I’ve seen. I can’t imagine he ever thought he would have to use it, but here it is inflated. He probably uses it for fun. It’s probably nothing more than a toy for him to play with.

  “This is crazy. We are going to die,” I mumble.

  “Probably, but at least we won’t die by their hands.”

  “I can’t do this.” My head shakes back and forth. No way am I jumping into that little thing that can probably pop if a wave is too big.

  “You can, and you will. Cristian will find us. If anyone is going to live through this, it’s him. We just need to get you off the boat now until he kills them all.” He pulls me along to where the back of the boat is open. Water batters against the ladder.

  “I’m not jumping in.”

  “Then I’ll push you in. But either way, you are getting on this raft.”

  The water is choppy, and no part of me wants to jump in. Just as I’m about to step off, the boat pitches again, and another explosion sounds in the distance.

  “Step in. Can you reach?”

  “You want me to step into that? How?”

  “Step through the canopy entrance. Come on, we don’t have any time. Get in!” he screams, getting impatient with my fear.

  With a deep breath, I jump, angling myself through the entryway until I’m landing in the middle of the raft.

  Once I’m inside, Alaric looks down at me. “Catch.”

  He throws something at me—a very heavy bag—and then he’s jumping in after me. We are engulfed in pitch-black from where we are in the back of the boat.

  “Do not say a word. Not a sound. They can’t see us back here. As long as we’re quiet, we will be okay.”

  “But for how long?”

  “There are hundreds of islands out here. We’ll be fine.”

  “Bu
t who will fin—” He places his hand on my mouth.

  I’m not sure if it’s from the chilly water or the fear that’s rushing through my veins, but as we drift off into the darkness of the night with guns firing behind us, I can’t help but shake.

  I have no idea what’s in store for us, or how we’ll make it through the night. The only thing I’m sure of is my fear.

  18

  Alaric

  We watch the yacht become smaller and smaller in complete silence. I haven’t closed up the canopy yet. Instead, I watch as the lights flicker from on board, and I know without a measure of doubt that my men are dead.

  There is no way they could have survived that fight. It’s only a matter of time before my yacht sinks. But I don’t care about the damn boat. An empty feeling spreads through my chest as I realize despite my best efforts to never mix business with pleasure, I fucked up. I did.

  They do mean something to me. I care.

  The men with me might be evil to some, but to me, they are my brothers.

  A heavy, somber feeling weighs me down, and the desire to scream into the night overwhelms me.

  But there would be no point. Instead, I turn toward Phoenix to make sure she is okay.

  Her knees are pulled into her chest, arms wrapped around them. She shakes beside me. A part of me wants to comfort her, but I’m not even sure how to do it.

  She blames me for everything.

  If only she knew how wrong she was. None of this was my doing. The boat is just a casualty from actions a long time coming.

  “It will be okay,” I say to her, but it’s as if she’s in shock and can’t hear me because she says nothing, just clutches her knees tighter and looks out at the ocean ahead of us.

  It’s a cloudless night tonight, which is the only saving grace. If a storm hits, we probably won’t live.

  But if the water remains calm, there is a good chance we will come upon another boat tomorrow.

  We are too small, and with the proximity to my enemies, I won’t risk the flares today, but tomorrow, when the morning sun hits us, we should be able to find someone to help us.