by Ella Miles
“Like you don’t fuck every man with a cock. Don’t deny you are begging me to fuck you. You’re just uptight because you haven’t gotten laid in months after being trapped on that yacht with all of us,” Langston growls taking a seat next to me.
“Enough,” I warn Langston. I’m putting it on his shoulders to stop the bickering. I know him better than Liesel, and from the limited time I’ve spent with Langston, I know he’s a playboy. One who hasn’t gotten laid in a while. I need to make sure they both get laid because I’m afraid if they fuck each other the bickering will get worse, and they won’t be able to stop fighting long enough to help me get Enzo back. Langston is used to following orders. He follows Enzo’s all the time. He will follow mine.
I take a sip of my iced coffee. I’ve had two days to try to think of a plan. And I know what my next step is.
“So what are we doing, oh, great leader?” Liesel says snakily.
Don’t kill her. You might need her.
“Archard is meeting us here,” I say.
“Archard? Why?” Liesel asks.
“Because I need to read the contract between our families. I need to find out exactly how Enzo plans on giving the empire to Milo. What the rules are, so we can figure out what we need to do to stop it from happening. Or at least how we can use it to our advantage to save Enzo.”
Liesel and Langston shut up after that, both sipping their own coffees staring into the quickly rising sun while we wait for Archard.
He shows up at nine on the dot.
I stand and greet him. As soon as I turn my back on Liesel and Langston, they are at each other’s throats again.
“You just think you are better than me, smarter than me, that’s why you want to get your way,” Liesel says.
“No, I just don’t trust that you actually give a fuck about saving Enzo. There is always another reason why you do what you do,” Langston answers.
I tune them out as I greet Archard. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course, that’s what I’m here for,” Archard answers.
I motion for him to take a seat at the patio table, away from Liesel and Langston. He does and hands me the contracts.
“What did Enzo do before he left? Did he make Milo his heir?” I ask.
“In a way, yes,” Archard thumbs through the papers until he gets to the page. “You didn’t read every detail at our last meeting, did you?”
I shake my head no.
Archard points to the clause. “Before the final game, each participant must select an heir. The heir must be blood-related and be at least fifteen years younger than the participant. You must also select a guardian of the heir that would lead if you were to die before your heir reached the age of eighteen and were allowed to compete.”
“Milo isn’t related to Enzo though. And he’s not fifteen years younger,” I say.
Archard pauses. “Milo is blood-related, but you are right, he’s not fifteen years younger. Which is why Milo is only the guardian of the heir. Enzo named Milo’s child as his heir.”
“Milo has a child?”
“Not to my knowledge, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have one by the time of the last game.”
I nod. So this is how Enzo got Milo to choose him over me. He convinced him he was the stronger one and going to win, then he made Milo and his child his heir.
“Is there any way to change who Enzo’s heir is?”
“Enzo can change his heir at any time before the final game.”
I nod.
“Have you thought about who your heir will be?”
My heir.
“No, I haven’t. Who can I choose from?”
“A close blood relation’s child. Or a child of your own.”
A child of my own—I both love and hate that I’m incapable of having a child. I want a child more than anything. A chance to start again. A chance to change my family's destiny. But I don’t want to bring a child into this dark world. I don’t want them to suffer as I did, all for a chance to win an empire. I don’t want to have them spend their life preparing to do battle against Milo’s heir, which is what it would take to give them a shot at winning. I don’t want them to feel the weight of knowing they must win in order to prevent a monster from taking over an organization capable of controlling the world.
The Black empire has access to more security systems and weapons than almost any other organization. If it falls into the wrong hands, then the world could be controlled by a dangerous man. I still don’t understand how the world survived with Enzo’s father as ruler of the empire. It won’t survive if Milo is the ruler.
However, I don’t get to make the decision to have a child. My body isn’t capable. Maybe it’s time I find out for sure though.
“How much time do I have to find or produce an heir?” I ask.
“Until the final game. Round five. The rules state that all five games are played, even if someone has already won three rounds. At that point, you will lock in your heirs and determine the games for the future generation of Black.”
“And when will the final Black round take place? If I’m supposed to have a child to be my heir or Milo needs a child to be his heir, don’t those children need time to be born?”
“Yes, of course. The final game can wait to be played up to a year after the fourth game. If you both have a living heir after the fourth game is finished, then the game takes place immediately. If not, then you get one year to produce an heir.”
That still doesn’t give me a lot of time. To either get pregnant myself or find a blood relative with a child.
“Thank you, Archard. Any clue as to when the next round will happen?”
“You know I can’t give you that info.”
“Even if the fate of the Black empire falling into the wrong hands depends on it?” I need time to figure out a plan. I need time to find an heir. I need time to protect Enzo.
Archard scrunches his nose. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
And I’m not sure if he would even if he could. I have no idea who has Archard’s loyalties, but I doubt that it’s me.
I get up from my seat and return to the bickering fools on the other side of the deck.
Liesel’s face is now bright red, and Langston has a goofy grin on his face as he stretches his arms behind his head.
I glare at them, and they immediately drop their discussion.
“What did you learn?” Liesel asks.
“That Enzo made any child of Milo’s his heir. Apparently, they are blood-related.”
Liesel smiles, and her eyes glaze over. “I’m not surprised. Milo is sexy as hell. He has the same tanned skin and dark hair that Enzo has.”
I ignore her comment and keep talking.
“In order for me to have a chance at winning and keeping the empire away from Milo, I need to have an heir by the final game.”
“Awesome, so who are you going to choose? Me or Langston?” Liesel asks.
I shake my head. “Neither of you are blood-related.”
She frowns. “Have any siblings?”
“Nope.”
“Cousins?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Any long lost child?”
“Nope.”
Liesel looks across to Langston, eyeing his crotch. “Well, you better get to work then.” She smirks as she says it.
It takes me a minute to catch on to what she is saying. But it catches up to me all at once; she wants Langston to fuck me so I can have a baby.
“Ew, no. No offense, Langston.”
“None taken,” he says with a grumpy look.
“Besides the fact that Enzo is currently occupied, there is another problem when it comes to me producing an heir.”
“What?” Liesel asks.
“I don’t think I can have a child.”
Silence.
Liesel’s mouth falls open a little, and I can see the pain cutting across her perfectly curled eyelashes.
Langston clear
s his throat, clearly uncomfortable.
Finally, Liesel regains her composure. “I’m sure we can find a far off relation with a child we can make your heir.”
I nod. I have to have some relative.
Which gets me thinking, how close of a relative do I have to find to make my heir?
Archard has packed up his things, but he’s still standing at attention as if he knows I’ll have more questions for him before he leaves.
Slowly, I walk over. I already know the answer in my heart to the question I’m about to ask, although I don’t know how it’s possible. I don’t know how Milo gained the right to his own empire if what I think is true.
How did they grow up on such different continents but somehow end up exactly the same? How did one grow up trained to be evil turn out so good? And one who grew up away from the darkness turn so evil?
“How close of a blood relation does the heir have to be?”
“The child of a sibling, first cousin, aunt, or uncle.”
I take a deep breath, not wanting to know the answer to the next question. “How are Milo and Enzo related?”
“They are half brothers.”
I close my eyes as if that will block some of the shock from entering my body.
Brothers.
Half-brothers.
“Do they know?” I ask.
“No. Enzo only wanted me to verify that they were blood-related and Milo could be the heir.”
I nod slowly as if on reaction.
Enzo has a brother who is evil. Just like his father. And if Milo finds out, he’ll be even more hellbent on trying to take over the Black empire. He will feel that he’s owed it after growing up without a father.
I feel Langston and Liesel standing behind me, taking the information in.
“If you need anything else, you have my number,” Archard says, putting his hat back on and picking up his leather briefcase.
He must read the shock on all of our faces. “I’ll give you as much time as I can to figure this out, but you don’t have long.”
“Thank you,” I say.
And then Archard leaves.
I take a deep breath; I don’t have time to dwell on the fact that Milo is Enzo’s half-brother. It doesn’t matter. Not in the grand scheme of things. Just one more way this world is smaller than I realized.
“I need to find an heir to prevent Milo from winning. And I need to find a way to save Enzo. Are you two going to help me or not?” I ask.
“Maybe this is a sign that you shouldn’t? That you just need to drop it and go live a long happy life away from all of this,” Langston says, his voice broken and dripping with pain. It’s not what he wants. He wants me to fight. But I have a feeling Enzo made him vow to do whatever it takes to keep me safe. And trying to convince me not to try to save Enzo in the first place is part of that promise.
“I can’t do that,” I say.
He nods and smiles slightly. “Good.”
“So you will help me?” I ask.
His grin gets bigger as he looks from me to Liesel. “As long as I don’t have to take orders from Miss Bossy Britches over there, then yes.”
I chuckle as Liesel frowns, obviously not happy but she doesn’t verbally object.
“Deal,” I say, not giving Liesel a chance to say anything.
“We need to take care of the heir problem first. As much as I want to storm in and save Enzo, I don’t think we can. Milo is too smart. And Enzo is safe for now, at least as long as the games last. I need an heir to keep me in the game.”
Liesel crosses her arms but doesn’t argue with me.
“Let’s split up so we can get to the part where we save Enzo faster. Langston, you do an extensive search to see if I have any long lost siblings or relations I don’t know about. Even if they are too far away in blood relation, I want to know about them.”
“On it,” Langston says, running off.
And that leaves me and Liesel. I don’t want to say the words. I don’t want to go to the doctor. I don’t want to know the answers.
“Come on, I’ll hold your hand while you go to the doctor to get tests,” Liesel says.
I roll my eyes at her sarcasm. “I don’t need someone to hold my hand.”
“No, you need someone to drag your ass to the doctor and make it happen. Let’s go.”
I sigh and follow Liesel.
I’m coming Enzo. Don’t give up hope. I remember what my life was like after I gave up hope that anyone would come for me. And it destroyed the tiny spark that was left of who I was deep inside. I don’t want that fate for Enzo. Too much time is wasted trying to get it back.
Find an heir, then find a way to save Enzo. Should be easy enough.
Except it would be easier to find a needle in a haystack. Because I’m not sure if I will ever get past step one.
6
Enzo
The first night I spent as Milo’s prisoner was the worst. He and his men beat me until I had no fight left.
My face was smashed in, my nose broken, my lip busted, my eye bulging, and my head rang with a bad concussion. My broken ribs jabbed into my lungs every time I took a breath. Thick, dark bruises and knife gashes covered my body.
Luckily many of those injuries have healed in the two weeks since that night.
Milo is one angry, vindictive man. And he thought one night of torturing me would be enough to soothe his soul. Enough to make me pay for creating an empire bigger and stronger than his.
But one day isn’t enough to tame the monster within. He could have asked me that. I know from my own experience with my own demons.
Milo is a smart man though. He knows one day was all he gets. Now he has to be patient. And it turns out, Milo isn’t a patient man.
I hear the familiar sounds of the boots coming down the stairs, and I sit up on the edge of the mattress on the floor to put on my running shoes.
Every day at ten in the morning and seven in the evening I get let out for two hours at a time to train. It’s more exercise than I usually get at home. Apparently, Milo thinks if I’m in the best physical shape of my life, I won’t have any choice but to win the games. But I don’t complain. It makes the time go by faster.
My life since being Milo’s prisoner has been relatively easy. I have a comfy bed. I get three nutritious meals a day. Plenty of exercise. And books about war strategy and brain teasers Milo thinks will help keep my mind sharp for the games.
It almost feels like a luxurious vacation if it wasn’t for the dark cell, prison guards, and bars holding me in. And the fact that anywhere that Kai isn’t is my own personal hell.
The guards reach my cell.
“You going to keep up with me today, Felix?” I ask every day. So far, I’ve only been allowed to run in the gym. But I’m hoping to convince one of the guards to run outside with me. I want to know everything there is to know about Milo’s mansion and security. I want to know so I can destroy him.
Felix shakes his head. “No, but I’ll enjoy taking you down during a boxing match.”
I smirk. I like Felix. He’s loyal but is the only man here who actually talks to me. A man I might be able to persuade to my side.
“You’re on,” I say as the door unlocks.
I walk to the door, and the other guard who never speaks puts his gun on me.
I chuckle. “You know I won’t run, right? If I leave, then Milo has every right to torture and kill my girl. I won’t let anything happen to her. Therefore, I will never run. You don’t need to point that gun at me.” As if a single gun pointed at me would be enough to take me down if I did decide to run.
Felix chuckles with me. “Give Konrad a break. He doesn’t understand trustworthy men. He thinks all men are pigs.”
I raise an eyebrow as I follow them up the stairs. “Aren’t all men pigs?”
He shrugs. “Yes, but some are honest pigs.”
We reach the top of the stairs and then freeze.
One of Milo’s men is standing in the h
allway, but that isn’t what is shocking. What is shocking is who he is holding onto—a woman. A woman with a striking resemblance to Kai. A woman who has fear in her eyes, a dark circle under one of them, and a heavy bruise beneath his grasp.
“Gentleman,” he says, nodding to our presence. He has an evil grin on his face. “I was just delivering this whore to Milo’s rooms. He’ll be home in a couple of hours and needs to blow off some steam.”
Konrad smiles back, but Felix frowns. He doesn’t like his boss’ extracurricular activities any more than I do.
We start walking again past the girl. A girl I want to save, but don’t think I can.
My only hope is to convince Felix to free her and then come over to my side.
Felix looks at me, obviously as disturbed as I am about what Milo thinks is acceptable to do to a woman.
“Let’s go for our run outside,” Felix says.
I raise an eyebrow and try to hide my excitement.
Konrad frowns. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Yes, go grab us some waters,” Felix says.
I hesitate a moment, trying to decide what I should do. I want to see outside. I need to see the perimeter and understand Milo’s guard rotation and security system better. But I need to save the girl.
Kai would never forgive me if I didn’t.
I would never forgive me.
I look down the hallway to where the girl disappeared with one of the guards.
“Are you going to help me save the girl, or am I doing this alone?” I ask.
Felix swallows hard. He’s too deep into this world to help me. I don’t know what collateral Milo has on him, but he’s not going to help me.
“I’ll help you, but I won’t get caught. And if I do, you owe me a job,” Felix says.
I smirk. “Deal.”
“Don’t think this makes us friends. And don’t think I will help you escape.”
“I’m not asking you to help me escape. I’m asking you to help me save the girl.”
He nods. “What’s your plan?”
I grin and crack my neck. It feels good to be doing something useful again.
7
