by Ella Miles
I head back inside the ballroom just in time to see a ghost.
Kai Miller.
My boss, Enzo’s Black’s girl. The last person I wanted to see here. She stands taller than the last time I saw her. Her hair is twisted up, similar to Siren’s. She demands attention and respect. I look around for Enzo but don’t find him anywhere. Why would she be here? And without him?
He’s here. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight. Unless…
Nope, not going there.
Kai’s eyes seem sad. But then her eyes cut to me. They land on me for less than a second. But in that second, I see everything—surprise, concern, hope. And then her face returns to vagueness, like she’s unfazed by seeing me here.
She got my note.
I see the black scrunchie around her arm—a scrunchie I gave to her just before I was shot and lost to the sea.
I smile.
For a second, I wonder if I should run to Kai and go find Enzo with her. My heart hurts at seeing one of my closest friends again and not being able to hug her.
Our worlds will cross again. But tonight isn’t that night. I’m here on a mission, not to reminisce with old friends. I’m doing this to prevent them from having one more enemy when I get back.
Just a little longer. Make sure Lucy is safe. Finish this job, learn about Julian’s bank accounts, and then leave. If I can liquidate Julian’s bank accounts until he has nothing, then he won’t be able to come after me. Siren will have no money to chase me with. No army. I would have protected my friends.
23
Kai
Watching one of my best friends die shook me to my very core, but finding his note in our vault telling me he was alive was one of the happiest moments of my life. Every day since, I’ve wanted to find him. I’ve wanted to chase after him. Hunt him down and bring him home to Enzo and me.
But I had to trust that Zeke had a good reason to not return to the living. That he needed to remain dead to those who loved him.
I honored that. Really, I did.
It was just coincidence that we are both in the same ballroom in Paris. I’m here to meet a man who has new technology to improve the security system on our yachts. It’s an easy meeting, and Enzo decided to stay back with the kids instead of mingling with snooty, rich snobs. He got the better job.
Until I saw Zeke.
My heart stopped when I saw him in the flesh.
I knew he was alive all this time.
But seeing him, my heart lept. It came alive in a way it hasn’t since falling in love with the man of my dreams and getting my own happily ever after.
I wanted to run to Zeke. I wanted to hug him and drag him home with me. Tell him whatever trouble he is in, whatever enemies he’s made, we don’t care. We are a family, and we fight our battles together.
But when I looked into Zeke’s eyes, I knew today isn’t the day to bring him home. That he still has battles he needs to face, alone.
I still don’t understand why. And it’s taking everything in me not to send my men after him.
But then I see her. The most beautiful woman is staring at me with complete fascination. As she looks from me and then searches for Zeke in the crowd, I make the connection. I know who this woman is. I may not know her name. I may not know her life story. But I know who she is. She’s the reason Zeke hasn’t come home.
He’s in love with her.
She could be his happily ever after.
Or she could break his heart.
He needs more time. I’ll give it to him, even though it kills me to keep his secret. To know he’s alive while everyone else mourns his death.
Only a little longer, Zeke. I can’t wait forever for you to come home.
24
Siren
This entire night has been horrible. I hate having to talk to rich people who don’t give a shit about me. They just want to judge what I’m wearing and the fact that I haven’t visited my in-laws in years.
If they only knew the truth, that I was here to steal a billion dollars from them, then they’d really have something to judge.
I spot Hugo and Zeke head out on the balcony to talk or fight; I’m not sure. I want to go with them, but I know Zeke doesn’t need me to fight his battles. He can handle Hugo just fine. And this gives me a chance to enact the plan without Hugo noticing.
I need to find Mr. Martinez. The goal is simple. Steal his phone and hope it has the security information we need to hack their bank account. I’m a bit rusty when it comes to hacking, but Zeke says he has the skills if we can get the phone. Or that he knows someone he can contact to hack it if he can’t handle it.
So tonight’s job is simple. Get the damn phone from Mr. Martinez. Should be easy enough since he always has his phone on him. But he’s always surrounded by people, and he’s not exactly my biggest fan, so getting close to him has been difficult without Mrs. Bisset stepping in and wanting to introduce me to another couple.
I spot Mr. Martinez ordering a whiskey from the bar.
Now’s my chance. I make my way through the crowd of people toward him, but something odd catches my attention as I walk—a woman wearing a black scrunchie around her wrist.
Very odd for such a formal night.
I can’t stop looking at her. I take in everything about her—dark hair, olive skin, sparkly skin-hugging dress, high heels, diamonds, and a black scrunchie on her wrist.
A scrunchie completely out of place. I can’t take my eyes off the scrunchie. I have this weird feeling I’ve seen it before. A sense of déjà vu washes over me; I’m suspended in time.
Who is this woman?
Finally, I let my eyes drift up. She’s deep in a conversation with two men, completely controlling them with her words and body language. She’s here on business.
But she must feel me staring because she turns her head in my direction. Our exchange of glances is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever felt, and yet, it’s the most peaceful.
She gives me a tight-lipped smile, nodding at me as if she knows a secret I don’t and approves.
I look at her in confusion, which makes her smile kindly at me.
Then all at once, it hits me who she is. She’s from Zeke’s world before. She thought he was dead, which is why she carries the scrunchie with her everywhere.
My heart breaks for her and for me. It’s clear she loves Zeke as much as I do. Has Zeke seen her? Does he know she’s here?
The woman shakes her head, as if to say, ‘No, don’t tell him.’
Apparently, she’s a mind reader too.
I frown. This woman is beautiful and strong. She’s probably not a liar like me. She’s probably always told Zeke the truth.
How many women in Zeke’s life do I have to compete with? Lucy? This woman? How many more?
Zeke is easy to fall in love with, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he had hoards of women in love with him.
I see Mr. Martinez moving out of the corner of my eye toward the stairs. He’s leaving for the night.
This is my last chance. I have to go now. But I want to ask this woman so many questions. I want to know how to protect Zeke. I want to know how to return him to the world he belongs in.
Choose now.
Stick to the plan.
So instead of questioning the woman who holds all the answers to Zeke, I head after Mr. Martinez.
There isn’t much time for a plan on how to get the phone, so I do the only thing I can think of. I bump into him. I retrieve the phone easily from his pocket and hold it begin my back.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Martinez,” I say.
He huffs and then continues up the stairs.
When I turn back, the woman I saw before was gone. It was almost like I’d seen a ghost.
I turn toward the balcony and see Hugo and Zeke re-entering the ballroom.
Both men spot me.
I sigh. And then plaster a fake smile on my face as I make my way over to them.
I nod at Zeke as I pass him, slipping t
he phone into his jacket pocket. But that’s all the interaction I give him. He needs to go find Nora and spend the night hacking into the phone and bank account.
“Ready to leave?” I ask Hugo.
He holds his hand against his stomach like he’s in pain.
I grin. What did Zeke do to you?
He slips his hand around my arm, using me like a crutch. We walk slowly to the elevator. I consider calling for a wheelchair, but I know he wouldn’t allow it. So instead of a five-minute walk to the suite, it takes us twenty.
Finally, we get to the door, I unlock it, and once Hugo is inside, I release his hold on me. I don’t care if he never makes it to the bedroom.
I walk straight to the dressing room to remove my dress and caked-on makeup. I spend a long time scrubbing my face clean. I put on pajama pants and T-shirt before heading to bed. Somehow, Hugo has found his way to the bed and is rolled over on his side, facing away from me. And from what I can tell, he’s shirtless.
Please let him be wearing pants.
I walk around to the far side of the bed and pull the covers back that have already been turned down by the maids.
I can’t tell what Hugo is wearing, but I see the waistband of something, so he isn’t naked.
“Touch me, and I’ll kill you,” I say, pulling the covers up.
Hugo doesn’t respond. Maybe he’s asleep.
I close my eyes and immediately feel the pull of sleep. Tonight exhausted me. I need to shut my brain off. I can’t think about Hugo, or stealing Mr. Martinez’s phone, or the woman with the scrunchie, or Zeke. I just need to shut the world out and decompress for a few hours; then I can face the world tomorrow.
Sleep pulls me hard. When I drink too much, like tonight, sleep comes easily and hard.
Sleep.
He’s here. He came for me—Zeke.
I feel his presence. I feel him pressed up against me, his erection at my ass begging for entrance.
I smile and lift my legs to allow him better access.
He pushes his cock between my legs but doesn’t enter me yet.
I feel his rough hands at my breasts. Yes, tease me.
His hands are rougher than I remember. He’s not gentle, but then he never really is. But this is different—frantic, almost angry.
Something’s not right.
Stop.
Wake up.
Tell him to stop.
“Stop,” I whisper.
But he doesn’t stop touching me, pushing himself on me.
I start fighting back, but my eyes are too heavy to open. Wake up! Don’t let this happen!
I fight harder.
My tears are stinging my eyes.
“Stop,” I say louder.
He doesn’t listen. Zeke always listens. This isn’t Zeke. The man hurting me is someone much worse…
Hugo.
His name on my tongue wakes me up, jolting me awake. He’s on top of me, using the pull of sleep to try and have his way with me.
Fucking bastard.
My arms are pinned, tied together, and pushed over my head. My shirt is pushed up; my pants are ripped and barely hang onto my waist.
“Stop,” I say calmly, hoping my calm will end this frenzy.
It doesn’t.
“Hugo,” I say, and my voice catches his attention. He looks at me, past the anger, and really looks at me.
“Stop, please. This isn’t you. You aren’t this person.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t know who I am or what I’ve become. Not anymore.”
“Yes, I do. I fell in love with you. I know the depths of your heart. I could even love you again. But I won’t if you do this. There is no way to ask forgiveness for this. If you do this, there is no going back.”
He pauses as if deciding, but I don’t trust Hugo to make the right decision. I’ve been manipulating him this whole time, distracting him until I could get my hands free. And finally, I did. I’m not going to wait to see if he has a heart. I protect myself at all costs.
I snap his neck, immediately putting him into a deep sleep. He won’t wake up for several hours.
I pant heavily, and then I push him off me onto the other side of the bed.
I need air. I can’t breathe.
I get up from the bed, realizing how close I came to being raped. If he was better at tying my hands or if he had managed to tie up my legs before I woke up, I wouldn’t have been able to protect myself. He would have raped me. He could have killed me if he wanted.
I head to the bathroom and splash some water on my face. And then I stare at myself in the mirror.
That was close. Too close. I’m better than this. I don’t let anyone get close. I don’t let myself be vulnerable. I protect myself. I save myself. Because no other man will.
Zeke—his name floats into my head. Zeke would have saved me.
I shake my head. He would have wanted to. But he wasn’t here. He didn’t save me. I saved myself. I can’t rely on Zeke. I can’t rely on any man. I’m my only protector. And I almost failed.
25
Zeke
Nora wanted me to stay in our hotel room all night and work on breaking into the phone. But I was able to break into the phone within five minutes. The phone had a simple password, and his bank account was accessible right on the app.
Siren was right, Hugo’s parents are loaded. We can steal the billion dollars from them. We have everything we need.
Tomorrow, we can leave. But tonight, we are stuck here.
“Just sleep, Zeke. Time will go by faster if you sleep. Tomorrow we have a long day of flying back. Sleep, you’ll see Siren tomorrow,” Nora says before yawning.
“I can’t sleep. Not with that fucker sleeping in the bed next to her.”
“They won’t share a bed. Their suite is bigger than ours.”
I raise an eyebrow. “They will share a bed, or the maids will know they are fighting.”
“Oh.”
“Yea…oh.”
Suddenly, I get the strangest feeling. A feeling that disturbs me to the bones.
“Something isn’t right,” I say, running my hand through my hair as I grab the room key.
“Where are you going?” Nora asks, jumping up like her tiny frame is going to stop me.
“I need to make sure Siren is alright.”
“Zeke, you can’t. She’s fine. She’s a big girl. She can protect herself. Just try to sleep or watch TV or something. We can check on her in the morning.”
I look at Nora. She doesn’t get it, but Siren and I share a connection I don’t understand. I can feel when she’s in pain or happy. I just know when she’s experiencing the worst emotions.
“This can’t wait until morning. She’s in trouble,” I say.
“Zeke…” Nora starts again.
I open the door and stop.
“Be careful, please. And let me know when you find her, and she’s alright. Or I’ll worry.”
I smile. “Will do.”
I don’t know which room Siren and Hugo are staying in. I just know the room is the best.
So I head to the elevator bank and hit the top floor, hoping that when I get there, it will be obvious which room is theirs. If not, I’ll be sneaking into a lot of suites until I find the right one. Nothing is stopping me right now; something is wrong. And if Hugo touched her, I’m going to kill him.
The elevator doors open to the top floor, and there are almost as many rooms up here as there are on my floor. That is until you walk to the far corner. There is only one door for most of this corridor. It’s by far the biggest room in the hotel.
This is their room.
I lean my ear against the door, trying to hear if they are awake, but it’s silent. They have top-level security here, so if I don’t seem like I belong, a guard will be here in minutes to escort me away.
I lift my card to the door for the cameras, as I slip the small screwdriver below the keycard to unlock the door. But the cameras only see me flash my keycard, an
d the light turns green.
I carefully step inside, putting the tool and card back into my pocket as I step into the darkness. From what I can make out, the suite seems a few rooms bigger than mine but is otherwise decorated the same. With gold and art, and a lot of breakable shit.
I head through the living quarters toward the bedrooms. I poke my head in the first two, but as I knew, Siren isn’t in either. That leaves the master bedroom, where they both are.
The door is cracked, but not closed.
I stand next to it, listening carefully, but I only hear the gentle sound of them breathing.
Hmm. That’s weird? I thought for sure something was wrong.
Slowly, I open the door, thankful the door doesn’t creak, and then I walk into the dark room.
Hugo is sleeping on one side, and Siren is sleeping on the other.
I walk over to her side to study her closer and make sure she’s okay. She seems to be sleeping deeply, her breathing deep and heavy.
I pull out my phone and text Nora that Siren is fine, asleep in her bed.
I should leave her to sleep. I should head back, but I can’t stand being so close to Siren and not having her. Not tasting her. Not making definitively sure she’s okay.
So I lean down, and then I put my hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming and waking Hugo up.
She immediately bucks and punches me hard in the nose, fighting for her life, not realizing it’s me.
Yea, I made a mistake with the hand over the mouth move.
“Siren, it’s me, Zeke,” I whisper.
But she keeps trying to fight me, even as I pull her out of the bed and carry her to the bathroom. I lock the door and turn on the lights so she can see me.
Her eyes open when the lights flicker on, and I remove my hand from her mouth and step back.
“It’s me,” I say again.
She takes a second to catch her breath, her eyes blinking, assuring herself that I’m standing here in her bathroom, and this isn’t a dream.
