by C. Lymari
Which brought me to my shit mood because she put the partition up, obscuring my view. Since I had been in her employment, I had done nothing but humiliate her and reject her advances, so I didn’t see why this time had to be any different. If anything, she seemed to get off on them. The more I hurt her, the more she pushed back at me.
Ember wasn’t beautiful like a flower; she was beautiful like flames of a fire. Something that looked stunning, but you knew it was dangerous to touch. Inviting enough to want to get close to the warmth, but once you were close, hot enough to burn. And lately, I was itching for it.
The GPS took me to a warehouse in the trendy part of town. Before I was fully parked, Ember was opening her door.
“Hey.” I pulled at her arm. “You can’t walk out like that.”
“Let me go.”
I did, only because she looked alarmed, scanning the streets. Something wasn’t right, and I cared that I was bothered by it. Once inside the warehouse, I realized it was some sort of fashion warehouse. There were clothes everywhere, but it wasn’t laid out like a store.
“Miss Remington.” A tall blonde with more plastic to her than Barbie appeared. She smiled brightly at Ember and then gave me an appreciative look that I ignored. “We are honored you chose us to dress you for tonight’s gala.”
“I heard you have the most exquisite black silk dress,” Ember purred.
Plastic Barbie smiled and led Ember away from the entrance, and I followed. They took us to the top part of the building, where the whole wall was floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Please take a seat,” Plastic Barbie told me as she grabbed me by my arm and led me to a couch. I sat on the fancy chair, waiting while they offered me something to drink.
“Water’s fine,” I replied, dismissing the girl who had come up to me.
When the chick came back, she handed me the water but stayed. Her eyes trailed over my body valiantly. I raised an eyebrow at her.
“You know…” she said, her hand coming to my arm. “…if you ever want a real woman…”
I stopped listening to her talk. The comment pissed me off. Sure she had more tits and ass than Ember, but she wouldn’t even come close to satisfying me. Before I could respond, Ember walked out of the room as Plastic Barbie carried a black bag behind her. Ember’s eyes went to me, then to where the chick in front of me touched me. I bit my lips when I saw anger in them, but just as quickly, she masked it.
“Let’s go,” she said as she passed me.
“My offer stands,” the chick said.
I got up, putting me chest to chest with the chick in front of me. “Would you do anything I want?”
Her breathy “yes” was instant.
“I think I’d get more thrill from a blow-up doll than you.” Then I pushed past her and went after Ember.
Ember was about to open the door when I threw my hand over her shoulder. “Where to next?”
She stiffened.
“Let me go.” She shrugged off my hand, then ran into the car.
I took a step to follow her, but before I could do that, a man came running toward me with a bag like the one Ember carried.
“We have the perfect suit for you. Our house would love to dress Miss Remington’s new boyfriend.”
New what?
I took the bag and left before Ember could do something stupid. When I got in the car, I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from screaming obscenities. The partition blocked my view, but she would be able to hear what I said. I would not be giving her that satisfaction.
Driving back to the Hill, my phone started to ring. My stomach dropped when I saw the unknown number. No one unknown should be calling me, especially since this was the company phone.
“Speak,” I said.
“Idiota!” Pamela’s voice was easily recognized.
“Please tell me that you didn’t just call me on this line,” I barked.
I’d given her the number for emergencies for when I couldn’t be reached at my burner. I still had to find out if our company phones were bugged.
“It’s a fucking emergency when your fucking face is plastered all over the fashion section of the newspaper.”
Shit.
That defeated the whole purpose of keeping things low-key. I didn’t bother to say goodbye to Pam; I just ended the call. She was starting to get on my nerves, making me regret everything I’d done in her name. When we stopped at a red light, I typed Ember’s name in the search bar.
The result made me freeze, until the car honking behind me made me snap out of it. My head turned, surprised Ember didn’t say shit to me. I didn’t know how I knew, but this was the reason she was suddenly treating me like I had leprosy. The thought had me smiling.
Once at Hill Hotel, I parked the car and pulled Ember’s door open.
“Please tell me the whole boyfriend thing is not why you’re acting so strange today?”
When her face fell and her eyes widened, I started to laugh. “Shit, Ember, if I won’t fuck you, what makes you think I’d date you?”
“Get out of my way.” Her tone was missing the fire she usually carried, and she walked away, leaving me the bag in the backseat.
I grabbed it along with my own and trailed after her. Watching her backside, I was reminded of the feel of her pussy, the tightness around my fingers, and imagined how tight it would feel around my cock. She was so fucking tiny, I would destroy her, and I would enjoy it too.
The ride up was silent with Ember still giving me the silent treatment. Did I care? Only that my face was plastered everywhere, but not particularly. I mean, I was with her at all times, and probably kept her on a tighter leash than those before me. But Ember? She seemed almost rattled. She took the bag from me and walked up to her room. An hour later, someone was in the lobby.
I called the guy that was guarding the private entrance. “Did you let someone up?”
“Oh, yeah. Miss Remington’s stylist.”
Dipshit.
I waited by the door as the stylist walked in. He was young and skinny with bleached hair that looked white, bigger lips than a Kardashian, and eyeshadow that was neon blue.
“Whoa, you are even hotter in person,” he mused.
“Do you want to die?”
“Ohmigod.” He threw his head back on a loud moan. “You’re bossy.”
Shaking my head, I walked away to the control room.
My holster was on, two weapons on each side. I had a knife strapped to my leg and a small scalpel in my pocket. Going to my bed, I grabbed my tuxedo jacket, and I caught my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t even look like myself, in a black designer suit that fit me like it was made for me with shiny fucking shoes on. My hair was left messy—no way was I going to style it for this fucking event. Opening the door, I fixed my bow tie as I made my way to the living room.
“That’s it, bitch. Work it, baby. You look so fucking hot!” I heard the makeup artist’s voice sing praises.
The fall of great men wasn’t because they were weak. It was because they didn’t understand their limits. Fortunately for me, I’d danced with my demons for a long time, and I knew what they wanted. Ever since I had stepped foot in this place, mine had been begging for Ember, but I’d been too stubborn to hear their call.
Right now, she looked beautiful, like a dark angel. Slightly frightening, ethereal, capable of bringing a man to his knees, but not me. If anyone were kneeling by the end of the night, it would be her. She wore a black ball gown that looked like the top of a heart over her tits and made her waist look tiny, and then it flared out. She looked like a princess; all she was missing was a tiara. Her face lifted, and she turned to look at me. Her eyes were dark and smoky with her lashes fanned out, her lips dark red. On her neck, as always, was her choker.
“Come on, boyfriend, take a picture,” the makeup artist said.
“Not my boyfriend.” Ember walked toward the elevator.
As I followed her and the boy, my cell phone rang.
&nb
sp; “Hello?” I answered, noticing it was Sam.
“Falcon, I need you to stop by headquarters.”
“Why?”
“Marcus and Gio will come with you. In honor of Ember’s twenty-fifth birthday, she’s wearing the Ember.”
“You can’t spring something like this before arriving at the fucking event.” I gripped the cell phone, knowing full well I shouldn’t have lost my cool.
“She will be perfectly fine,” Sam said before he hung up on me.
Once the elevator door was open, I looked at the makeup artist. “Leave.”
“What the fuck!” Ember spouted. “You don’t feed, fuck, or finance me, so you get no right to treat my guest like that.”
“We can take care of one of those. Right here, right now,” I said, looking down at her.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m tired of this shit. I want to go, show my face, come home, and forget it ever happened.”
“When’s your birthday?” I held on to her elbow as I started to drag her to the car.
“I don’t see how that’s relevant to keeping me alive.”
“Ember,” I warned.
“Next week.” She finally shook her head. “I’m turning twenty-five.”
And she wouldn’t be getting her inheritance, but her family was still going to parade her around wearing a thirty-million-dollar diamond while there was a fucking price on her head.
“Get in the car.” I opened the door for her, then made my way to headquarters, but on the way, I made a stop.
At the nearest drugstore, I parked illegally, but right now I didn’t give a fuck about that. I got out of the car and opened one of Ember’s doors. She was confused, looking at me with wide eyes. Before she could speak, I pulled out one of my Glocks and showed it to her.
“Anyone who isn’t me tries to come in here, shoot them.” My voice was lethal; she didn’t argue.
I slammed the door and went into the drugstore. Making my way to the chicks’ section, I grabbed one of those thick elastic headbands and then some grabbed some double-sided tape just in case. Once that was bought, I went back to the car.
Ember handed me the gun wordlessly. I put it back in the holster before I put the bag in her lap.
“We’re going to stop by headquarters, where Marcus and Gio will join us. With them will be the Ember.”
At that, her mouth parted.
“You will be wearing it.”
She let out a humorless laugh. “They won’t give me my trust fund, but trust me with millions for a night?”
“Face me,” I commanded her. “This—” I pulled out the scalpel that was in my pocket. I pulled the cap off so she could see the obsidian steel. “—is fucking sharp. One swipe of this in a major artery is near fatal.” As I taped the scalpel to the headband, I started to instruct her. “In case you haven’t noticed, princess, you’re guarded more than the fucking president. I think it’s bullshit that your family won’t tell you this…so I am. Someone wants you dead.”
She let out a soft gasp, and her eyes went wide with shock.
I ignored it. “I want you to wear this tonight.”
In her eyes was something that had every part of me wanting to recoil. Fuck me, she trusted me.
“Something happens, you hit major arteries. Neck, wrist, left side of the chest. If you’re down, try to go for the tendon behind the ankle. Not only will it hurt like a motherfucker, but cut off the ability to walk.”
Ember swallowed, but ultimately nodded.
“I’m going to hide this. It will be our little secret, okay?”
When she didn’t say anything, I brought both my hands under her dress.
“What are you—”
Her words trailed off the moment my cold fingers made contact with her bare leg. Her skin was smooth like silk, no scars tarnishing her flesh, making my makeshift holster glide with ease. I felt her skin shiver beneath my fingertips, making my cock grow hard. When I made it to the top, Ember was looking at me with wide eyes and a parted mouth. I heard a car honk, but I ignored it. Putting my hand higher, I cupped her pussy.
“Tonight, I own this.”
There was a fucking knife between my legs. Someone wanted me dead, but all of that didn’t matter at the moment. Right now, I was savoring the fact that I had finally brought Ren down to his knees.
If I was being honest with myself, it didn’t surprise me that someone wanted me dead. It did scare me, but for now I was going to enjoy this small victory. I mean, the timing didn’t get more perfect than this. I fucked Ren, and he was gone, and Silas’s threat would remain at bay. Then I would worry about whoever wanted me dead.
Wars were won through cunning and intelligence, and sometimes it was easier to lose a battle, no matter how devastating it might be, than to lose the war. So my battle with Ren was coming to an end. He could think he won and he owned me, but everyone knew a woman could never be owned. She could be kept, or possessed, taking away her fight, making her hide within herself or cower, but owned? Never.
So, I tried to calm myself with the fact that tonight I would have one less problem to worry about. Before I knew it, we were parking at Remington’s headquarters with Marcus waiting outside. He opened the door in a suit, not as fancy as the one Ren wore, and slid in next to me.
“How are you holding up, Em?” he said, the nickname he used to call me with casualness and ease. What he used to call me at a time I’d lashed out and seduced him, taking out my rage on him.
“I’m okay,” I said without meeting his stare.
My father was in a coma, and I had yet to see him. What was the point? I was used to him not being there; this was nothing new.
When I turned my head to the company doors, three guards came out with the one in the middle carrying a briefcase that was cuffed to his wrist. Gio was one of Silas’s preferred bodyguards. He was tall and beefy, and his morals were questionable, but he was a loyal dog to his master. He saw me the day I left Silas’s place with a red cheek, my hair a mess and a limp to my walk. Sam had never made a comment, which meant Gio hadn’t reported anything to him.
He took a seat next to Ren, and we finally made our way to our annual gala.
Ren parked in a side entrance, since I would not be coming through the front. Instead, I would arrive once everyone was seated and descend the stairs with a rock of fire around my neck.
The car that was behind us came out first, flanking Gio to make sure the Ember was protected with Marcus following behind them. Once they were inside, Ren opened my door. I took a deep breath and took the outstretched hand he offered.
Emotions were a weakness, a disease really once you started feeling it spread until it touched your chest, and that right there was one hell of a way to make it go away: broken heart or a dead body. You felt too deeply, or you felt nothing at all, and my perfectly crafted world had tilted the moment Ren Falcon stepped foot in it.
The moment he held on to me, I knew my life was in his hands. He could be my savior, or he was just here to make my time pass while I waited for hell.
We walked quickly inside, and the quiet made my skin crawl. I was about to put on a show. The back hallways were empty; just Gio, Marcus, Ren, and me. Everyone watched Gio as he worked the combination to the safe. Millions of dollars hung off his wrist.
My hand went to the back of my neck to remove the diamond choker. Before I could remove it, I felt Ren at my back like someone would feel death looming. His presence was strong and near suffocating. I asked myself if I wanted to go down this road tonight, then turned my head to look at him. His blue eyes shone with mischief, and my answer was yes. Everyone always did stupid things for a pretty face.
“Let me,” he said.
I turned to look forward, not meeting Marcus’s nor Gio’s eyes. “Can you guys make sure that the hallways are empty before I make my way down?”
Marcus nodded and walked away, giving Ren and me one last look.
Gio looked at me. “I’m in charge of
the Ember.”
I extended my hand for him to drop the red diamond, which he did.
“Now get the fuck out of my face,” I commanded.
Ren chuckled as he finished unclasping the choker. I turned around to face him. Even in heels, I barely reached past his chest. I tilted my head up. His fingers came to the imprint the choker had left on my neck from the intricate design it had on the inside.
“Looks like stars,” he mused, his finger tracing over the three little dots, then going for the single one and the four that were aligned.
Before he could keep tracing, I pulled away. I started to walk away, putting my family’s jewel around my neck so it rested above my chest. All valuable things came at a price, and ours was dipped in blood and covered in betrayal, a fact no one liked to talk about.
“If you lose my mother’s choker, I will castrate you,” I said as I walked, not bothering to look at Ren.
He let out a dark chuckle.
“Give a girl some steel, and she thinks she’s a warrior.”
Before I could tell him to fuck off, we had made it to the top of the staircase. They curved down to the ballroom, so I wouldn’t be able to see anyone until the midway point. I looked down at my chest to where the Ember sat as a beacon of our wealth, and all I could see was the symbol of something I could never have nor achieve. This piece of jewelry was adored, studied, immortalized, and famous for just existing while I was infamous for the same thing.
“Are you okay?” Ren stepped next to me while he fixed the button on his wrist.
He looked at it like it was of utter importance, and I was glad he did because if I looked into those deep blue eyes, I might have blurted the truth.
“One thing to know, dog, is I’m always okay. No matter what.”
I took a deep breath, letting the stale air filled with hatred and arrogance give me the strength to put on a show. I descended the stairs with my bitch face on as I scanned the ballroom full of tables and people seated, all with their fine attires and fake smiles. At the bottom was Silas waiting for me, as the devil would welcome a new soul into hell. His eyes raked over every inch of me, and I looked everywhere else, pretending like I couldn’t feel his gaze burn and make me want to come out of my skin.
