by Vi Carter
JP moved to Mandy, who still sobbed, and pulled her into his arms. I let the cloth go and pulled the white sheet up over Liam’s face. I didn’t know what to do. Leave, stay, clean up? My phone ringing had me apologizing as I left the room. It felt so disrespectful.
“Hello,” I quickly answered, not looking at the caller ID.
“What’s happened?” It was Emmett, and I don’t know why but his voice made me want to cry with relief and anger all at the same time.
“Liam died,” I whispered looking around the empty gym, my eyes scanning for Kirk, but he wasn’t here.
“I heard. I’m sorry you had to be there.” He spoke with such a monotone voice that I wondered if he had even heard me correctly. But of course, he had.
“I had rung because if he had been taken to a hospital he would have lived," I whisper-shouted, feeling my anger rising again.
“I’m sorry,” he said again in his usual emotionless tone, and I hung up on the bastard. He wasn’t sorry. I quickly turned my phone on vibrate, it started to vibrate immediately in my pocket, so I turned it off and returned to the room. JP still held Mandy, but when I arrived she looked up at me, guilt and grief in her eyes.
“Someone had stolen my phone. I came back here to look for it; I didn’t know…”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded, having an idea who stole her phone, but the only confusing part was why? Why would Matthew kill Liam?
***
JP had taken my phone, and I wasn’t allowed to leave the premises. Absolute bullshit, and he knew it. “If you give me my phone, I will call Emmett, and he can tell you it’s okay for me to leave,” I said for the hundredth time and I got the same answer.
“No, Amber, you can’t leave. I’m sorry.” ‘Sorry.’ If I heard that one more time, I was going to scream. I sat on a weight bench and watched as people started to flow in slowly through the early hours of the morning. Everyone embraced each other as the chatter filled the gym. No one approached me, but plenty whispered and glanced in my direction.
Hours passed at this horse shit when finally, Emmett arrived. I didn’t move, but took in his battered face and unusual attire. He wasn’t in his usual suit. He wore sweatpants and a hoodie; it made him seem almost normal. My stomach tightened when he gazed over the people and right at me. His sea blue eyes pierced me, and I couldn’t hold his stare as he walked towards me. Instead, I took in his confident stride and how everything seemed to gravitate towards him.
Once he reached me, I looked at him. My pulse spiked. “How’s the other guy?” I asked. He didn't smirk like a normal guy would. No, Emmett kept to his usual stiff self.
“Dead.” He sat on a rowing machine across from me. What could I say to that?
We sat in silence for a moment as I watched the people. I knew Emmett was watching me, but I couldn’t meet his eyes. I wasn’t sure if he was waiting for me to speak first, but when nearly everyone in the room became way too interested in me and Emmett, I broke the silence.
“Look, thanks for the job and everything you have done. I really do appreciate it–but–this…” I said, sweeping my arm out, encompassing the scene before me, “…is just too crazy for me, Emmett, so I won’t be staying.” I wasn’t looking at him, but the blood that I had just realized still sat under my nails. My stomach churned. Yeah, this was just too much. When he didn’t speak, I looked at him. He was staring at me. I couldn’t get a read on him.
“You can’t leave.” His tone was deep now.
My stomach twisted at his words and I swallowed. I could get myself out of this. I was good with people, even crazy ones. “Look, you have my word—what happened with Liam, I will never say a word.”
“No.”
I sat back. This was stupid. I had legs, so I used them and got up, making my way to the door. Everyone grew silent as Emmett’s fingers wrapped around my arm. “If I want to leave, I will leave, Emmett. Now take your hands off me,” I spoke with conviction, but my stomach did somersaults. A part of me feared him, yet another part of me liked his touch.
Emmett pulled me in, and I had to look up at him. I didn’t feel comfortable being this close. “You can’t leave. Don’t argue with me.” His voice had lowered, and laughter bubbled up my throat. A small sound escaped, but I clamped down on the hysteria.
“Let me go,” I spoke calmly, and he loosened his grip, but didn’t release me.
“It’s not safe for you out there.” I could feel everyone’s eyes as they burned into my back.
I pulled my arm loose. “I can take care of myself.”
“He’s trying to help you,” Matthew spoke from behind me; I internally shivered at his voice.
When I looked at him, I narrowed my eyes. “Like the way you helped?” I was being brave and stupid, but this was fucking crazy. Matthew didn’t answer me, and Emmett’s hand found my arm again. I was so sick of being manhandled. I pulled my arm back and walked away from the door, back into the gym. The moment I was a few feet away, chatter started up again, but Emmett quietened everyone down. Mandy and JP came out of the room where Liam lay. Mandy found me and gave me a nod, one I didn’t return. Kirk moved out of the shadows also, and sat beside me. No one saw him, and maybe that’s what he wanted. I didn’t say anything; there was nothing to say.
“Everyone needs to go to the compound. Once everyone is in, it will be locked down until further notice."
“Why? What’s happened?” A guy with a funky-looking haircut and an eye patch asked. His woman, who was wearing way too much black eyeliner, hugged his chest.
“There is a threat from the Russians, one that we can talk about later, at the compound.” That was it, no more questions. Everyone started to talk and organize themselves to leave. This was my chance.
“He’s trying to keep you safe,” Kirk spoke low and without much emotion, but the fact he would defend Emmett after seeing his brother die was beyond me. It made me pause.
“I’m not one of you, Kirk. No one knows me.” I didn’t speak angrily, I made sure my voice came out gentle. He looked at me, his eyes red and swollen and filled with pain, pain I could identify with. Pain I understood all too well.
“You are now, Amber,” he looked over my shoulder at someone. His nod of respect told me who it was.
I stood up and Emmett blocked my way. “I’m not going anywhere, Emmett,” I told him and after a few seconds, he moved to the side. I left him to talk to Kirk.
Nearly everyone left, except JP, who still held Mandy, and Matthew, who watched me. He stood close to the main door, keeping an eye on everyone. I would never get out now. I looked at Emmett, his head bent slightly with Kirk, their conversation seemed deep and serious. I moved a little closer to the door. Mandy and JP remained in their own world. I looked at Matthew, who smiled at me. “I’m taking a piss,” he said, and walked away. Was he serious? I looked at Emmett one more time before I slipped out the door.
JP had taken my phone, and I didn’t have my bag or anything, but I needed to get to the hotel and pack my stuff. I would leave this place and go home.
I kept looking over my shoulder the whole way back to the hotel, Emmett’s words for some reason taking form and coming to life like monsters. Every alleyway I feared I would be dragged down, every balding man reminded me of Matthew. Would he kill me? Had I been too hasty to leave? When I reached the hotel, my stiff shoulders relaxed slightly. My body screamed with tiredness, but I couldn't remove the image of Liam's face from my mind. I knew I had to get away as fast as I possibly could. What the hell had Grace gotten me into? The thought of Grace had me pausing. Would Grace be safe? I made a note to call her when I was at my destination. For now, I had to get moving before Emmett came looking for me.
Riley sat at the desk, and I plastered on my smile and told her I misplaced my bag, so I lost my key. She gave me another one while informing me that I would be charged for it. I smiled and told her that would be fine. No wonder this place could afford all the marble and gold.
I didn�
�t waste a second getting my stuff. I would have loved a shower. The bed looked inviting and my stomach rumbled, but I needed to leave. I packed my bag and got the eighty dollars cash that I had previously stuffed in my suitcase. I looked at the money in my hand, all the money I owned in the world. I would make it last. I took one final glance around the room before leaving. I opened the door and nearly walked right into Emmett. Motherfucker.
CHAPTER TEN
EMMETT BEFORE
I INSTRUCTED MATTHEW to keep an eye on Amber; she was a flight risk, and I couldn’t let her go. Right now, I needed to bring my attention back to Kirk. I wanted to tell him about my plan before I told the others.
“The Russians are demanding one of my crew be killed.”
“Are you going to kill me?” Kirk didn’t sound afraid. A numbness from Liam's death echoed in his words.
“No, Kirk I’m not. There’s no need to kill anyone. I’m going to tell them I killed Liam.”
I waited, as he cried behind his arm. “No, Emmett, I want those fuckers dead that killed him. If you say you did it, I can’t retaliate.”
Patience normally placed high on my talents, but right now, I didn't have the time. I understood his pain; I had lost a brother myself. “And you will, just not right now.” I said, and Kirk bowed his head.
“Okay,” he whispered, and I patted his back while looking up. Matthew walked towards us from the direction of the toilets.
“Where’s Amber?” I asked him, and he looked at the door.
“Oh, shit!” He took off out the front door. I didn’t waste a minute but rang the hotel, telling them the moment Amber arrived to tell me. I left the Gym and got Joe to drive me to the hotel. I didn’t pull up out front, but came in the service doors.
My phone rang as I made my way through the staff quarters. “Miss Green is in her room, Mr. Harrington.” Riley informed me.
I closed the phone and didn’t waste a moment as I made my way to her room. I had reached the door as it opened, and Amber nearly walked straight into me. Her green eyes blazed at me. She always looked so alive.
“Great, you packed,” I said, stretching around her and taking her bag, but like I knew she would, she yanked it back. I let her have control, even if it was just for a moment.
“I’m going home.” She tried to sound brave, but fear lingered in her words and eyes. Enforcing that fear seemed like a good idea. Reasoning with her could also work. To force her seemed more natural than what I ended up doing.
“I understand that this is all very confusing, but it is really for your safety, and it’s only for a few days.” She seemed to consider it, and for a moment, I felt this might be easy.
“No one knows me, Emmett. Seriously, you're being paranoid.”
“This is not a debate, Miss Green.” Her eyes fired up, her lips tightened, and I suppressed a grin at the expected reaction. She was so different from anyone I had ever met before.
“Don’t call me that. It’s fucking Amber!” She tried to move past me, and I let out a breath of annoyance.
“If you don’t come with me, you will die.” It really was that simple. Now she looked afraid, and that made me angry. I didn’t want her to be afraid, especially not of me.
“Are you threatening me?” I glanced awkwardly at the couple who walked past us, eyes narrowed and full of suspicion. This wasn’t helping. I pushed Amber back into the room. She protested loudly, and I closed the door.
“I am not the threat, Amber; I am trying to protect you.” She huffed for a moment longer and her shoulders sagged. She let out a final sigh before sitting heavily on the bed. Her nails became her main focus. There were small flecks of blood on her nails, and I assumed that was what had captured her attention. It had captured mine, and I wanted her to wash the blood off them, but I didn’t say anything.
“We need to leave now." I tried once more.
“A few days?” She looked at me now, her brows furrowed, darkening her eyes. Her face filled with an expression I had never seen there before, and one I didn’t know how to read. Reading her had become easy to me. I studied her for a few seconds longer, searching for an answer. “Emmett?” she questioned while shifting in her sitting position.
“Yes, a few days,” I answered her.
“Then I can go home, for good?”
My chest tightened at the thought of never seeing her again. The unfamiliar feeling irritated me. “If that’s what you want, then yes.” She finally got off the bed and reached for her bag, but I picked it up with relief that she was complying. “Just follow me,” I told her, and we left.
***
I closed the double doors to our meeting room. We hadn’t been here since I left my father’s side. A strangeness settled on my shoulders as I sat at the head of the table. Michael was to my right and Jax to my left, Matthew, JP and Kirk sat on the right also, and Philip, Marcus, and Ryan on the left, and one empty seat remained at the end. Liam had sat there. The seat was reserved for the newest members. We liked to keep the new recruits front and center. Now, the empty chair would be a reminder of what we lost.
“I was given terms, ones that I don’t expect any of you to follow. I have to make a drop, and I will do it on my own.”
“I’m in,” Michael said. I knew he would be; he was always with me.
“Me, too.” I nodded at Matthew. One after the other, they all declared themselves in.
“It’s getting us back into either guns or drugs." I declared as their faces fell one by one. I hated that I had gotten them all into this, especially after we had tried so hard to get out of it.
“You should have said no.” JP tore at a cigarette box, tearing it into tiny pieces.
“If I had said no, I wouldn’t be here. I also have to give up a crew member. Dead.” I wanted this over with quickly, for Kirk's sake. He stared at his hands now, while everyone else looked at each other. “So we will say I killed Liam.”
JP's chair bounced off the floor as he stood up abruptly, he scattered all the paper across the table. “Bullshit. Those pieces of shit have to die.” His fist hit the table. Jax and Ryan backed him with nods.
“Someone has to die JP, so if it’s not Liam, are you volunteering?" I asked. He stared at me for a moment, fists clenched, before sitting down. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the meeting.
“This threat, is it from Kirill?” Matthew asked. The change of topic I grabbed at. I didn't want to speak of Liam any longer than was necessary.
“Yes, but I’m more worried about his brother.”
“I hear he’s a mad bastard, eats his victims’ hearts,” Ryan spoke, his hand patting his heart for emphasis.
“Well, I killed his son…”
Too many questions were fired at once, and I told them about the fight with Viktor and how Kirill had set me up.
“We’ll be in hiding forever.” Matthew looked alarmed for the first time. Being the oldest of us, he had seen some decent amount of shit, so his concern spread quickly to the rest of the guys.
“I’ll figure something out.” I stated with authority. He relaxed and nodded. His confidence in me as a leader always confused me. He had been close to my father, but when I broke free, he left with me. He told me I was the type of leader he wanted to follow.
“So keep your families here, no phones, and internet, no one in or out unless one of us is with them. You know the drill.” Everyone agreed. We left the room and returned to the compound. I had left Amber in her room. I had no doubt she wouldn’t be there, but I wasn’t worried because there was no way out.
AMBER
The grey cement walls rose eleven feet into the air; the top was covered with spikes. I swallowed as I stared at the sharp metal. Was it to keep people out, or in, or both? I had walked the perimeter of the garden, shocked with how big this place was. It had been built like a fortress. The cameras zoomed everywhere I walked. The buzzing had me constantly looking over my shoulder at them and narrowing my eyes. At one stage, I gave it the finger.
“You can leave. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you.” His voice was familiar to me, but I couldn't pinpoint where I had heard it before.
“Leave the compound?” I asked.
He turned around now, a smile on his face. I remembered him. He was one of the security men from the hotel who had taken the poor man to the ground. “The bar,” he answered while raising his glass and knocking it back. I considered doing just that, but my need for a drink was stronger, so I made my way to the bar.
“And why would that be?” I asked, leaning across and getting myself a glass.
“Because of your friend being kicked out of the hotel.” So, he remembered. He filled my glass and his own.
“I’m here now, so we may as well drink.” We both did at the same time and he refilled them. I coughed as it burned my throat. The warmth of the liquid, as it made its way down my throat, was a welcome friend.
“Michael.” He held out his hand, and I took it, still reeling from the brandy.
“Amber.”
He smiled. “The new nurse.” He continued to smile that weird, knowing smile, and it pissed me off.
“Care to share?” I asked, refilling my glass, only this time I sipped it.
“Emmett likes you.” He said, his lip pulling up into a grin.
I snorted. “Yeah, I passed him there in the garden. He was picking flowers for my shrine.” I smiled as that got a laugh out of Michael.
