by C. Lymari
Ember’s face lit up with a wicked smile. My back had burned when I’d taken a hot shower. I wasn’t the only one inflicting pain last night.
“It does make me feel a little better. But next time, I can do it.”
“You know how to wrap a rib?” I raised my eyebrow at her.
“No, but you do. You can teach me.” She smiled at me, but it wasn’t sweet. It was a warning.
I reached out for her, bringing her body between my legs.
“I need to do some things with Gideon, so I won’t be around much. It should take one or two days, but I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
I grabbed the plate of food that was next to me and handed it to her. It was nothing special, just a breakfast sandwich since I noticed she was fond of them.
“What am I supposed to do? Just stay here and listen to Pam call me names? It’s starting to feel like I’m a prisoner.”
Slowly I got up, my hand going to her nape. She had yet to notice I clutched her diamonds in them. I brought my other hand around and put the choker on her neck. I heard her small surprised gasp, but ignored it as I worked the clasp.
“You didn’t get rid of it…”
“It was the only thing of you I had,” I confessed.
“Okay. I’ll stay, but I want to go to the fight.”
“Ember.” Like hell if I would bring her with me.
“No, don’t. I’ve been a prisoner all last year. I couldn’t fucking leave anywhere. I hated it, Ren. I hated every fucking second I was trapped. You do that to me, and I swear to God, I’ll find a way to leave you too.”
“Like hell you are.” I seethed. “You leave, Ember, and I swear I will drag your ass out of whatever hole you try to crawl under.”
“Then, I guess you’re taking me.” The little bitch smiled at me as she took a bite of her sandwich.
I ran my hand through my hair as I went for the door. Maybe now was not the best time to tell Ember that if we didn’t get answers, our lives would be lived in hiding. Just as I stepped through the threshold, Ember slipped her delicate small hand in mine. I didn’t turn back to look at her but gripped her a little tighter.
“It smells like sex down here.” Ember scrunched her nose as we made it to the foyer.
Gideon was leaning on the couch in just his jeans. “Is there any part of your body that wasn’t claimed?”
“Probably about as much of your skin that doesn’t have tattoos,” Ember bit back.
“So, tell me. How does an heiress end up with him?” G pointed a finger at me.
“He got kinda obsessed with me and sought me out,” Ember said as she sat down across from Gideon.
I sat next to her, then brought her to my lap.
“You’re trouble. I like you,” he told her, then turned to me. “I’ll get my shit and we can go.”
I needed to get my shit too.
Ember turned around, gently straddling me. “Thank you.”
She leaned down to kiss my lips with soft, unhurried strokes.
“I’m going to fix everything,” I said.
The smile faded from her face, and I saw it clear as day the shadows that hid in her gaze. “Not everything can be fixed.”
I sure as hell was willing to die trying.
When Gideon came out, I gave Ember a quick kiss. “Left you something in the drawer.”
I walked out the door without looking back.
“So the rumors are true? The enforcer is a woman?” I asked Gideon as we waited across the street in front of Remington’s headquarters.
“Don’t underestimate the bitch. She’s like snow: beautiful, but cold.”
When we left the house, the first thing we did was find a bookie with intel so I could go in the ring. After that, we came to the headquarters.
“I want you to go to the reception.”
“Why?”
I ignored Gideon and kept going. “You’ll like Clare. She’s your type.”
“Oh, so you know my type?”
“Pretty, nice body with a pussy is your type,” I replied. “I want you to ask about Ember. Say you’re an old friend and it’s been a minute since you’ve seen her. If you see her, get on the phone or send a text, excuse yourself, and meet me where I told you.”
Gideon got up. “Is there anything else you need me to do? Take you on a date? Buy you dinner? Suck your dick?”
“How the fuck are you still alive?”
“Don’t know, mate.”
Gideon was gone for ten minutes before he came out. He didn’t come straight to me; he wasn’t stupid. He disappeared into the crowd. No less than two minutes later, bodyguards from Silas’s personal guard were outside and looking for him. At five minutes, Silas came out pissed as hell and went straight into his car. I got in my car and followed him, trusting that Gideon would know what to do on his own.
Silas made a stop at Ember’s place. He got out, slamming the door and rushing inside. I waited about twenty minutes for him to come out, looking not much better than when he went in. I waited for him to leave, trying not to gloat at the fact that Gio was nowhere to be seen. Revenge was good.
Half an hour later, I found myself across town. I grabbed my black cap and put it on as I went to the doctor’s office. The place was fancy, with two people waiting in white chairs. I made my way to the desk and asked for Dr. Wozniak.
“I’m sorry,” the frigid receptionist said. “He’s not taking new patients right now.”
“I work for the Remingtons,” I spat at her.
Her eyes widened, and she got up and went in search of the doctor. A few minutes later, the old man came out, his eyes wildly scanning the room.
“Doc,” I greeted, tipping my head back so he could see my face. When his eyes widened in recognition, I stepped closer. “Can we take this somewhere more private?”
He nodded and led me to the back toward his office.
I took a seat in a chair without him having to tell me and removed my cap. “Why aren’t you calling the cops?”
The doctor did have the decency to look scared in my presence, but he still opened his mouth.
“I don’t believe you raped Ember.”
“Yeah, I don’t believe I did either.” I sighed.
“I know you helped her escape.” His eyes danced with fear.
“Ember is safe; she’s with me.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to understand. I need you to tell me everything about that family and everything you’ve heard and/or know. I also want to know how Michael is doing, and here’s a list of things I need from you.” I pulled a paper from my back pocket and gave it to him.
I stayed with him for about twenty minutes before reminding him that I would be back tomorrow for the things I requested.
The sun was starting to set by the time I got in my car. The drive was going to be long, and dark would settle when I arrived at my destination. Gideon was already waiting for me at a park across from a posh community.
“According to what Pam told me, he should be coming this way for a quick jog,” he told me, taking a hit of his joint and passing it to me.
I took a hit and waited. He always came like clockwork. Habits were a good thing to have unless you fucked over someone like me that could use them to exploit you.
Five minutes later, I saw a lone man coming, a slow jog getting his body warmed up. I smiled to myself, my blood humming with revenge and thirst coursing through my veins.
“Showtime,” I mumbled.
Gideon stayed back as I stepped out of the shadows. I was wearing all black and had my leather gloves on because one could never be too careful. The man was getting closer, and just as he was going to pass me, I greeted him.
“Hello, Mattias.”
He stopped dead when he saw my face. He recognized me right away, or he knew more than he let on.
“Y-y-you.”
“Come on, let’s have a quick chat,” I said—it sounded almost nice.
“Let’s go for a quick drive, mate.”
Mattias looked around, hoping for someone to save him. People rarely gave a shit about others; no one would be saving him tonight. He got in the back of the car with G while I got in the driver’s seat, and as soon as he was in, Gideon put a handkerchief with chloroform on his nose, knocking him out cold. The drive went fast since it was nighttime.
We drove to the shady side of town, where it was full of warehouses. We drove past the ones that were in use, coming to a halt to one that had not seen use in the last three years.
I had scouted this area in the last year, keeping this place in mind to start my revenge. Unfortunately, I’d had to take a step back on Mattias so I could rest, but watching Gideon have fun with him was somewhat worth it.
Between me and G, we carried Mattias to the warehouse. We sat him on the lone chair as we bound his hands and tied his legs together. Uncapping the water bottle I’d brought from the car, I poured it on Mattias’s face. He came conscious with a gasp only to be met with water.
I fed off the fear in his eyes. There was something so enticing about how the human body responded to that specific emotion. It was almost the same as it responded to being excited or aroused. Dilated pupils, racing heart, labored breathing, and feeling like your skin was on fire, and you wanted to get out of it.
“You like your life, Mattias?” I asked.
“I have money…” he started to say right away.
Rich prick. They were all the same. They thought that pouring some money on it would make their problems go away.
“Is he calling us broke?” G sounded offended. “Are you broke, mate? ‘Cause I’m not.”
“It’s not about money. You can keep your money.” I took a step toward him until I was in front of him and he was looking up at me. “I’m not wearing a mask.”
He understood the meaning of my words. When you were kidnapped in hopes of getting cash from you, your kidnappers were masked to keep their identities hidden. I wasn’t hiding shit.
I stepped back and gave a nod so G could do his thing. The fucker looked happy like a kid at the park, ready to let loose. He circled Mattias’s chair, smiling at him until he walked behind him and held a knife to his throat.
The stench of piss hit the air.
“Fuck, you didn’t even last, dick.” Gideon groaned. “He pissed himself so soon.”
“W-w-what do-do y-y-you w-w-want?”
“Why didn’t you give Ember her inheritance?”
“S-s-she’s reckless.”
“G” was all I said, and he pressed the blade harder enough to pierce the skin.
“Why did you keep cutting Ember off?”
“I-I-I just handle t-t-the accounts. It’s my job to make sure she’s responsible.”
“Do it,” I instructed.
Gideon removed the blade he had against Mattias’s throat and brought it down to his thigh, making Mattias’s screams echo through the warehouse.
“How much pain you get is up to you. Keep lying to me, and next, you’ll find out how it feels to have a knife wedged in your elbow socket.”
Gideon gently massaged Mattias’s shoulders. “I’m all for you lying again.”
Shaking my head, I ignored him.
“Why didn’t you want Ember to have control of her money?”
“I-I-I d-d-didn’t care. S-s-Si-Silas was the one who told me to do it.”
The answer didn’t surprise me in the least, but it just added fuel to the burning rage I felt toward him.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” Mattias sobbed like a little bitch.
Walking up to him, I grabbed the hilt of the knife, and I twisted it slowly in a clockwise motion as he howled in pain. Blood had already soaked through his pants.
“He’ll kill me…”
Mattias spat.
Ignoring the pain in my ribs, I hunched over so I could look him in the eyes. “Do you think I’m stupid? I saw the way you looked at her at that board meeting. You loathe her. Now, I don’t know if it’s jealousy that a spoiled little bitch has more money than you’ll ever have with your fancy degrees. So, you probably got off on cutting her off every time Silas snapped his fingers at you to do so… Now tell me why he voted for her not to get her inheritance.”
I believed Silas had something on him. He got control of the board, and I wouldn’t have put it past him to play dirty. The only mistake Mattias had made was being more scared of Silas than me.
“Take it out,” I instructed.
Gideon added pressure on the knife, then pulled it out, leaving a bloody mess in the process. “Six to eight hours. That’s how long it’ll take for you to bleed out. Now, I have no problem leaving you here. Have your throat burn as you yell for help while no one hears your pleas. Or I can drop your ass off the hospital; just tell me what I want to know.”
Letting out a defeated sigh, Mattias started to speak. “She was supposed to get her inheritance at twenty-five unless she wasn’t ready…but at thirty, she is set to inherit everything. Her grandfather left it all to her.”
Gideon let out a slow whistle. I never knew I could be so furious on someone else’s behalf, but I felt like I was ready to breathe fire. They treated Ember like a child, a prisoner, and she was going to own all their asses.
“Is there a way for Silas to get it all?”
“O-o-only i-if she dies.”
Like I would let that happen.
I got closer again and patted his cheek. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Please, please don’t kill me.”
“This is what’s going to happen…”
Mattias hung on to every word I said.
“I’m going to drop your miserable ass at the hospital. Now, if you get any funny ideas of reporting us to the cops…”
I nodded to Gideon, who came to stand in front of Mattias again. From his back pocket, he pulled out a picture of his wife and daughter.
“They look like my type, don’t they?” G asked me.
“Sure do.”
“I like fucking my victims before I kill them. A nasty little habit, but you know how it is, right?”
Mattias was sobbing again. “Please don’t hurt them. I won’t say anything.”
“I know you won’t…but just in case, remember that if you do speak, what we did to you is a dream compared to what we will do to them.”
His eyes widened, and despite the fear and the pain, he got my message loud and clear.
“Can I do it now?” G seemed excited.
“Make it quick.”
He took the bloody knife and pressed it to Mattias’s pinky, and he cut off the tip. Mattias’s sobs made the warehouse tremble; he sobbed so loud that he passed out.
“Do you want to keep this?” Gideon asked me as he held up the piece of meat in his hands.
“No.”
“I’ll throw it in the river.” He shrugged it off.
We carried Mattias back to the car, knowing we still had a few hours before he bled out.
While Gideon waited for me, I brought bleach and poured it all over the floor, washing away any of Mattias’s DNA. Once that was done, I got in the car, and we drove to the seediest part of town and dropped Mattias off in the first empty space we found. As I drove away, Gideon called 9-1-1 from his burner phone.
Dawn was beginning to break by the time I was ready to drive back home. I still had a few things to get before I went back to Ember.
The coffee shop was busy this time of the morning. I found the doctor shuffled in the same booth Ember had been when she was here.
“Did you get what I asked for?”
The doctor jumped at my voice. He sat a little straighter upon seeing me.
“Can I speak to her?” He held on to a black bag
“No, but only becau
se it’s not safe. I assume you know about the predicament she’s in?”
The doctor nodded. “I’ve been with the Remingtons since Michael was a teenager. I saw to him, his parents, and when Silas came along, him briefly.”
“Why do you say it like that?”
“He was an angry boy. I suggested therapy, which Mr. Remington did, but there was nothing wrong. It was as if Silas tried to be the opposite of what I suggested was wrong with him.”
I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t ask the question that was on the tip of my tongue.
“I’ll get her out of this alive,” I assured him since I could see he was fond of her.
Ember had a way of drawing you in, and once you were in, you didn’t want to leave.
The doctor handed me the bag. He looked like he wanted to say more, so I waited him out, staring him down.
“Be careful. Silas was enraged when he heard that you took Ember. He wants you dead.”
“How do you know?”
“Michael stays in her room. He misses her, and that’s where his at-home care is set up. On the day of the parade, he came to the penthouse to work out his anger on Michael.”
Processing the words, I nodded to the doctor and said goodbye. Before I left, I ordered Ember some food. When I got to the car, Gideon was bitching I didn’t get him anything, so we had to make another detour.
By the time I got back to the house, I was tired and my chest on fire.
“Whose house is this anyway?” he asked.
“An acquaintance I do business for. He lives in San Francisco.”
The guy was a lawyer with some shady dealings. He usually contacted Pam or me to get the information he couldn’t always get on his own. Not without arousing suspicion. When we came over here, I told him I wouldn’t be around, and he offered his place. I knew he would cash in on this favor when it was convenient for him.
The house was quiet when we walked in. Usually, Pam was up earlier and Ember was probably in the room sulking. I went to the kitchen and grabbed two garbage bags—one for me and the other for Gideon.
“What the hell happened to you?” Gideon mocked as we walked into the living room where Pam was seated watching television.