Page 18 of Dust to Dust

"I've heard you say that before," She murmured in detest. Mila was referring to the man I turned to who sold me out. That night, my uncle's man found me and beat me to a pulp.

"This is different. You'll be doing this alone." I grinned.

Mila licked her lips, reminding me that I needed my supply of flavored lipgloss. My glosses helped take the edge off and trust me, everyone under this roof would be much happier if I was less edgy. "We attend Empire university. The home of the rich and powerful." Not famous, because fame was too ordinary and none of our fellow students were ordinary people. What was better than fame? Being anonymous. It was something you simply couldn't buy in today's world. Society tricked us into wanting to be famous and having our faces splashed everywhere. It made it harder to hide. Social media was a genius idea. It created a digital catalog of you forever traced. The people posted all their information for the world to see. That is why being anonymous was so rare and expensive. The truly powerful didn't want fame. They wanted puppets to control well they stayed hidden.

"I know our fellow student body Nova." Mila quipped.

"I'm not the only person who can get good fake credentials." I snorted. For most of our piers, buying a new identity would be as simple as walking into a department store and picking a new handbag off the rack. The problem was that Mila never ventured to that side of town; now that she had King as her last name, people would be very hesitant to help her. Dash was a shadow that loomed over her. No one would give her an escape knowing that Dash would be hunting them. Mila needed a puppet, and I knew the perfect boy whose strings she could pull, "I happen to know a sexy Irishman who has a liking for you, Mila."

Her head tilted, "You…no, no way, Nova. I can't do that to Dash."

Crossing my arms, I shook my head, "You want to run. To hurt him," I stressed, "to make him feel how you felt, but you don't want to what?" I threw my hands up in the air, "Make him think you looked to another guy for help?"

"You don't understand, Nova. I've done things, but I was withyou, things I said I would never do again." She lifted a trembling hand to her chest, "You breathed life into me. I don't want Blaze to think I'm leading him on. Heck, Blaze already kissed me; if I asked him for help, he'd want something in return. They always do…" she whispered hurt words.

Narrowing my grey eyes, I cursed the lack of lighting, which would have revealed more of her expression to me. It was easy to confess in the dark; the shadows swallowed up all your sins. The light showed everything.

I wanted to dig for more of the truth. As naive as Mila was, like all humans, she held secrets too. Dash's anger was aimed at something Mila had done in her past. "You haven't done anything that would make you lose your soul Mila." Hell, I wasn't suggesting she sleep with Blaze, merely use the feelings he had for her gain. Was that so terrible?

It's morally wrong,Ghost added.

We don't live in a world with morals, Ghost.I eyed the tattoo on my finger—the prime example. My uncle sold me to the Kings, the family that murdered his brother. Then I was forced to marry Titan. There was no moral compass in my world.

Mila started to chew her lip, but eventually, she confessed like she always did, "I promised myself…" she hesitated and struggled to speak, "I'd never go to a club again."

Wasn't dancing the night away and getting drunk a rite of passage for college students? "That's your big wrongdoing Mila? Did you promise yourself or Dash?" The latter was more likely because Dash was insanely jealous like all the King men. Us modern-day women wanted freedom from men, but we also craved being wanted by them. We loved how territorial men could be; anyone who claimed otherwise was full of shit. The biggest turn-on was having someone willing to fight for you and die for you.

"I don't want to talk about it," Mila whispered. I knew then that there was much more to her little story. It didn't take a genius to guess that something terrible happened to Mila in a club. As much as I wanted to push her, I needed to know where Titan went. My time was running out. "You want to escape; you know where to turn to now. Blaze's family runs weapons all along the northern coast of Canada and Europe. If anyone can make you disappear, it's him. If you are too worried it will bruise Dash, then don't run because, trust me, Dash is going to be livid. Dash will be out for blood until he finds you again."And it will be beautiful.

"I want him to hurt," She said in haste.

"Where is Dash?" I asked. I didn't have the time or energy to be her cheerleader in corruption tonight. I planted my seeds, and now I had to be patient and watch them thrive.

Mila's eyes flicked to the door, "He's in some meeting again."

I raised a brow, "What kind of meeting?"

She adjusted the sheets and started to look sleepy again, "I'm not sure. He and the guys' meet in the basement a few times a month."

I uncrossed my legs and kicked them straight. "You don't ask," I questioned in disbelief.

"No, Nova, I don't ask, and I honestly don't care." She sneered.Someone needs her beauty sleep!

I stood from Dash's bed, pulled the covers up, and tucked her in, "Sleep tight." I joked as I exited the room.

It took me over fifteen minutes to find the entrance to the basement. Whoever was last to enter didn't close the door all the way, which was a blessing. The door was iron clad and had an iris scanner on the outside. If it had been correctly shut, I never would have gotten in. Lady luck was on my side tonight.

With light steps, I heard Damian, Titan, and Dash, along with other men, as I made my way down the stairs. Each step I took had to be made with precision and balance. I had to shift my weight to ensure the wooden steps didn't creek and alert them to my presence. Like a lion stalking its prey, I was slow and crouched, waiting to strike. Just a few steps from the landing, I sat down on the step and watched. The basement was small, only about the size of a primary bedroom. The Kings' first mistake was having all the computer screens on the far wall. They were forced to have their backs to the entry in the current position. You always had to guard your back. What fools! I sat back and crossed my legs as they conducted some type of meeting with other men.

There was another man with the three Kings. I almost didn't see the chair he was sitting in because he was so damn huge. Not fat, but massive! An enormous back blocked out a section of the screens. Thank god he wasn't a guard in the house. I didn't want to go toe to toe with him.

Looking past the giant, I studied the wall of the screens to see if I recognized anyone else. The first screen to the left was a seriously sexy man with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. I never thought a man wearing a ponytail could be hot, but I was wrong. He held an ax, like a real ax. The hilt was short enough that it could be strapped to a belt without hindering your steps. Too small to chop a tree down, but the sharp blade's shine was primed for killing. Very odd indeed.

The middle screen showed a man that was stunning in a regal way. With thick black hair that curled at the ends, he had olive skin that looked like the crust of a pie you wanted to nibble on.Who doesn't love apple pie?The man kept his middle finger under his chin as his index finger stroked his temple in thought. He presented a calm and orderly presence, but I doubted he was anything but. That was a mask, and under the guise lurked monsters. Trust me. I was a master of slipping on a cover to conceal who I truly was.

"Do you agree, Titan?" The man who looked like a royal spoke, drawing my attention back to his thick, black curls. He had a slight Italian accent that sounded smooth like milk chocolate. Hell, I was hungry for apple pie, chocolate and…Titan. As hot as these men on the screens were, no one compared to the boy that killed me.

Titan nodded, running his hand through his tussled blonde halo. I could tell by how he clenched his jaw that he wasn't happy. What did he agree to?

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