Page 69 of All That Glitters

TWENTY-SIX

Istay with Empire until she drifts off to sleep, the adrenaline leaving her in a rush. The crash is sometimes worse than the initial buzz in the system. Her shaking stops, her eyes flutter closed, and her breathing evens out as I watch.

What would I not do for this precious girl? She’s been through so much, and instead of helping her clear her mind, to be happy, I brought darkness to her door, and I’m not strong enough to walk away.

Not from her.

She starts to jerk, sleep taking her, her nostrils flaring and her eyes rolling around.

Whatever nightmares she has tonight will be on me, too. She’ll probably see Parker die again and again, shot before he had a chance to pull the trigger. I’ll remember the blood spatter on her and the dark trails of crimson mingling with her tears.

It’s an effort not to touch her, to not gather her in my arms again and rock her, cradle her, step in front of every bullet that will surely be headed our way after this.

Fuck me.

Nothing about this day went accordingly, and now, I’ve got to deal with not only making sure a body is hidden, but another meeting. I’d promised Stanic as part of our new arrangement. Thinking about him now brought much needed clarity, like the slice of a knife across my wrist.

I slowly pry myself off the mattress and leave Empire dozing, tucking the blankets tighter around her.

Six pm tonight. I glance at my watch. I've got about an hour before I have to drag my ass downtown to the one place I promised I’d never be again. Good thing I didn’t gamble. This is one bet I would have lost.

He isn’t a man willing to wait to get the wheels moving. My move back to the top of the pile meant a certain amount of transition that had to be considered immediately. Every step counted, but at least things at home were partially settled before I headed out.

One last look at her. Too pale, but her features are soft in sleep.

She deserves to rest.

Because pretty soon, things are going to go from bad to worse, and although I promised to do my best to protect her, shit happened.

I shove the hair out of my eyes and walk out of the room leaving the door slightly ajar behind me.

Once I’m back in the office, a trail of blood leading out the door and abruptly ending, I send off a few quick texts to my assistant, just to make sure the rest of my things are in order before the meeting.

By the time I’m ready to go, Empire still hasn’t woken up. I don’t have men in place yet to watch her in my absence. I pause at the door and palm my car keys. Will she be safe without me here?

It’s a risk I’ve got to take, because Stanic doesn’t handle tardiness well. Or anything, really. He’s a volatile toddler with enough money and guns to be an actual problem.

And he knows how much she means to me.

Which hopefully gives her more clout than anything else, considering she might be the perfect bargaining chip if I don’t fall in line.

I draw in a deep breath and head out to the car.

Every step I take back to that place is an unraveling of how much effort it took to get out in the first place.

Stanic’s palace is only a block off Rodeo, in a nondescript building no one would pick out as a den of iniquity, a hotbed of illegal bullshit, just as no one would pick Stanic out of a crowd and pinpoint him as a mafia kingpin. It’s his key to survival.

I have to remember I had a choice.

I chose this path.

Would I change a thing?

I think about it on the way to the office, with plenty of time to spare. I’m not sure. Changing my past takes me away from Empire. Out of her presence, out of her sphere of influence and social caste, everything.

The past is the past, I silently assure my reflection in the rearview mirror. Now, I’ve got to make sure my past doesn’t touch her. It’s that simple.

I find a spot down the street and walk the rest of the way. Tall, clean buildings. Swaying palm trees in a sky darkening from pale robin egg blue to a deeper peach and gold. The others walking along giggle and lap at their ice cream cones, swinging shopping bags stamped with designer labels.

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