Page 63 of All That Glitters

Shock has me glancing up at him, mouth wide.

“Ah, there. I had a gut feeling, but you’ve proved it to me,” Parker replies smugly. “How many times has he shoved his tongue between those lips of yours, Empire? I knew there was more going on than the whole guardian-ward relationship he tried to sell me.”

I snap my attention to Marcus, and he’s still looking at me, his face giving nothing away. Rather than give Parker anymore ammunition against me, I swipe my hand underneath my eyes, and my skin comes away smeared with makeup.

Pangs of cold radiate up from my knees. I lean forward, shuddering at the sensation, at the harsh bits of emotion inside of me, scraping at my insides.

That little bit of movement has the goon stepping toward me once again, but Marcus hisses a low warning, and I lift my brows when the man stops.

“He thinks his little call is going to make all the difference,” Parker says. “As though it’s as simple as that. He values your life more than anyone else's, you know. Even his own, if you choose to believe him.”

I frown. “Why can’t you leave us alone?”

“It’s not as simple as you’d like to believe. It never is once you pull back the curtain. It’s time for you to stop living in the shadows, little girl. Time to see what really makes the world tick, and it’s not sunshine and rainbows,” Parker replies.

No, it’s not. It’s death and fire and bits of metal slashing through trees and digging into dirt.

Marcus prowls behind the desk, his gaze on me all the while, but he doesn’t sit. He nods his head once, twice. His lips are thin. “It’s a deal.” He says it loudly and clicks off the phone, setting it on his desk face down.

He braces his palms flat and takes a beat while Parker chuckles beside me.

“I take it that things didn’t go well for you,” he says.

Marcus glances up and captures my gaze once again. Something in his eye seems to beg me to pay attention, to listen. To forgive him. Everything inside of me tenses, and for a brief moment, I wonder if this isn’t another nightmare, and soon I’ll wake up screaming.

TWENTY-FOUR

Moment of truth.

What choice do I have?

Absolutely fucking none, because it’s back to the wall time. Fight and kill and debase myself or let Parker hurt Empire, which isn’t something I’m willing to entertain. So no, the call did not go the way I wanted it to go, but it went the way I knew it would. There are only black and white options when dealing with Stanic. I’m well aware of his movements and his proclivities, even if Parker deludes himself into thinking another way.

He’s been involved with the mafia longer than I have, but he has nothing left to lose, whereas I have everything. He’s in it for what he can get and what he will gain.

There are no excuses on my end.

No choices.

It won’t be so bad, I think, reaching toward the desk, to hang myself at the noose instead of her. It’s nothing I haven’t handled before, and I’ll be able to make it out again. I have to make it out.

For her.

It’s all for her, to make amends for what she lost at my hands. There’s no one else out there who will protect her. Not the way I will.

“Careful.” Parker pulls a gun out from the holster at the small of his back and reaches down to grab Empire in the same smooth movement. He hoists her to her feet, her features twisted with her yelp of pain, and sets her in front of him as a human shield.

I halt all movements, my fingers splayed to show him they’re empty.

“Will someone tell me what’s happening?” Empire whispers.

“Looks like Prince Charming here thinks he’s going to play the hero for you. I have news for him.” Parker angles the gun toward Empire, who sucks in a terrified breath. “There’s no way he’s getting out of this, and if he’s not careful, you won’t either.” He clicks off the safety in the next heartbeat.

“Marcus.”

There is only my name on her lips, and the air thickens in the room.

“Parker, calm down.”

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