Page 62 of All That Glitters

The others are too engrossed in their argument to care when I scuttle around toward the back of the house and the door I know is unlocked.

Sneaking back inside is easier than getting control of myself. No matter how hard I try, I'm so far from calm, it’s making me sick. I stop halfway around the side of the house as I hear Marcus snap something that sounds like my name.

It takes me that long to realize I no longer hear the two of them fighting. Whatever sort of yelling match they’d started ended abruptly.

“Not Empire. No.”

He’s definitely talking about me, but his voice is too low for me to have any idea what he’s saying. I pause, my knees in the dirt, hands in front of me to keep steady.

There’s a pause, and then Marcus answers, “Non-negotiable, I’m afraid.”

He’s on the phone.

But I haven’t heard the crunch of tires or anything, so Parker is still here. Who is Marcus talking to? Who the hell would he have stopped to call right now? Not Sherry.

It strikes me how little I know about him. The man I love, the one I claim to love, is nothing but astranger to me. I have to get out of there before he realizes I’ve been listening, but it’s impossible to make myself move.

“If we’re going to work together, I need to be assured of her safety. Yes. Yes, I ‘m willing to do whatever you need me to do,” Marcus murmurs. “Parker? He’s still here.” He pauses for a beat before saying, “Yes, it’s not a problem.”

I strain to hear him and try to figure out who the hell is on the other end of that call.

“Well, what do we have here?”

The rest of the breath drives out of my body when two massive arms wrap around my torso and yank me backward. My feet kick against open air, my body bent back at an odd angle.

“We’ve got a little mouse sneaking around, trying to hear things she’s not ready to hear, huh?” The man’s breath is hot on my ear. Goosebumps erupt down my arms and along my shoulders as he drags me out of the bushes into the open. “What did you hear?”

“Let go of me! Let go.” I kick and again find no purchase.

He squeezes hard enough to quiet those words and I gasp, struggling against his hold. He’s got me from the back, his arms across my chest tighter than a straitjacket, my legs far enough away from his body to ensure he’s safe and I’m ineffective.

“I can see why they’re so taken with you,” the goon continues, waddling toward the back door. “You’re even prettier in person. And eighteen. You’re legal.”

I struggle against his hold, but nothing I do helps.

He throws me over his shoulder to free up an arm, the jolt of his bone into my ribs making me go temporarily still while he opens the sliding glass doors. Unlocked.

Why are they unlocked?

The goon strides through the house like he owns the place and unerringly finds his way to the office where the two men must have moved their conversation.

“Nice, sweet ass, too.” The man slaps me across one cheek and then the other on his way down the hall. “It’s a shame you’re untouchable.”

He angles through the open door and drops me to the floor, his hand fisted in my hair and pulling painfully before I have a chance to escape.

“Look like we have a visitor,” he tells the others. “Were you expecting her home so early?”

I look up and meet Marcus’ eyes, then Parker’s, who looks gleeful at the interruption.

“Perfect timing, Empire,” he murmurs. “Won’t you have a seat and join us?” He snaps his fingers, and the man slowly untangles himself from me.

I grit my teeth against the pain, still crying, still panicked. The man shoves me into the empty chair in front of my father’s desk. Marcus maintains eye contact through the conversation with whoever is on the other end of the phone.

“What did you hear?” Parker asks while we both wait for Marcus to finish up.

I shake my head, dropping my gaze to the ground and refusing to answer him.

“Oh, come now. I’m sure there’s a lot you want to say to me, all of it trapped in your throat. Should I try my hand at getting those words to dislodge?”

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