Page 53 of Falcon's Prey

“It’s true,” Marcus said, sending a hateful look toward Ren. “He had a knife to her throat.”

That’s when everyone looked at Ren and me, and I knew it wasn’t hard to believe. Looking at Silas’s eyes, I knew I had hell to pay if I spoke up. I was going to open my mouth, but when Silas did, he brought a piece of my world crashing down.

“I need you to handle this, Gio. Sammy is dead.”

Another piece I didn’t know I still had chipped off and disintegrated. Silas was letting me know I was fucked. I bowed my head, not wanting to let anyone see the hurt. I gave myself a moment but snapped out of it when I heard the shuffling of the men coming for Ren. I looked up at him, but he was unusually calm. Either he knew he was fucked or was waiting for me to say something. He didn’t even look at me; his eyes were on Silas.

“Tell them the truth, Ember,” he said, low and controlled.

“This man raped my niece. Someone take him out of here,” Silas said over him.

I looked at Ren, and I begged forgiveness with my gaze. The words he wanted to hear, I could never say. I was nothing but prey in this tangled game. Gio was more than happy to make comply, and when I didn’t say anything, I saw the way Ren’s eyes became frosty. Moments ago, they burned with lust, and now they were ice. I turned my head to the side, and the metal from the scalpel caught my eyes. I wrapped the tuxedo around myself, bending a bit so I could pick up the small knife.

“Wait,” I said, and the men did as I said because we were at a party full of people. I reached for my torn skirt and the scalpel at the same time, hiding it within the shredded material. Slowly, I got up, aware there were some gasps. I couldn’t even look at Ren; I didn’t want to see his hate.

“He has the Ember,” I stated as I reached for his pocket to pull it out. I let my hair shield my face as I tilted it to the side. “I’m so sorry.”

My whisper was barely audible, but I knew he heard it because he sucked in a breath. He held it when I put the scalpel in his pocket as I took out the diamond.

“You. Will. Pay. For. This.” He spat the words as Gio grabbed him.

I looked up, watching Ren get dragged away from me. Time seemed to go back to normal, making it all go to chaos. People started shouting, and I was in Silas’s angry embrace as he led me out of the maze. The yard was full of guests as we emerged, all of them looking at me. At that moment, I realized I was living the thing I most feared Silas would do. I looked left, and I looked right, and there was no sign of Ren Falcon anywhere.

Then there was another silence as soon as gunshots were heard.

I should have told him.

I should have trusted him.

All I did was damn him.

Part Two

“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as the night, and when you move fall like a thunderbolt.”

– Sun Tzu,The Art of War

Revenge

The taste of betrayal still lingered on my lips. The essence was rooted deep in my breath so that with every inhale, I felt it stabbing my ribs. Sounds of pain and pleasure accompanied me at night, barely letting me get any sleep, keeping my misery company. And a thirst for revenge was the only thing that made me go on another day.

Ember Remington was going to watch as I took everything from her, and I would laugh at her as she saw my true face.

One year later

Rememberwhat I said about a woman not being able to be owned? Yeah, I was wrong. My bad. Everything you did always came back around, and my turn had come, and I was now paying for it.

My hand went to my neck out of habit more than anything, missing the feel of my mother’s choker hugging my tender skin. And I couldn’t think about it without thinking of Ren. Amid chaos, I forgot he held a piece of my heart with him. Or maybe I didn’t forget, and I wanted him to keep it so he wouldn’t forget me.

If by some miracle he was still alive, I was sure he’d remember the girl who stuck a knife at his back.

Rolling over, I reached for the tray that was on the nightstand. Grabbing my vial, I made lines and snorted. The coke made its way into my system fast, already numbing me.

When the door to my bathroom opened, Silas walked out wrapped in a towel like he owned the place—and right now, he did. You see, a year ago, everything changed. My fate was now in his hands more than ever. With Sammy now gone and six feet under, there was no one to watch over me.

As for my father? Well, he woke up from his coma, but now he was even more useless than before. I didn’t understand why Silas didn’t just throw my father in a rehab center and call it a day.

I was sure I was missing something, but the drugs in my system clouded my mind. It was the only way I could escape the bed I had made. Silas took everything from me. If I thought I had it bad before, it was nothing compared to now. He controlled our assets, and he agreed with the board that I was a liability. He moved me to his apartment, where I was now a prisoner with a penthouse view. As for my father, he was in my old home, where he had Dr. W go in and check on him and a group of nurses that watched over him day and night.

---