Page 51 of Into the Light

“How so?”

“Because she was close to Ash and Walsh. She’s just as determined as we are to solve this mystery.”

“Is that why I have one of my former associates tailing her at all times?” Mr. Ortiz responded with an air of composure that made me struggle to remain still in my seat.

“Exactly. Now you’re grasping the essence of what we mean. We’re merely safeguarding our asset here.”

Mr. Ortiz cocked his head to the side, sporting a smug look that made me wish I could rip the words right from his mouth. “So, where did the funding originate from to employ this Mr. Santiago Torres?”

“From my trust. Before my father passed away, he set up a trust fund for me, so it’s coming from my resources.” It was a half-truth. Santiago’s annual salary was covered by Ash, but the majority of the initial funds to hire him had come from my pocket.

Honestly, it all seemed absurd because Ember didn’t even require the money. Her father had amassed enough wealth to provide for her comfortably for the rest of her life. However, I desired to give her the life she deserved. I yearned to be the one to protect her, and that’s why I had made it my personal mission to do so.

“And you are doing this all for the betterment of the organization? Because after the little stunt you pulled this week by gathering allmymen, I needed to come by to make it very clear what was happening, and I think maybe you needed a reminder of who is in charge.” That was it. I fucking lost it. The rage I’d been working hard on repressing in my soul was finally coming out to play.

I leaped to my feet and turned to leave the room. Nobody left Mr. Ortiz unless they were properly dismissed, but I was changing that rule because I didn’t give a fuck about what this man said, I was thoroughly pissed off.

“You think I asked to be in this position?” I bellowed as if I was trying to awaken the spirits inside the walls. “Yeah, fuck you man.”

Shit, I was on a roll, because rule number two was that no one screamed or dared tell Mr. Ortiz he was wrong. The man was never wrong . . . until today.

“Excuse me?” Mr. Ortiz said while folding his arms across his chest. His demeanor hadn’t changed. While I was throwing my version of an adult temper tantrum, he was stoic.

“I never wanted to be a part of this family. I shouldn’t have to pay for the sacrificial lamb you used my father in some greater scheme at getting back at the Mafia. I shouldn’t have to atone for him getting caught and your whole operation fucking sinking. I didn’t want to fucking live with your tyrant ass nor did I demand it.” I shoved my hands in my pocket.

“Therefore, when Ash passed away, really you should be taking a fucking mirror and looking back at yourself when you speak about him or want to figure out what happened to him.” That was a low blow, but the words came out before I could register and pull them back in.

Pico stared at me and cocked his head to the side in a gesture I didn’t quite recognize, but the bubbling rage and anger grew from inside me like a demon desperate to claw its way out. There was no stopping it.

Call it whatever you wanted—a product of the trauma I had to endure growing up, the guilt and shame I carried over Ash’s life, or my own insecurities, but the deep-rooted pain was on the surface. There was no way to tuck it back now.

“Rain, you need to watch what you are saying because words are irreversible,” Mr. Ortiz stated.

“Good because I mean every damned thing that I am saying. I don’t want this life. I never fucking did. I want to live in a small house, write thriller novels in the country, and live peacefully away from all of this shit.” My breath was harsh, my breathing ragged, and the pain in my chest was exploding throughout my entire body.

Pico was coughing, and it took the time of my entire body regulating back to normal before I shot a look in his direction. He was cocking his head to the side, but still trying to play it cool, and while Mr. Ortiz stared at me, I attempted to look in the direction he was silently gesturing to.

And that is when I saw her. Standing in the dark shadows of the room, was Ember. I looked behind me. It was dark, and I hadn’t checked my phone because I was too busy prancing around with Mr. Ortiz to even know. She had tears glossing her eyes, and I so desperately wanted to shove this motherfucker out of the way so I could run to her and ask her what was wrong.

“I’ll figure out what happened with the . . . account,” I stated, uncertain of how much Ember had overheard. I wanted to fill her in later, but also needed to leave calmly to avoid alerting Mr. Ortiz to our guest.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go,” I mumbled, but his hand shot up toward me, grabbing right underneath my elbow and squeezing tightly.

“You do not go until I give you permission to,” he grumbled.

“No.” I stood my ground this time. “I need to leave. I’ve done enough of hosting for the evening. I have classes that I need to finish.”

“Listen to me, boy. You sit your ass down . . .”

“Or what?” I shrugged. At this point, anything was better than staying here, and this fucking asshole wasn’t dumb enough to shoot me in the living room of the Den, so I didn’t give a fuck what he was threatening.

“Listen,” I calmly added, regaining the normalcy throughout my body, with Ember’s presence grounding me further. She felt . . . safe. “To be honest, whatever plan you have concocted to figure out where the money went, the schematics are going to go over my head. Pico here is a better person to understand all of this. In fact, dare I say he probably is the better person to lead this entire fraternity, but I don’t think you’re quite ready to have that part of the conversation just yet.”

Mr. Ortiz rose after I concluded my little speech before looking at Pico. “Is this why you gave the girl the tattoo? I know my son didn’t agree with my command, but you were the one who gave it to her.”

Swallowing hard, I felt ashamed. Giving Ember the tattoo wasn’t my choice; this place forced me to do it. But I also knew that by doing it, she would be safe. He’d protect her. I’d protect her. She was ours in some twisted way.

“I gave it to her because it was a command my higher up demanded. I gave it to her because I couldn’t imagine her being drugged and worse happening to her so at least if she was with me, then she was safe.”

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