Page 3 of Burn With Me

“There has been a change of plans,” he states, reaching into the right-side drawer of his desk and withdrawing a small metal box. He pops it and withdraws an uncut cigar. My eyebrows lift slightly. Of all things, I didn’t expect this.

I rock back on my feet, feeling my mood slowly shift. Slowly improving. “Has she rethought the marriage?” I can’t help but ask.

My father’s gaze shoots to me, a glare of warning in its depths. “She. Has. Not.” The vehemence in his words leads me to believe otherwise, but I keep my mouth shut as he snips the end of his cigar, puts it between his lips, and lights it. Smoke curls up from the flaring red end as he shakes the match and the flame goes out.

“Her daughter, on the other hand, is not as accepting of the union,” he continues. “She’s apparently refusing to come and Emilia is attempting to persuade her.”

Smart girl.

“Then she won’t be arriving tomorrow?” I ask.

“No.” One word and yet it holds all of the obvious irritation he’s barely restraining. “I’ve spent months seducing Emilia Summers, and she will be my wife,” he goes on after a moment. “This is merely a setback. From what I understand, she’s not close with her son. He hasn’t spoken to her in three years. I hadn’t considered that her daughter’s opinion would mean that much to her.”

“Of course not,” I say with a nod. Just as much as my opinion matters to him—which would be not at fucking all.

“There is some good news, however.” My father inhales another puff of his cigar and leans back in his chair. “The girl will be attending Hazelwood next fall.”

The slow snake of dread crawls up my throat. My mind runs a million miles per minute, trying to piece together the meaning behind his words before he says them.

“In two months’ time,” he continues, “Emilia’s daughter will be a student at Hazelwood. My relationship with her mother is of the utmost importance in the coming year, Isaac. I’ll need someone to watch her.” He lowers his head. “Very carefully.”

My jaw unhinges and drops. “You’re joking.”

Dark brows lower over his eyes and my back straightens automatically. Fear is always something my father has been a master at invoking. Even now, grown as I am, it’s an effort just to keep my gaze level with his. “She’s nobody,” I say quickly, bypassing the earlier comment. “A spoiled socialite probably attending Hazelwood with the thought of finding a husband of the same class. There’s no need to watch her.”

“That is not for you to decide,Son.” I swallow reflexively when he ashes his cigar into a crystal tray on the side of his desk. “If I say you are to watch her, then that means you do it. You do not question my judgment here.”

My teeth grind into each other, my jaw locking tight as I withhold the slew of curses that threaten to spill forward. “When?” is all I manage to get out after several seconds of utter silence.

“At the start of the semester,” he answers. “You will move into a location I have provided. You will live with Emilia Summers’ daughter. You will watch her and you will report back to me. With Emilia staying with her over the summer at some resort in Macau, I’ll have to push back the honeymoon, but it won’t matter.”

A thought fills my mind, and though I don’t want to make this meeting any longer than it has to be, I can’t stop the question from coming forward. “You’ve planned the Summers’ Industry takeover,” I begin. “Why do you think it’s necessary for me to watch the daughter? What could she possibly do to stop it now?”

My father watches me with a careful gaze. Thankfully, though, it’s not angry. He ashes his cigar once more and then sets it within the tray before leaning forward and steepling his hands together to rest his chin upon them.

“I do not like wild cards, Isaac,” he states. “Emilia was predictable until now. She’s left her daughter alone for months at a time, with little more than maids and cooks to look after her. It could be cold feet. It could also be her daughter’s influence. I want to know. A businessman must plan for every contingency, my son, and above all—never let a woman control you. They always manage to become great weaknesses when you care. Remember that, and make sure you keep an eye on her.”

“Yes, Sir.” Saying the words is the start of my dismissal. I turn and head back into the hallway. Once I’m out of his presence, my body takes on a mind of its own. My hands clench into fists and my upper lip curls back from my teeth. All of the expressions I couldn’t reveal in his presence come to the forefront.

Businessman? Fucking right. Damien Icari is no businessman. On paper he may be a genius—an inventor, the CEO of one of the fastest growing conglomerates in the world. Few know of its illusion, and I am one of them.

Emilia Summers is a fucking idiot for not seeing what a conniving bastard my father is. No woman in her right mind would marry Damien Icari if they knew what he really is—what our family really is.

Insidious.

Deviant.

Criminal.

And she just walked right into his trap.

2

RORI

2 months later…

Ihate going to places likeCornelia’swhere the dress code isrich-casual. They make my skin feel itchy. Anything less than designer will have the maître d’ turning up his nose and telling you that there’s a lovely fast food restaurant just down the road a few miles that would be more appropriate. But here I am, stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey into a Tory Burch dress borrowed from my mother’s extensive closet when I’d rather be in a pair of ripped jeans and Converse moving into Hazelwood’s dorms with my best friends.

---