Page 12 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

“Thank you, Mr. Archer.” He offers me a quick bow and then leaves.

I wait until he reaches the top of the stairs to close the door. “He’s gone.”

“Okay.” She shakes her hands as she crosses the room to pour water in a glass.

I retrieve the vial in my pocket and empty its contents in the water. The red liquid swirls as it makes its way to the bottom. Chuck is going to feel like shit in the morning. But at least this way, he won’t wake up regretting yet another fight with his father.

“How did you know he was going to get this drunk?” Gardenia hands me the glass.

“His father has this effect on him. Chuck hates that nothing he does ever pleases the Senator. So he goes out of his way to make sure the Senator has reasons to hate him.” I release a breath and pick up Chuck’s head to help him drink. “Come on buddy. It’s better if you go to sleep.”

Chuck drinks without complaint and then falls back on his pillow.

“He’s cute.” Gardenia towers over him. “He has that rich boy, I-don’t-care-what-my-hair-looks-like thing going for him.” She breathes out loudly then turns to me. “His sister is something else though. Isn’t she?”

“She’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? Because I saw you. Downstairs. You almost lost your shit when Chuck introduced the two of you. It was like you wanted to rush in and kiss her or something.”

She’s not wrong. But that was before I fully understood who and what she was. Paloma Davis is my enemy’s daughter. While Chuck is his father’s victim. Paloma seems to be just like the Senator, calculating and deceiving. Is that why she steals from men at random bars? To help her father? The Senator was so quick to inform me that his daughter rarely leaves the mansion. Fucking liars, both of them.

“Is that it? You still want her? She’s not good for you, Tristan,” Gardenia whisper-shouts, getting in my face. “I’m scared for you. That woman is dangerous. Do you see that?” She punches my chest.

“Of course I see that.” I grip her wrist.

“Then say it.” She yanks her arm, but I keep my hold on it. Her eyes water. “Say you don’t want her.”

“I don’t.” My jaw clenches. “She’s just like him. Of course I hate her. Paloma Davis is an extension of her father. She sells herself to men. And I have no doubt she does it to help her father’s campaign. It’s why every goddamn asshole downstairs looks at her like she’s something to eat. They’re just fucking waiting their turn.”

“Tristan.” She reaches for my cheek with her free hand with so much pity in her eyes.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not Tristan. I can’t be Tristan Sallows until the Senator and his family get what’s coming to them. I can’t have peace until my father’s killer pays for what he did to my family. From here on out. I’m Archer. In private and in public. Do you understand?” I peel her hand off my face. “And that goes for you too, Fisher and Jacob.”

“Of course,” they both say in unison and disrupt the hate swirling in my head along with Paloma’s golden eyes.

“She’s the key. The last piece on this goddamn chess board.” I glare at the bedroom door, picturing the masquerade ball downstairs.

“What do you mean?” Gardenia’s voice drops to a whisper.

“I came here to take everything from the Senator.” I glance over at Chuck’s sleeping form, his mouth slack. “I want him stripped of his power and wealth. But now I want something else too. I want to take from him, the way he took from me. I want his most precious possession. He wants to sell his daughter to the highest bidder. Fine.”

“You’re giving him the rope to hang himself.” Gardenia starts to understand my plan.

“Yes, but not in the secrecy of a swanky hotel suite. He’s going to show everyone who he really is on the big stage. I’m going to make him hurt. He’s going to give her up willingly. And forever.”

CHAPTER4

DON'T RUN

Tristan

“How about that good news you had, Gardenia?” Fisher breaks the silence first. “Now’s a good time for it.”

I let go of her wrist, and she practically slams her body against me, wrapping her arms around my waist. This move was so Gardenia. One minute she’s angry at the world, the next she’s kind and understanding. “I’m sorry. I just thought you were ready to throw it all away. All our hard work just for her.” She sniffles into the lapels of my tuxedo.

“You don’t have to worry about me. The path in front of me is clear.” I cup the back of her head for a beat, then step back to look her in the eyes. “The good news?”

“Oh yeah.” She wipes her cheek then smiles up at me. “The pink diamond is here.” She fumbles with the many pockets buried in her voluminous skirt until she finds what she’s looking for—the map of the gallery downstairs. She hands it to me. “It’s in there.” She points at it. “He changed the setting. Turned it into a necklace. But that’s your Freya’s diamond.”

---