Page 35 of Embrace
“The whole fucking world?”
“Ha,” she scoffed as she transitioned to extend one arm across her body and reached over to grab her shoulder. “Is your ego really that large?”
I took a step closer and made sure we had good eye contact and said, “My name is Asher Christmas. You know, the Christmas family.”
Her arms fell to her sides as she gasped and leaned back so fast that I thought she would tip over. “No fucking way. You’re the missing one. The one they say murdered his father.”
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head emphatically.Who the fuck started that rumor, anyway?“I didn’t murder my father.”
She folded her arms. “That’s not what they say. They say they have proof. And the fact that you’ve gone frolicking through the world, pretending to be Jake Sparrow, doesn’t make you look innocent. Nice fake name, though.”
I opened my mouth to set her mind at ease about me being a murderer and reveal what only my family members, Gina, and Penina knew, but she said, “So, Penina is shagging a Christmas? Talk about jackpot. She’s rich.”
I couldn’t help but toss my head back and laugh.
“All hell’s about to break loose, isn’t it?” she asked.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “But hey, could you do me a favor? Could you check on her and make sure she made it to her apartment safely? I dropped her off after we left the party.”
“And you didn’t stay with her?”
I shook my head, gazing up at the window. Her warm and soft body was probably between her sheets. She often slept nude. I recalled how her round ass felt against my dick.
“Then you are stalking her,” Zara said as if she had caught me in a lie.
I ripped my gaze away from her window. “I’m not stalking Penina. I told you—I live here. I’m going up in a few. The press knows I’m in town. I want to make sure no one’s hiding out, waiting to pounce.”
She regarded me shrewdly. “Well, I’m not telling.”
I sighed with relief. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Zara smirked. “You’re welcome, Dr. Christmas, and to really put your mind at ease, I’ll turn her light on and off when I’m inside her flat.” She winked.
I figured it was time to reveal something else to her. “Thank you, Zara. You’re a good friend to a beautiful woman whom I love.”
I saw that my words had the intended effect when her lips formed an O as her eyes grew wide. “Oh, in love, are we? You haven’t known each other more than a month.” Then she raised a hand. “Forget what I said. It’s Penina. If I were a man or a lesbian, I’d, as you Americans say, book her ass too.”
She made me laugh again, and I liked it. I wondered what Sanjay would think to know his beautiful, foul-mouthed daughter who was brave enough to run in the city at night had dropped out of the residency program at the last minute. There was no way he was going to hear it from me, but he wouldn’t like what she had done. That was for sure. He’d mentioned his brilliant daughter at least twice in every conversation I ever had with him. As far as he was concerned, she was the only woman that should be cutting open a brain.
I watched Penina’s window until the light turned on then off.
“Well done, Zara,” I whispered then crossed the street.
* * *
The boarding-hold apartmentwasn’t as dismal as I remembered it. The furniture was sleek and modern, and so were the appliances. All of it probably cost less than my shoes. I wasn’t bragging about that. Instead, I thought, maybe I should pay attention to how much I spend on shit. Truth be told, Jake Sparrow went through money just as fast as Asher Christmas had.
I was sitting on the edge of the sofa, not ready to get comfortable yet, when I received a text from Bryn. My body stiffened when I read,Ash, I’m in New Orleans and ready to see you. Where are you?
My gaze darted around the room. The air around me stood still, like the calm before a raging storm. My twin sister was a car ride away. I couldn’t wait to see her, but I also dreaded her arrival. But fuck, I needed her. She had taken Julia on before and won. Plus, Bryn never lost a skirmish. She was the sort of firepower I needed to put Julia away.
“Carter Valentine,” I whispered.
That was Julia’s brother. I wondered why I was suddenly thinking about him. A memory crept into my mind.
Carterand I are boys in a musty room that smells of cigars and perfume, the sweet kind young girls wear. The walls are red leather. His father, Arthur, stone-faced, red lines streaking through the whites of his eye, brows furrowed, as always, shoves Carter toward bare hips and pubic hair. That’s all I can remember about her—the girl’s genitals. Carter cowers against the wall, hugging his legs as he buries his face in his knees.
“No, Father. No!” he cries.
