Page 24 of Wreckin' Amethyst

Jolting, lights attack the forest. Flashing viciously in a warning cry, igniting the silhouettes of gangly teens, crowbars in hand. Being so far out on the lake, Myles and I can only watch in stunned silence, still tightly held in our embrace.

Glass shatters from Carter’s Ferrari, the alarm raging as cans of spray paint assault its exterior. Around four kids batter the metal, whooping and laughing until they eventually get it moving. Pushed over the edge of the grassy bank, the Ferrari picks up speed, zipping like a bolt of orange light directly into the lake with a tremendous splash. We witness the wave of water encasing the shell, impressively dragging it beneath the surface in only a few minutes.

“Well,” Myles says after the kids have run off cheering. “At least in one sense tonight, I’m completely fucked.”

Chapter 16

Hooveshitthedrivewaywith a repetitive clip-clop which rouse those in the manor. I couldn’t have timed the main door flying open any better, as I tug on the reins and slow Nessa to a halt. She’s a stunning mare of pure white, gray patches spotted over her rump. Her hair flows as freely as the lack of fucks I generally give. I’ll have to make time to ride her properly soon, a full gallop through the woodlands surrounding the estate. Myles stops at my side on a stallion of jet black, both horses jerking their heads with impatience.

“What in the holy hell-“ Carter screams, bashing the door against the inner wall.

“Shhh!” I scowl at him, skidding to the ground with grace. Soothing Nessa, I stroke her nose gently. “You’ll scare the horses.” After it took us all night to hitch a ride from someone who didn’t look like an ax murderer, it was almost too easy convincing Myles to sneak onto his own estate and borrow a pair of horses from his stables. I do like to enter in style. A raging blur of stomping appears in my peripheral as I turn to hand Carter the reins.

“By the way, you have a hole in the back corner of the external wall, you might want to get that seen to.” Moving to pass him, a hand latches onto the leaf-embedded ponytail at the back of my head.

“Where the fuck is my car?” Carter growls low into my ear, malice thickening his tone. I twist just enough for my stare to collide with his poisonous green eyes. Myles steps into my back on instinct, prying Carter’s fingers free of my hair. Spoil sport. Released from his grip with a frustrated huff, I make it all the way to the door before realizing Myles has hung back.

“It was just a bit of fun-”

“Fun which will see you destroying the repubitable name you’ve made for yourself,” Carter half-mutters, turning away from Myles with his phone pressed to his ear. Feet pad through the hallway, the Elites in silky pajamas rushing to aid Carter’s request with the horses without giving me a second glance. As the men fall into step with each other, I slip behind the archway of the living area, keeping out of sight.

“Go get yourself cleaned up. We have a shareholder’s meeting at midday and you’re hosting the grand opening of a new club in the city this evening. The details are all on the calendar, if you care to look for once. Your plaything will stay behind.” Oh man, Carter is furious. A smile creeps across my face and I give myself a mental hi-five. The sudden weight of exhaustion hits me as all adrenaline ebbs away, my feet heavy as I drag them up the stairs. Last night’s jeans and tank stick to me uncomfortably, calling for a shower before I become one with the mattress. None of which, however, takes precedence over peeking in Owen’s room to see Pig nestled in his arms, flat out on her back and snoring to high heaven. Traitorous little bitch.

***

Rolling my fingers against the mug in hand, my nails create a clicking effect on the ceramic. Over and over, as I watch the Elites in maid’s outfits clean up from lunch. The guys had left before Charley forced me to rise from the dead, only to realize I’d gotten a meager four-hours of sleep. There can’t be a single moment today where I am without coffee.

Click-click-click-click.

Across the kitchen and in her everyday sweater and jeans, Charley is helping unload the dishwasher, all small smiles and inside jokes. I hate to admit it, but she suits being here. Being amongst other girls, building the family she never really had. She’s proved to me time and time again she’d have been a great sister, and with each flash of happiness glinting within her brown eyes, the more I realize I’m going to have to let her go.

Click-click-click-click.

The Elite closest, the skinniest of the four with a ponytail of honey brown, grimaces at me. “Have you got something to say, or do you just like to annoy everyone around you?” Her upper lip curls. I consider each question and opt for the first.

“It’s occurred to me I don’t know any of your names. It seems I’m going to be sticking around for a while, so maybe we should all get to know each other better.” Pushing to my feet, taking the mug with me, I offer out my hand. “I’m Amethyst, a stripper from Wisconsin.” All lies but it’s the identity I live by for now. When my next target requires a more professional occupation, I’ll slip into a character better suited.

“Kristina,” the Elite tentatively slips her hand into mine as if I might snap her wrist without a moment’s notice. I don’t, giving her a polite shake instead. “This is Kayla,” Kristina nudges the black-haired woman wiping the counter beside her. As Kayla stretches forward, a gap in her frilly tank top and skirt reveals the tattoo of a yellow duckling on her hip. “Over there is Lou,” the blonde aiding Charley gives a quick wave, “and Joy is outside, hanging the clothes.” Through the fully glass sliding doors, Joy pegs a pair of boxers onto the line, her vibrant red hair shining in the midday sun. Yeah, we’ve sort of already met.

“It’s nice to meet you all properly,” I put on a smile which is solely for Charley’s benefit. She’s followed me around for years, being pushed to the edge of her comfort zone – it’s time I repaid the favor for her. Watching the four of them work hard at work to organize and buffer every surface in the kitchen, something Carter said during the interviews pops into mind. “Shouldn’t at least one of you have a day off? I mean…the guys aren’t even here.”

“Until we’re back up to five girls,” Kayla huffs, rolling her shoulders, “Carter has us all working to pick up the slack. It’s a big manor to be kept in order.” She signals across the kitchen to a space beside the refrigerator. I would describe this as where the infamous calendar lives, if anyone could call the mindfuck of color and writing that. The entire expanse of the wall up to the archway is covered in a self-adhesive white board. Every single day for the month has an entry, including the Elites tasks, Myles’ meetings, days marked as ‘Owen Out,’ and parties. So many parties, award ceremonies, galas. Their social life takes up as much space as their business. It’s no wonder Myles feels suffocated – I can sense the tightening grip around my own throat from just looking at it.

“Technically, it’s my day off,” Lou breaks through my bewilderment. Scraping a plate of food into a dog bowl, she places it by the back door. A flurry of nails against the marble comes running through the manor, Pig skidding into the glass in her excited haste to eat. Lou smirks, stroking Pig’s head. “But we’ve all been invited to the club opening, as long as the chores are done in time, so here I am.”

“Sure Cinderella, that sounds completely reasonable,” I mumble and roll my eyes. “Well, give me a cloth and some spray. Might as well get this over with quicker so you can all go to the ball.” Everyone in the room stills, the staleness in the air causing me to turn and raise a brow. Did they think I wasn’t up to a bit of hard work? They didn’t get the chance to meet Sammy, the badass, non-binary grafter who helped build a conservatory for stray cats. They also gave any small fortune made to troubled teens in Brooklyn. I miss those days.

“Are you coming?” Charley queries. “To the club opening, I mean.” Her voice is unsure, as if she doesn’t know which answers she’d prefer me to give. In one aspect, she probably wants a night to have fun with her new friends, and Lord knows – drama follows wherever I go. But on the other hand, I’m not ready to relinquish all concerns over Charley’s wellbeing just yet. She may trust these Elites, but I certainly do not trust Carter and the lengths he’d go to in the name of getting rid of me. Until Charley has signed a contract and is prancing around in a little maid’s outfit, she’s a variable I can’t take the chance with.

“Sure, why not? I’m in the mood for a spot of dancing.” Without saying much else, I’m handed a microfiber cloth and some antibacterial spray with the orders of cleaning door handles. I do pride myself on a decent knob polish. A radio is turned up in the kitchen, everyone falling into a joyful mood as I make my way through the lower level of the manor. Heading directly for the office, it takes me three whole tries to guess what Carter changed the security code to. The only date circled on the calendar in red - probably to help Owen and Sebby not to forget.

Once sealed inside, I work on keeping my promising to Lily – the interviewee who’s about to lose her home. Bypassing Carter’s security system and taking the extra time to set up a ghost server to prevent my actions from being tracked, I access my own personal accounts. Off-shore, in various names and completely hidden if anyone should try to find them. These are my contingencies if I should find myself in a bind in which I need to vanish quickly. Creating new personas, acquiring false documentation of a high quality and setting myself up in a different part of the country involves serious money to change hands.

Luckily, I’ve conned enough people to be able to comfortably help those who deserve it. Like Lily – now the proud owner of her three-bed condo, a second family minivan and enough in her savings to cover the hospital expenses after I stumbled across her medical files. Three months pregnant and type-two diabetic. No wonder she was desperate enough to seek out the job role here with the health benefits clearly mentioned. A few months and she’d be on paid maternity, much to Carter’s annoyance. Maybe I should have let her apply, but this way is in Lily’s best interest.

Hearing talking outside the door, I quickly sign out of the encrypted server, shut down the iMac and duck out without being seen. The Elites have moved into the rest of the manor, sounds of vacuums and general chatter sounds through the rooms nearby. Re-entering the kitchen, cloth and spray bottle in hand, I find the area deserted. Other than Pig, still chowing down her food by skidding the bowl across the ground, it’s just me. Completely alone with the mammoth wall planner on my left.

“Well, you could do with a fresh start if I ever saw one,” I muse to myself, and then get to spraying. Gloopy rivets of colored marker stream south, caught by my cloth before bleeding onto the wall itself. Wiping the remainder of the pen away, flicking post-it notes over the floor, I smile at the cleared schedule and exhale. “Much better.”

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