Page 26 of Wreckin' Amethyst

“Felicia has an extensive amount of influence over politicians and such, with many reliable sources she can turn to. She has run searches for me several times without Carter knowing,” Myles adds. I snort, placing the plaque down to swivel an incredulous look his way.

“I hardly think the information I’m searching for is akin to you avoiding the tight hold of your master. Nothing I have planned regarding what I find out here will be legal. Quite frankly, I’d rather you weren’t involved.” Turning to face me only, Myles takes my hand in his, gently stroking circles with his thumb.

“Do you remember me groveling on my knees in the elevator?”

“I should hope so. It was three minutes ago.” His amber eyes glint with mirth before his face drops into a stern, serious expression which leaves me longing for the smile to return.

“That means this has become my vendetta too. Those greedy, rich men you mentioned, wanting to rid them of their prized possessions? It’s revenge you’re looking for, and perhaps when I help you get it, you’ll have a reason to trust me.”

“Anything you say here stays between the three of us,” Felicia pitches in. Panic claws at the inside of my throat, a moment of rare vulnerability shining through the walls I have carefully constructed. Something that happens too easily around Myles.

A throat is cleared. Myles’ grip on my hand tightens. They’re boxing me in, narrowing the cage of expectation. Fight or flight kicks in as I whip my hand back and prepare to run. Flee, jump out of the window. It doesn’t matter how. I can’t be here, can’t trust these strangers with the information I’ve kept only to myself all these years.

“Amethyst,” Myles commands my attention. His amber eyes, the shade of churning honey, swallow me whole as I struggle to remember to breathe. “If you could do this on your own, you would have already. Let me help you.” His chair skids as he nudges closer but refrains from touching me again. “And if Felicia or I screw you over, I’ve already warned her you have the ability to destroy everything we’ve ever achieved.”

“I’m under a strict NDA for anything related to Myles,” Felicia nods, not showing a trace of fear about Myles’ announcement. I wonder if he knows that for a fact or if he’s….. “And even without such, he pays me enough to take his secrets to the grave. I will regard yours with the same discretion.” I settled back in the seat. Well, no one can say I didn’t give them the chance to back out. Centering myself, I will a wash of numbness to fall over me. Forcing my senses to become deadened, and detaching the memories flittering to mind from reality. It’s the only way I’m able to bring my true self to the surface without causing lasting damage to my intricate persona.

“Fourteen years ago in Chicago, an entire block of townhouses were offered settlements to sell their properties. All took the deal, except one.” I exhale, choosing to stare at the portrait. I should have one made for Pig, painted as a still life with a crown upon her head. Myles clears his throat and I bring my gaze back to the gaping hole of denim at my knees.

Deep breaths. This isn’t for me. It’s for the scared girl I left behind and the life which was stolen for someone else’s gain.

“Around the same time, the housing officer at Crest Financial Holdings received a huge bank transfer from an anonymous source and the last remaining property was repossessed.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you Ami…but surely-”

“Oliver Reynell is his name,” I interrupted Myles and whatever simple placate he was about to give. No one understands the weight of what I’ve been through, what it’s like to walk away from your last remaining relative and tackle this cruel world alone. “I need to know who paid Reynell to file the foreclosure documentation.”

“Sounds simple enough.” Felicia shrugs, jotting down some notes in her notebook. I grunt, for my life is anything but simple.

“If you do manage to find a name, cross reference it with Bio Medical Supplies and LiteSource.” I tap my finger on the table when she pauses, making sure she doesn’t miss a single detail.

“The energy company?” Myles asks the question floating in the air, sharing a frown with the woman listening intently across the desk. I nod stiffly, slipping my hands to the edge of the leather cushion and tugging at the side-stitching.

“On the same day the bank representatives came, so did the Bio-Med to reclaim their equipment. When they didn’t manage to gain entry, the power was cut.” A flash of light behind my eyes goes black as I remember scrambling around in the dark, starting heart compressions on an already lifeless body.

“I don’t understand-” Myles mutters on the edge of my subconscious. The next words tumble out of me on a labored breath.

“My mom was being kept alive by a ventilator.” I vaguely catch the too-close amber eyes widening, but I’m drawn back into the memory I don’t want to relive. Grunted counting as I performed CPR, silent prayers for her to hold on until the power returned. Panic set in within minutes, cramping my fingers and I knew I couldn’t continue.

Instead, I hunted for the back-up generator. I found it beneath the porch steps by torch light, and just as I glanced upon the jagged slashes ripping the exterior to shreds, the front door was smashed inwards. I had a single moment to make the decision which would alter the course of my life, and I ran. Tormented by fear and shock, I left, and never even returned to reclaim my mother’s body.

“All three companies participated in an orchestrated attack that day. Someone targeted us. Someone with the power, money and influence to do so. I need to know who was pulling the strings, and I need to make them suffer.” Through half-hooded eyes, I see Myles reach for me. My body is shifted, drawn into his lap while his face buries into the crook of my neck. I don’t fight him, no longer able to push him away. Neither us or our present company speaks, letting the weight of my truth settle. I spent years cocooned in my self-loathing; only given reprieve by the person I was portraying at the time. Now it’s second nature to hide, to pretend.

At some point, I melt into Myles. His breathing becomes echoed by my own, our psyche’s falling into a rhythm where words aren’t needed. Fiddling with the end of his blond hair, vibrating emanates from Myles’ pocket. He ignores it at first, but on the second ring I pull it out from beneath my ass and hand it to him.

“Hudson,” he grunts without looking.

“Is Amethyst with you?!” the responding, panicked shout comes through the handset and I straighten. Taking the phone, I slip from Myles’ lap and pace to the back of the room.

“Sebby? It’s me - what’s wrong?” Heavy panting sounds on the other end, as if he’s running from the shouting I can hear in the distance.

“You’re in the city, right? I need you.” Something clicks within me, and suddenly I couldn’t care less where I currently am. Sebby called for me.Needsme. The past will have to wait, at least for one more evening. Acquiring Sebby’s location, I tell him I’m on my way and toss the phone back to Myles. I’m halfway out the door when his voice finds me.

“Wait!” I glance back, finding both him and Felicia standing. “The conspiracy you’ve spoken of – what was the point? Why was it so important to force you out?”

“Look up the address I gave. I have to go.” Darting for the elevator, my finger is jamming against the button as I picture Myles doing just that. Bringing up the location of my childhood home, discovering it is now a two-story casino stretching the length of the block. His bile-fueled reaction to the establishment’s chosen name will be the same as mine and everything I think of it. Above the grand entrance in fluorescent lights with a pulsing heartbeat line underneath. ‘Life Support.’As I slump inside the elevator, only the railing keeping me upright, a roar bellows through the glass structure. Oh, there it is.

Chapter 18

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