Page 72 of Black Wave

“Ha, that’s where you are wrong, Emma. He’ll throw the back of this dress over my head and take me from behind up against this wall instead.”

I almost spit out my wine, but unfortunately, when I try to prevent that, I snort it out my nose instead. Choking, I sputter. And that’s what I get for pouring so much wine in this glass.

“Why, Liv, you little minx.” I manage to sputter that out in between clearing my nostrils of the wine in a coughing fit. “Now,” I wheeze, finally managing to stop coughing, “that isthe funniest thing I have heard. Where is my shy friend I once knew?”

We both chuckle, and I look around, noticing that Dax isn't here. “Where’s Dax?”

Liv shrugs. “Oh, he went to pick up his altered tux and should be back soon. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.” She starts to ask something but stops.

“Um, so how are things with Eduardo?” She pauses, and I know that she thinks I will not answer her. It reminds me of how much of a shit friend I am. I’m about to answer when she spins the question, shocking me. “You seemed happy with Jameson, and then you met Eduardo…” She trails off, not finishing the sentence. I just stare at her. Liv notices my hesitation and continues breaking the awkward silence. “I never did thank him for helping me that night when I found out I was pregnant. Fainting. Passing out at his club was not one of my finer moments.”

I go over and place a hand on her arm. “Oh, Liv. Don’t even worry about that. I pause, wondering if I should continue. “Yeah, I liked Jameson, but it wasn’t there. When I met Eduardo… I don’t know. He makes me feel.” I leave it at that because that’s precisely what it is. He makes me feel. After years of being numb when my parents died and I lost my sister, I didn't think I would ever recover.

My best friend died that night. A big part of me died that night.

The remaining part of me wished I would have died too, alongside them in the fire. I feel like I live in this earth-bound prison where I must watch over my shoulder and risk being captured by Julian—a worse fate than death.

Liv watches me and tries to finish my sentence. “Happy?” she asks.

I rub my lip back and forth, trying to explain without giving away too much of my story. I look over at her and hope that this at least answers her question.

“Even better. He makes me feel safe.”

She looks at me in confusion. “Safe?” she questions.

I smile sadly at her and drain the entire contents of my glass. I grab my keys, effectively stopping the conversation before it even begins. “I better go. Still have to get a quick bite to eat before seeing you guys at the gala.”

Defeat shines in Liv’s eyes, but I can’t let her know. I can’t let anyone else know.

“Sure, Emma. I’ll see you there. We are sitting at the same table, right?”

I start toward the door and hug her before I leave. “Of course. I’ll let Eduardo know.”

I sit with Eli in the car, feeling unsure about my future. Will I always have to deal with Julian? Will I ever be truly free? We drive through uptown, and I look around at people in shops and walking with friends on the sidewalks. I see a couple jogging toward a park, and I feel empty. I want that life. A normal life, but I’ll never have that. In some way or another, I will always have to watch my back, but wouldn’t it be nice to be rid of him finally?

My fists clench. I want him to suffer. I want him to die. I don’t think I have ever really thought about it like this. I do know one thing for sure: he will pay for what he did to me and my family. I won’t rest until he is gone from this earth, but not until he feels what it is like to lose it all.

I grab my AirPods and turn on Spotify. I recently played and hit “Voices in My Head” by Falling in Reverse.The song is my anthem, my battle cry. I tear myself down, and I feel all the guilt consuming me. The struggle I think about every day is that I don’t have my sister.

I wonder what we will do today as I ride alone in this car. Oh, wait, not alone, but with a driver hired to keep me safe. My inner voice tells me I am to blame, but self-doubt takes over when confronted with whether or not I can continue. My sole mission is to take back my life. To break free from the confines of self-doubt I have, and it overtakes me like waves in the sea. The wind picks up, and I am tossed around with no life preserver. If I die, I will die trying. If I drown, I’ll do so trying until I’m buried at sea.

CHAPTER 39

Eduardo

“What the fuck do you mean? I’ll be right there. I want you to take him to the basement,” I spit into the phone as I rush to go down to the nightclub.

Philip discovered that one of the bartenders was helping Cherry acquire information about me and Emma. I haul ass to the club and park sideways in the back alley, running into the building and up to my office. Jameson knocks on the door a few minutes later.

“Come in!” I shout as he walks into my office. I am pulling up the feed as he towers above the security monitors on my desk.

“May I?” he asks, and I stand from my chair and push the seat over to him. He hits a few buttons and pulls up a feed that has Gage, our long-time bartender, walking in the hallway, with Cherry leading him over to a back storage room where we keep many expensive liquors, candied Luxardo and Maraschino cherries, and various other nonperishable items. Jameson enhances the sound on the computer as I hover over him, watching the scene unfold.

“What do you have for me, baby?” She stalks toward him, and he smiles widely. She drops to her knees, unbuckles his jeans, and unzips his fly. They fall to the floor with a loud clunk as hisheavy metal belt hits the tiled floor. She looks up at him, licking her lips, and he steps closer to her as she grabs his ass, digging her fingernails into his flesh as he hisses and his cock bobs. She rubs her cheek up and down his cock and looks expectantly at him. “I want to make you feel so good, and then I want you to take me any way you want, but you have to tell me what I want to know first.” She turns her face sideways, licking up the underside of his shaft and sucking on the tip as she releases him, stops, and looks back up at him expectantly.

“I heard him talking about a concert he was taking her to. It was her favorite band.” He stops talking as Cherry grabs his cock hard and takes it into her mouth all the way back into her throat. Gage holds onto the shelf and knocks a bottle off, hitting the floor and spilling contents all over.

“Fuck, that was a five hundred dollar bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label. Son of a bitch.”

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