56

LIAM

My fingers tightened around the wheel, my knuckles turning white from tension. 

I watched Nora sashay through her front door, a slight hesitance to her step. Shit. I was a dick.

She'd said something so harmless, and I couldn't even hide how quickly my mood had plummeted. Now she’d spend the night thinking about how I was even more of an asshole than I normally was.

The feeling was a punch to the gut. It felt like someone took a knife and shoved it in my chest, twisting as they pulled it out.

I winced, dragging in a deep breath as the front door swung close behind her.

When I was sure she was safe, I switched the gear to drive and floored the gas.

Damn, I was so stupid.

She showed me another side of her today. Not the one who bickered with me at the resort, or the one who acted like we hadn't given each other the best orgasms of our lives.

And I'd been a fool to throw it all away.

I wondered how she must be feeling. Possibly alone and still shaken up from tonight.

My brows furrowed. Speaking of it, Nora mentioned the perpetrator was about to make a phone call when I busted through the door. Who the hell was he calling?

I reached for my phone, dialing a number I only called occasionally. If I had to wait around for the police to get back to us, we'd be sitting ducks if this was something bigger than it seemed.

He picked up the second ring. “Got a problem?”

“Yeah, my girl was assaulted at the bar. I need you to figure out who the asshole is and if he's working with anyone,”

“The police?”

“They’re on it, but you know how I feel about them in my business.”

He hummed in understanding.

Carl was the one guy I could trust with anything. He had worked as a private investigator for decades and could dig up information from the grave. He'd been the one to run a background check on Gemma after I found out she pushed Nora down the slopes.

He was still on her tail, making sure everything with her was as it seemed now that she was out of jail.

“I’ll reach back in a few days.”

The silence that engulfed me after Carl’s call ended was palpable. It forced me to confront my thoughts, the ones I’d buried so deep down in the ground that even Carl wouldn't be able to dig them up.

I turned the final corner to my building, grimacing when a particular memory breezed through my mind.

When I was ten, my brother came home, brandishing his class artwork. He'd drawn the family and painted us all with smiles, but he'd given our father horns.

I had panicked, so terrified that the man would walk through and hurt Mark for doing that. The poor boy had no idea what he'd done, frowning when he pointed at our father's drawing.

In my state of panic, I grabbed the paper, pretending to be a bully as I tore it to shreds. Mark hated me for the next week after that, but I was grateful my father didn't get to put hands on him.

But when we got older, I could no longer keep the facade of a happy family. My brother was smarter and my resolve to jump ship was getting stronger. Mark never believed skipping town was the best idea. He'd always wanted us to take out the root of the problem.

My fingers tightened around the wheel once again, but thankfully, I pulled into the parking lot.

My father was the root of the problem and my brother wanted us to take him out. Two young boys with nothing but hatred fueling their actions.

We were shit out of luck against my father's towering 6”3.

~

By the time I arrived at the penthouse, it was almost 5am. Thankfully, tomorrow was a Saturday and I could sleep in before heading to the station.

I shut the door behind me, sighing deeply as I pulled my shirt over my head. The muscles in my arms screamed at me, begging for a few moments of rest. I'd had a little to drink earlier, but the frenzy of the night had sobered me up completely.

Fuck, I wanted a drink.

While pouring myself a drink at the mini bar, I faltered, feeling the warm heat of the room cocoon me. I swallowed the whiskey back, scrunching my face up a little at the sharp taste.

I had turned off the heating because I wanted to return to a cold home, but it was surprisingly warm. Had the cleaner come in and left it on? Was she even supposed to come in today?

I shrugged, turning back to pour myself another drink.

“I was wondering when you’d get home.”

I froze, tension returning to my muscles as the familiar voice sunk into my bones. I hadn't heard that voice in years.

“How did you get in?” I whipped around, whiskey long forgotten, as I stared down the leggy blonde standing right in front of me.

She was dressed in a shirt I recognized to be mine, had a sweet smile on her face, and had a glass of whiskey in one of her hands.

“No hi, hello? I missed you?” she chucked. “You haven't changed much,”

“And you haven't either. You're still a conniving snake. Who did you have to convince getting into my building?”

I was going to fire the entire security team. What if she was an intruder? Well, she was. But what if she was more dangerous than she used to be?

“Relax. Forgotten I worked on the building? These guys know me as much as they do you,” her smile widened, transitioning into something sickly sweet. “After all, I was on your arm for a very long time,”

“And I sure as hell regret that,” anger coursed within my veins as I recalled the moments I spent with this woman.

This woman laid me down and fucked me over until I was almost at my wit's end.

Emily almost ruined me.

And stupidly, I let her, thinking she was in love with me.

The reality of our relationship hurt like hell, burning into my skin like a brand.

She took a step towards me, and I took one back, contemplating the best way to get her out of my house. If there was one thing I knew, Emily certainly wasn’t going to make this easy for me.

She twirled one blonde lock around a finger, stalking towards me like an animal seeking its prey. Her eyes trailed down my body. “You look even better than you did all those years ago, how's that even possible?”

“Get out of my house, Emily.”

She laughed, a sound I once found exciting. Now, it was like ice in my veins. “I always liked the way you said my name,”

She closed the space between us, leaning up on her toes to brush her nose against mine. I was frozen solid, unable to move like she'd charmed me under her spell. But I knew better.

Emily had seen my weakness, and she’d pushed herself into it like a splinter, digging herself deeper and deeper into my life until I didn't know how to pull her out.

She infested me like a disease, wrapped me around her little finger, and played me like the pied piper.

And even though I was over her, there was just something about Emily that mesmerized me, holding me captive like a siren.

I opened my mouth to tell her to fuck off, but before I knew what was happening, her lips were on mine.