Chapter 3
“ Y ou’re insane.”
Ares lowers his laced fingers, his hands resting on the arms of the expensive chair. He leans farther back into his seat, and his eyes slide down me. But it doesn’t make my skin crawl, not in the same way Felix’s gaze did back at the party. He’s still evaluating me. Sizing me up. Determining my ability to do what it’s going to take.
“Do you want to get your friend back or not?” he asks. His tone isn’t critical. It isn’t spoken with a sneer. It’s simply logical.
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” I hiss out, my frustration rising.
“Then this is what it takes, Vengeance,” he says coolly. Goosebumps flash over my skin at the nickname. He doesn’t say it snidely. It almost comes out sounding like a compliment. “Augustus is tied to this. I wish it had nothing to do with him, but my gut instinct says it does. It’s all being paid for by his company. And they’re trying to hide it. You will not get anywhere near his company on your own. You’re a hell of a lot more competent than I could ever hope for, but even if you’re the world champion MMA fighter, you still couldn’t go up against Augustus’ lackeys. So, I know this is sudden. I know it sounds insane. But if you want to save your friend, you need me. And I need you.”
“This isn’t just about Ophelia,” I declare. “You were looking into your father before I walked into that party. What do you actually need me for?”
Ares studies me, hesitance in his eyes. Again, here comes another part I know I’m not going to like. “A little distance and time have given me some perspective on my father. I always knew he did things his own way. But lately, I’ve had a suspicion it’s a lot darker than I realized. So, I started digging,” he says, his dark eyes fixed on me. “Like I said, to get back into my father’s good graces, to be invited back into his inner circle, I need to kiss his ass. I need you to go along with it that we’re engaged, and we’re already trying for a baby.”
Those last six words make my stomach lurch. A disgusted breath escapes my lungs. I shake my head and look out the window.
“I promise, there will be absolutely no sex involved,” Ares says, spiking anxiety in my system.
“I should fucking hope not!” I bark, looking back at him with a sneer. “But anything else…”
Ares sighs and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I need you to play a part, Lana, and we are both going to have to play it convincingly. So, yes, we’re going to have to act like we actually like each other when we’re in public.”
“Holding hands? Cuddling? Whispering soft nothings in each other’s ears? Kissing?” I clarify with disdainful sarcasm in my tone .
“Yes,” he says, his jaw tightening. “And maybe a little more.”
“What more could there be?” I bark in shock.
The look he’s giving me says he’s reevaluating his decision to propose to me. And it makes me bristle even more. I need to get my cool back.
I bring Ophelia to the forefront of my brain. I think of her smile. Her laugh. I think of late nights on her couch and dozens of nights out in the city.
I have no one left but her.
“Augustus is keeping tabs on me,” Ares pushes forward. His tone is softer now, more controlled. “He’s going to doubt the speed of this since you and I have never been seen together. If I just tell him we’re engaged, he’ll never believe it. To sell it, you and I are going to have to move in together.”
I simply stare into those hazel eyes of his for a dozen heartbeats.
What do I have to lose?
My life.
Maybe my sanity.
My grip on reality.
But it’s not like I have anyone else in this world. Ophelia is my best friend.
I live in a shit apartment. It’s truly nothing to give up.
“What about my job?” I think out loud. But it’s certainly relevant. “I work full time. I can’t afford to just quit and walk away.”
Ares stares at me for a long moment, his knee bouncing up and down just slightly. “We will have to make this look real. As my fiancée, you won’t have to work.”
I look at him wordlessly for a minute as that processes. I remember where we are. In an extremely expensive hotel, in the penthouse suite. Ares handed over that black card like it meant nothing.
I realize then that Ares is not financially dependent on his father. Not if they’ve been estranged for three years.
Ares is taking me on as his kept fiancée.
“I have an… emotional connection to my work,” I admit. “I don’t really just want to walk away. But my boss, he’s a massive asshole, and he’s not going to like me taking an unknown amount of time off.”
The smallest of smiles cocks in one corner of his mouth. And it just about makes my heart stop. Something grows… hot in my lower belly. “I’ll pay him a visit. I can be… persuasive.”
I don’t doubt it. It’s hard to imagine telling a man like Ares no.
I lean back in my seat, my death grip on my bag loosening. My eyes wander the penthouse, not actually seeing anything. I feel overwhelmed. Exhausted. But after three weeks of feeling terrified and desperate, I have my answer. I have a possibility. I have hope that I might find Ophelia.
Fuck it.
“Alright,” I say in a breath. “I’m in.”
Ares’ brows rise slightly higher, telling me he didn’t actually expect me to agree to this. “Okay,” he says, sounding a little relieved. “Go home. Pack. I will pick you up just after sunset.”
I raise an eyebrow at that. “So, the daylight part is true?”
Ares stands. “Not like you think,” he says. He watches me with expectation, a clear indication it’s time to leave. He probably paid thousands of dollars for this room, and we’ve only occupied it for an hour. “But I’ll explain everything later.”
We head to the elevator and then step inside .
“I need your number,” Ares says as the doors slide closed. He hands me his phone with a new contact card open. I hesitate for just a moment. Once I give it to him, I can’t just disappear and pretend this night never happened.
But until Ophelia is safe and sound, I can’t do that anyway.
I take his phone and type my first and last name – Lana Kincade, and my number. Just two seconds after I hand it back, my own phone vibrates.
“You’ve got my number. Text me your address,” he says, very business and matter of fact. He once again stares straight forward. “I’ll be there with a truck this evening.”
“Okay,” I say, my throat feeling thick. The doors slide open, and we cross the lobby. I step outside, and it’s clear Ares isn’t leaving just yet. I reach into my bag, my fingers wrapping around the cold metal.
“Keep it,” Ares says, raising his hand slightly. “You’re unlucky enough to be my fiancée now. You need protection at all times.”
Why the hell am I blushing? Why does him actually calling me his fiancée make my stomach do an immature little flip?
“See you tonight, Ares,” I say, his name crossing my lips for the first time. I like the way it tastes.
“See you soon, Vengeance.”