Epilogue
EPILOGUE
JUNGLE (2019 VERSION) – SOMEBODY’S CHILD
BLAINE
It seems somewhat odd to find myself amidst an active investigation, behind the other side of yellow crime scene tape rather than being the reason it’s unravelled in the first place.
Somewhere in the world, I’m sure my father is roiling in disgust. He was never interested in having a son. More an outlet for his never-ending flow of righteous anger and power-hungry desire.
I learned at a young age that his language is ninety percent violence, ten percent blackmail. It wasn’t a matter of choosing to become the crown jewel of our crime family. I was born, bred and beaten into that position.
“Keep out of the way.” The oversized boulder, Hyland, shoves past me. “Don’t touch anything.”
“You don’t say?”
“Watch it, Madden.”
To say he’s displeased about the tidy deal I’ve negotiated for myself is an understatement. I didn’t quite know if the scheme I’d intricately laid would pay off. My allies—Raye in particular—doubted it would.
Yet the plan has unfurled perfectly.
Perfectly… besides one thing.
When I decided to solve a glaring issue for Sabre by locating their lost lamb, I didn’t bank on that lamb being a full-blown, roaring lioness who robbed my attention and refused to give it back.
The moment I saw Ember fight, I knew I was well and truly fucked. It was her powerful poise, the subtle twists of her well-trained body, the thirst for blood in her gaze. Each revelation sucked me further into her bewitching orbit.
I’ve tried to enact my master plan without becoming distracted these past few months. That’s hard to achieve when the lioness is constantly intoxicating me with her sheer will to survive. It’s an impressive quality.
One I admire.
One I intend to cherish.
Picking past three scowling agents and two of my newest teammates—all seemingly unable to tolerate my existence—I join Axel at the living room window. Thomas Lawson’s apartment is nice, albeit half-destroyed.
Luis Torres left little untouched when he swept through here. Going after the lawyer was a cheap shot. He’s trying to manipulate Ember, toying with her vulnerabilities. Trying to unhinge her mind so he can capture her more easily.
“I’m in no mood for your mind games,” Axel immediately states. “Fuck off, Madden.”
Leaning back against the windowpane, I ignore his hard stare and watch the search unfolding all around us.
“I don’t play mind games.”
“That’s all you do,” he spits acerbically. “You got what you wanted. The deal’s done. Now leave me alone.”
Casting him a look, I consider his clenched jaw. “You seem tense.”
“No shit.”
“Having a little trouble tracking down your lost property?”
In total disregard of our nearby audience or the dirty secret he’s so determined to keep, Axel grabs a fistful of my shirt. He drags me in close until we’re almost nose to nose.
“Don’t mention him to me ever again.”
“Oh, come on.” I chuckle lightly. “I’m certain you’ve been searching far and wide since we chatted.”
“You don’t know a thing about me,” he snarls.
“I know plenty, believe it or not.”
“If you’d like to keep your skin intact, I’d recommend shutting up now.”
“No need to make things unpleasant.” I feel my smile broaden. “I was merely going to offer my help.”
Releasing my t-shirt, Axel shoves me away. “I don’t want or need it. His location is no concern of mine.”
“After all this time, you’re not interested to know what became of your long-lost brother?”
It’s a risk to taunt him so brazenly, so I take a step backwards to avoid a punch. That would be a bad start for our fragile alliance.
“I don’t have a brother, Madden. Get that into your thick skull and drop it.”
“My apologies.” I smile sweetly at him. “Would you prefer the word twin ? The resemblance is uncanny.”
Convinced I’ve earned myself at least a light stabbing, I’m surprised when Axel hurls a curse at me then storms off. Oh, toying with his sore spot is going to be such fun.
If my father taught me anything, it’s to always have the advantage. No matter the situation or relationship—control is how we succeed in life. It’s how we carve a name and a place for ourselves.
Truthfully, I do not care why Axel rewrote his own history. Nor do I care why he has an identical twin out there, running around and causing havoc. The lost Slaughter brother has proven useful to me once or twice.
I just want the upper hand.
That’s exactly what I have now.
Avoiding the caustic looks that both Warner and Hyland shoot me while deep in conversation with a member of their forensics team, I slip from the apartment to enter the security-lined hallway.
The only person I’ve ever met who was able to gain the upper hand over me paces back and forth out here, repeatedly stabbing her phone every time she attempts to redial and gets cut off again.
“Fuck!” she screeches.
Ember hurls the phone at the floor, watching it bounce off the carpet and skate away. I quietly slink over to her, keeping my hands laced behind my back.
“Going well?”
“No one is answering me!” A muscle jumps in her jaw.
“That’s kinda the point, sweetheart. Luis wants to set the time and place in which he’ll deliver his first demand.”
“What kind of sick game is this? Wouldn’t it be quicker to just take me and skip off into the sunset?”
Drinking in the pointed curves of her face, the way her auburn brows scrunch together when she’s enraged, and the endless beauty of her half-blue, half-grey eyes, I merely shrug.
“You’re not a lone wolf he can simply pick off. Luis is intelligent enough to realise that where you go, an army follows. He’s playing this smart.”
Shoving flaming-red hair back from her face, Ember trains her storm-filled orbs on me. “You seem confident in that prognosis.”
“It’s what I would do.” I lean against the wall.
“Oh, how comforting!”
“Come on. Look who you’re talking to.”
Clearly exasperated, she works on slowing her breathing for several seconds. I really don’t like seeing her calm down. Her spit-fire rage is what interests me the most.
“When he calls again… Don’t think for a second about sacrificing yourself.”
“You think I’m that stupid?” She rolls her eyes. “Come on.”
“I seem to recall you begging to take your brother’s place during that phone call.”
Her feet spread wide like she’s preparing to fight. “So I could draw Luis out into the open and bury a knife in his fucking gut!”
I’m not even remotely ashamed to admit that my cock twitches at the venom lacing her voice. I’d love to see her inner darkness unfurl as she enacts her vengeance. Perhaps I could even assist.
“If Luis harms Tom, he will hold no power over you. Therefore, Tom must remain alive in order to manipulate you. He won’t be killed.”
“Yet,” Ember groans.
“Well… Yes. Yet.”
“Then we have to find him before that ‘yet’ arrives. I will not lose another member of my family.”
Unable to hold myself back, I seize a strand of her curious, flame-dipped hair. The tips remain blonde from where an old dye job grew out in captivity. I had wondered if she’d cut them.
“Care for some help with that?” I hum.
Blue-tinged graphite skates over me in contemplation.
“Apparently, we are allies now.” My fingertips dance over the long strand, letting it curl around my fingers. “Therefore, my services are available.”
“If we find Tom… We find Luis.”
“And remove pieces off him until he reveals a link to Gael’s operations,” I say succinctly. “I’m sure your little friend Axel has a bone saw.”
“It probably needs sharpening.”
“Mm. The blade will dull with overuse.”
“You can be sure he’s done that,” she clips out.
Comically waggling my brows at her, I stoop to retrieve her discarded phone. Ember takes it from me with a small smile.
“I half expected you to take the deal then concoct some grand scheme to disappear again.”
“Tempting.” I sigh dramatically. “I am not built for this country anymore. Far too cold. Alas, I have decided to stick around for now.”
“What about your friends?”
“They have their orders in my absence.”
“All part of the plan?” Ember’s head tilts.
She has me so nailed.
“You’ll soon come to learn that I’m never without a plan. Though I have made some adjustments to several of my plans since we met.”
She tucks the phone into her pocket. “Is that so?”
With a glance around the hallway at the steel-faced agents wearing their best blank expressions, I take hold of Ember’s biceps and push her up against the wall. She grunts in protest but doesn’t fight me.
Her fine body pinned against the wallpaper, I let my hand sail downwards to find the scars left by my stitches. My thumb skates over her brand next, tracing each individual number.
I lean in to let my lips meet her earlobe. “You were just a bargaining chip, sweetheart. That’s all humans ever are to each other.”
“What a charming thought.”
“Then I got a glimpse of that savage beast you barely keep shackled, and I wanted more. I’m not in the business of denying myself the things I want.”
Shivering at my touch on the marks that tell our shared story, I relish the way she turns to fucking putty. It’s one thing to own a woman. Satisfying? Certainly.
But to own a dangerous menace capable of ending your entire existence? That’s a thrill I’ve never experienced. My plans don’t matter if they don’t include owning Ember Lawson on the immediate horizon.
“On that note… Tell me what you want.”
“I want my brother back,” she demands.
“What else?”
Her beckoning body trembles against mine. “I want to hurt the people who hurt me.”
“Naturally. And?” I prompt.
“And… I want to find Gracie—there’s no way that she’s dead. And I want to feel the warmth on my face while my enemies’ carcasses burn.”
Lifting my lips from her ear, I move so our heads are together—foreheads meeting, noses brushing, my lips an inch from heaven. But I don’t let our mouths meet. Not yet.
“Ember.”
She startles at my use of her actual name.
“Yes, Phantom?”
Pleasure seeps over me. Oh, the game is so on.
“Let’s take them down together.”
Ember’s response is certain.
“Fucking deal.”
To be continued in…
Ravaged Soul (Anaconda Tales #2)