15. XV
XV
Spencer
I was left all on my lonesome, ordered to remain in Echo’s apartment until we could come up with a schedule. For what, I had no idea. If he wanted to delude himself into thinking he had some semblance of control over me, he was in for a rude awakening.
My siblings hadn’t stopped blowing up my phone since I left them the night before, concerned for my safety. I flipped the camera to selfie mode, poked out my tongue and sent them a quick snap with the caption: Proof of life .
The image captured the gigantic leather couch beneath me, cushions moulded perfectly to my body, a raging fire right beside me.
Echo’s apartment was predominantly white, with black accents sprinkled throughout. Despite the luxurious decor, his apartment held no life—a typical bachelorpad with all clean lines, devoid of personality or taste.
He had nothing of substance, nor any personal effects, and I should know. He’d barely been gone an hour, and I’d already raided the whole place. I had Chase to thank for my infiltration skills. My sister was nosy as fuck. She had called it inquisitive; the rest of us called it intrusive. Either way, it was her most controversial attribute. She needed to know everything about everything , that singular trait getting us into more trouble than I could count. Despite it all, I’d have willingly given anything to have that busybody back in my life.
Echo’s home (if you could even call it that) was utterly boring, leaving me thoroughly disappointed.
Surely, I haven’t misjudged him? Imagine me falling for someone suffocatingly mundane. The mere thought made me cringe.
No way. It couldn’t be… Ordinary people don’t fuck like him.
His only saving grace was a secret stash of Sweeter than Sweet candy I found in a hidden compartment built into the lining of his walk-in wardrobe. For that fact alone, I hadn’t stolen his dozen jewelled watches that were locked up alongside them (couldn’t speak for the multiple cards that slipped into my pocket, though).
I popped a bubble with my gum and flipped his spare credit card between my fingers, the familiar four letters of his alias engraved in place of his name. When I’d left Nightingale Cemetery, I left all my belongings behind.
So, without another thought, I opened a new message for my bestie, Remi, telling him to meet me in the lobby.
Time to go shopping…and it’s my shout
The elevator doors pinged open, and Remi’s eyes bugged out when he took me in. His silver gaze tracked over the loose men’s tee tied at my belly button, down to the boxers poking out the waistband of my oversized jeans, cinched tightly around my waist with a thick black belt.
When I halted in front of him, he tried and failed to hold in a snicker. “What are you wearing?”
I pinched his ear dramatically. “I don’t have any clothes, so I borrowed some from Echo.” His eyebrows popped as I looped my arm through his, leading us to the lobby doors. “Doesn’t matter what I wear. Still hot, though.”
Remi sighed but didn’t disagree with my observation. “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, girl? How the hell did you get locked up in Echo’s apartment? That has never happened in the history of… Well, forever.”
Just as we reached the doorway, guess who waltzed right through? Grabbing onto my elbow, Echo dragged me to a darkened corner with no misstep or second of hesitation.
I let him back me up against the wall, hands raising to rest on either side of my head. We had no contact, but warmth radiated from him, tunnelling into my skin. I couldn’t see his eyes, sunglasses so dark they closed off the gateway to his very soul. Not that he has one to begin with, the murderous bastard.
“ Where do you think you’re going, Ghost ?” The last word was infused with a bit of extra something, that one syllable skating over my body with suggestion. Oh, I like it when he’s bossy.
I tentatively snaked a hand up through the minute space between us, lifting his glasses to rest atop his head. His hazel eyes were blazing with barely restrained animosity.
“Get your ass back in that elevator and in my apartment . Now.”
I lifted onto my tip toes and popped my gum right over his lips. “Make. Me.”
Echo turned rigid before I saw the challenge snap in his gaze. As he went to grab me, I skirted beneath his arm, twirling out of reach. “You wouldn’t want to manhandle a fragile pregnant woman, now, would you? The first trimester is a vulnerable time for a baby. Very sensitive,” I said, patting my lower abdomen in exaggeration.
I was all shit, of course. There was no way I was pregnant, contraception a sacred law as soon as I lost my virginity—an uneventful and disappointing event (which I had since made up for over the years). Oh, but to rile him… The opportunity was too good to pass up.
Echo’s jaw clenched as he zoned in on my hand, reluctantly retreating. Then, he grimaced, recognition taking hold. “Are those my boxers?”
I lowered my fingers and pinched the fabric. “Mm, they’re quite comfy. The extra room up front is kind of refreshing. You know, since it’s not rubbing against my piercing.”
Echo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he took a deep swallow. Almost in slow motion, he leant down until the tip of his nose knocked against mine. “No fucking around. Do what you got to do, then come back.”
“Don’t worry, Daddy, I won’t be long.” I hastily stepped out of his orbit before I did something really crazy, like capture those irresistible lips with mine.
Echo snapped upright, rolling his shoulders back, expression livid like he was about to entirely lose his shit. His chin tipped to the shadows, and out stepped a stealthy man in all-black attire, a hidden bodyguard waiting on the outskirts.
I went to protest, but Echo cut me off instead. “No negotiation. Either he goes with you, or you don’t go at all.”
I decided to concede by giving an elaborate bow, muttering under my breath, “The least I can do since you’re paying for this endeavour.”
“What?”
“What?” I straightened, smoothing my features into an innocent mask.
Before he could change his mind, I turned, veering for the exit. That’s when I heard a whispered mumble behind my back. “You want to play? Let’s play,” Echo said so low, I’m sure I wasn’t meant to hear it. Either way, I was a willing participant in his game of love and war. And the most important component? I never lose.
When I reached Remi, I offered him an extra piece of gum from my pocket. His face blanched as he vigorously shook his head. Weird. He loves this stuff as much as I do. I followed his gaze over my shoulder to Echo, who remained where I left him, his eyes trained on us both with a smug smirk layered over his face.
My brow furrowed as I dragged Remi after me and chuckled when we hit the sidewalk. The day was looking up, my best friend by my side, a weird, quiet bodyguard in tow and an unlimited plastic card in my pocket. What can possibly go wrong?
Remi bumped his shoulder into mine, shaking his head in disbelief. “You are totally fucked, Spencer.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “But where’s the fun in giving up now? Can I have your phone? I want to make an order.”
Remi begrudgingly surrendered his phone, mumbling about being guilty by association or something. Until I pulled out the slick black credit card to pay.
Remi started. “You’re definitely going to get us killed.”
“He tried that already. I’m unkillable.”
“Saints.” Remi gulped. “I’m not.”
ECHO
The image of Remi’s face draining of colour only conceded my bloodlust for a short amount of time—as much time as it took to ride the elevator up to my apartment, to be precise. With each minute that ticked over in her absence, my heart rate pummelled faster in warning.
Their guard’s latest update was a photo of them eating dinner together. Dinner? With another man. While she was potentially pregnant with my fucking baby. What the actual fuck?
It didn’t matter that it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since she’d re-entered my life. There was an indescribable need building inside of me, but I refused to dissect every microscopic feeling or emotion beyond that. Her very presence was already driving me half crazy.
All I knew was that Spencer King was my responsibility—to keep safe, to watch over, to fucking own. She was mine , and I’d drag her back by the roots of her shining auburn hair if I had to.
I barged into my walk-in wardrobe, the lingering smell of cotton candy contaminating the air. Spencer had stolen my clothes, and I knew exactly where she’d found that gum.
My fingers danced over my hanging dress shirts, out of skew from their usual alignment. Pushing them aside, I opened the secret panel to the hidden compartment behind, perusing the stash with a fine eye.
Ringing sounded from my pocket, and I answered my phone without checking the caller ID.
“Sir, a delivery has arrived at the front desk. Would you like me to bring it up to your apartment?”
Ralph’s question filtered through without processing, my sole attention trained on the contents inside my safe. Besides the missing candy, everything remained in place—designer watches, passports. Then, my fingers glitched as my card wallet looked a bit thin. Swiping through, I immediately knew why.
“Sir? The delivery. It?—”
“—I don’t care. Put the package inside. You know the code.” Without a reply, I hung up. What else had my lovely new resident got her sticky fucking fingers on?
I logged into online banking to check the damage, and the corner of my eye gave an involuntary spasm. Surely, there is something wrong with my eyesight?
Nope. Fifty-two thousand dollars and counting, all spent on various luxurious brands. The bitch was lucky I was rich. Her spending habits would have pushed any other commoner into the deficit. Spencer said she didn’t need me, but she was more than happy to spend my fucking money.
Slamming the safe shut, I launched for the exit, grabbing my keys on the way. Time to drag my Ghost home so I can slap that ass raw.
I came up short when I entered the lounge area, confronted with an alternate reality. Countless flower arrangements dominated the space. Everything was covered, from the floor to the furniture. It was absolutely crazy.
I spotted Ralph step inside the open elevator. Chasing after him, I pressed a solid hand to the closing doors, preventing his escape.
“You’ve got the wrong apartment?—”
He cut me off by extending a crisp white envelope, the paper expensive and smooth between my fingers.
“Miss Spencer lives here?”
My eyes drilled over her printed name, the letters turning fuzzy from the added concentration it took to not rip the paper to shreds.
“Sir?”
I nodded, the action foreign, like my neck was going to snap off from the tight motion. Distantly, I processed the elevator ding, alerting me to its descent and my sudden isolation.
As if moving on their own, my frozen digits opened the accompanying note.
To the most beautiful woman in the wo?—
I didn’t get any further since my vision filtered over with red-hot fury, the transition correlating with the overpowering stench of fragrant flowers and the deafening growl that echoed in my ears.
Before my brain could even register my actions, I’d ignited the fireplace, feeding the ravenous flames with overflowing flowers and vegetation.
Soon, blessed smoke was all I could smell, accompanied by Spencer’s love note and gift burnt to ashes at my feet.
SPENCER
After a lovely dinner with Remi and an immeasurable amount of time placating my sisters, I returned to Echo’s apartment. It had been a successful afternoon, my new wardrobe due to arrive the next day.
Upon entering the foyer of Echo’s sub-penthouse, I stilled. Something was off, and I had one good guess what it was.
The apartment was spotless—pristine, even—but there was a delicate scent that lingered in the air. Echo sat in a stylish armchair, legs crossed, book in hand, fireplace roaring before him. He wore a white dress shirt and checkered grey pants, accompanied by gleaming formal shoes.
On anyone else, it would have looked tacky—on him, it was sophisticated and fucking irresistible. My teeth sank into my bottom lip to prevent myself from drooling.
Echo ignored me as I took one step forward, then another. I was stuck in a rip, the gravitational force so strong, I couldn’t stop my desire to venture further into his uncharted, treacherous domain.
I halted before him, pushing my hands into the pockets of his jeans I still wore. “Ralph mentioned I got a delivery today. Do you have it?”
“Nope,” he said, popping the “p”, all nonchalant. He still hadn’t looked up from his book, flipping another page.
A slow smile elongated from my lips. “That’s unfortunate. I was looking forward to opening my package,” I said, peeling a single stray flower petal from the bottom of his designer shoe.
Echo’s gaze leisurely dragged up my body, lids narrowing on the fragment between my fingers. Rapid-fast, he snatched the petal and chucked it in the fire, the vibrant petal disintegrating in seconds.
Echo smothered a fake cough behind his fist, flipping another page of his book. “I’m allergic,” he said as explanation, shutting down any conversation in the span of two words.
I tried to fight my wide, toothy grin from gleaming…and failed. Echo could deny it to himself all he wanted, but anyone could tell he wasn’t reading a damn thing. All his focus was on me , and my insides lit up from the confirmation.
Within twenty-four hours, I am in his head. In a couple days, I’ll have him on his knees.
Without another word, I sashayed for the corridor that led to my allocated room. Before I could turn the corner Echo called out. “Give my address out again, and I’ll chain you up and use you as my own personal slave.”
“You promise?” I asked, not missing a single beat. He didn’t reply, nor did he have to.