40. Echo
ECHO
MONDAY MORNING - DECISION DAY
I pushed through the revolving doors of the Fairfield Building, the unofficial headquarters for the society’s oldest members, where Eliel and men like Carmen’s father conducted business.
The security guard’s eyes tracked me as I checked in.
His hand twitched toward his side piece, but he thought better of it when I met his gaze and smiled.
I understood his hesitation, but I wasn’t the first rejector to walk into this building, just the first married to the daughter of one of its most prominent occupants.
Because of that, their hostility was expected, but I couldn’t bring myself to give a fuck either way.
The receptionist’s smile faltered when I approached her desk, fingers freezing over her keyboard as she took me in. The air in the building felt heavy as fuck and all for little ole me.
“Demetrius Cannon,” I said, keeping my tone light. “Here to see Eliel James. He’s expecting me.”
Her eyes widened slightly before she masked her surprise.
“Do you have an appointment, Mr. Cannon?”
Ah.
Lucien voted in Forever’s favor. Put a stamp on her hit on the five doctors and spoke in favor of our marriage on the record.
Eliel knew I’d show up here once the decision was made and purposely left everyone in the dark.
“Send him a message,” I replied, resting my forearms on her raised white desk and leaning forward. “Tell him his son-in-law is here.”
I watched her internal struggle play out across her face before she picked up the phone, her voice dropping to a whisper as she announced my presence. After a brief conversation, she hung up and forced another smile.
“Mr. James will see you now. Forty-second floor, suite 4201. Brandon will escort you.”
A security guard stepped up at my side, standing just close enough to be annoying but not threatening. I straightened and nodded at the receptionist.
“Appreciate you, mama.”
I fought the urge to laugh on the elevator ride up, at how uncomfortable my presence made these people.
When the doors slid open, Brandon led me down a corridor and stopped at a heavy oak door with Eliel’s name etched in gold.
“Mr. James, Demetrius Cannon to see you,” Brandon announced after a single knock.
“Send him in,” Eliel’s voice came through.
Brandon gave me one last suspicious glance before stepping aside. I entered the office without hesitation, instantly taking in the corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of EG across the street, furniture that screamed old money, and Eliel himself behind an L-shaped desk.
I claimed the chair across from him, not wanting to be invited to sit, and made myself comfortable.
“You should know,” I said without preamble, “I don’t need shit from you.”
His eyebrows rose slightly, but his dull expression remained intact.
“If anything…” I shrugged, relaxing deeper into the chair. “You should be on bended knee begging for forgiveness and praising my ability to see the bigger picture. Or else you’d be dead already, pops.”
A smug smile spread across Eliel’s face, like I’d somehow played into his hands. That shit amused me; the man really thought he had leverage in a game where the rules had already changed.
“There are some things you should know before we move forward,” he said, pushing a manila folder across the polished desktop. “First things first…”
I stared at the folder for a moment, then flipped it open without picking it up. The first page contained a report of his wife’s service record, with my father’s name highlighted among her confirmed kills. The others were redacted.
“Don’t care,” I said, shrugging. “My father knew the consequences of his actions, and he died for it. Quinn killing him has nothing to do with Forever. What else you got? I carved out an hour of my day for this; use it wisely.”
Eliel, who didn’t seem deterred, leaned back and smirked. “You didn’t disappoint,” he mused, chuckling a little. “I did my research on you. Florida, New York…” He leaned forward. “The O’Sullivan family. You made a lot of friends away from home.”
I hummed, knowing exactly where this conversation was headed. Forever’s father wasn’t trying to threaten me; he was trying to get close to my connections.
“Made a lot of enemies, too. What’s your point?”
I kept my voice deliberately bored, forcing him to spell out exactly what he wanted.
He studied me for a moment, calculating his approach. I could see the exact moment he decided to drop the pretense.
“I want a ten percent cut of your business dealings outside of Everwood,” Eliel finally admitted. “The O’Sullivans run guns. I want part of their deliveries to you and an introduction to the Don.”
Laughter burst out of me before I could stop it, and I slapped the arm of the chair for emphasis, enjoying the flash of irritation that crossed his face.
“You don’t want to meet the Don, Eliel,” I told him, shaking my head. “He wouldn’t like you very much, nor would his wife. They hate bullies who call themselves fathers.”
I leaned forward, all humor gone from my voice.
“Try again and think really hard about how you want this…” I pointed between us. “…partnership to go. There’s only one way to earn yourself a spot on my good side, and I think you know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about.”
The truth was, I had Eliel figured out the night before in Forever’s apartment. He was calculating and cold, but he wasn’t stupid. He recognized when he’d been outplayed. There was only one move left for him: publicly accept me as his son-in-law and support our marriage.
I stood and checked the time. The meeting was over, and we both knew it. Eliel needed time to swallow his pride before he could give me what I wanted.
“Who’s backing the two of you?” he asked as I reached the door, his voice revealing the first hint of uncertainty I’d heard from him.
I paused, hand on the doorknob, and glanced over my shoulder with a smile.
“More like, who isn’t backing us. Do me a favor and go see your wife. There’s something she’d like to tell you.”
I left him to ponder that, closing the door quietly behind me.
The real power in Everwood wasn’t in buildings like this anymore. It was in the alliance Forever and I represented; whether it worked or not didn’t matter to me.
As long as my wife was here to see the results with me, everything was everything.
I made my way to the skywalk connecting the Fairfield Building to Everwood Group’s headquarters, flashing a visitor’s badge to the guard stationed at the entrance.
He waved me through, unaware that the badge was a perfect replica I’d had made weeks ago.
Forever didn’t know I’d cloned her access card either; some surprises were worth keeping, especially when they gave me the ability to reach her whenever necessary.
The glass-enclosed bridge offered a view of the city below, everyday people living their lives with no real knowledge of the shit happening behind the scenes.
Forever’s live stream woke the city up.
I swiped the cloned card at the EG entrance and moved through another security checkpoint without issue. These society motherfuckers were so confident in their technology that they never questioned what they couldn’t see or understand. Their arrogance made infiltrating their spaces almost too easy.
The elevator dropped me on the main floor, and immediately, I sensed the tension in the air. A crowd had formed near the reception desk, and at the center of attention stood Forever, her arm extended with a gun pressed firmly against some man’s temple.
This was Forever in her element, and I hung back, content to watch her work.
“Ms. James—” the man started, a little too much bass in his voice.
“That’s Mrs. Cannon, to you. To every one of you,” she spat, pulling the safety and then the trigger right after.
The gunshot echoed through the lobby, followed by murmurs and the heavy thud of the man’s body hitting the floor. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand, then gestured toward her uncle, who leaned against the reception desk.
“Millicent ain’t coming back…” she continued, pointing to Etienne.
His arms were crossed, and his lips quirked up in a satisfied smirk.
“Etienne is now the chief of operations for Everwood Group. Not only has Millicent’s grandfather been approved, as he’s too old to return to the position, but the board of trustees swore him in this morning.
The decision is made, and it cannot be reversed. ”
Her eyes swept across the stunned faces surrounding her. “Anybody else want to speak up for their dead boss? More specifically, does anybody else feel like dying today? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
The silence that followed said all that needed to be said. Forever’s gaze continued to move across the crowd until it landed on me. A smile spread across her face, softening her features without diminishing her power.
“Demetrius Cannon, you shouldn’t be here,” she said, tucking her gun away and walking toward me.
Her heels clicked against the marble as she approached.
“But since you’ve made this silently grand entrance…
” she raised her voice for everyone to hear.
“…it’s best I introduce you properly. My husband is to be treated as if he were me when you see him in this building from this day forward. Disrespect won’t be tolerated.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her. This woman made power look like an art form. Watching her command a room full of society’s elite while casually establishing my position alongside hers had my dick hard and heart full.
When she reached me, she turned back to address the room once more.
“Check your privilege and bias at the door, and when you’re finished, clean that body from the floor and get back to your regular schedules. Etienne’s replacement will be announced tomorrow.”
She took my hand then, her fingers intertwining with mine as she led me to the elevators.
Her office door had barely closed before Forever pressed me against it, her lips finding mine in a hungry kiss that tasted so goddamn good. I gripped her waist, pulling her body flush against mine as she maintained control over me.
“You like the way I assert myself, baby?” she asked silkily, her voice dropping to that bass that drove me crazy. She stepped back after a moment and walked toward her desk, hips swaying with each step. “I didn’t even want to kill the guy, but—”
I followed, sliding in front of her to lean against the desk as she sat.
“But you can’t let any of them think you’re soft, I know. It was a sacrifice for the greater good.”
Forever leaned back, kicked her heels off, and lifted a foot to my chest, then closed her eyes with a deep sigh.
The tension seemed to drain from her body at my understanding.
This was the Forever only I got to see, the one who carried the weight of her position and sometimes needed reassurance that her actions, however brutal, were necessary.
She wasn’t the kind of killer you’d expect her to be.
“How bad was meeting with my dad?” she asked, her voice softer now.
I pulled her to me by her foot and pressed the sole to my lips, smiling at the moan that escaped her in response. Even in these quiet moments, I couldn’t resist teasing reactions from her.
“Don’t worry about that,” I said, massaging her foot gently. “How’s your head, baby?”
She sighed but didn’t open her eyes or look at me. Forever hated admitting weakness, especially about her migraines. They’d become less frequent since we’d been together again, but stress still triggered them.
I was taking notes on her behalf, for when she was ready to tackle it.
“You stressed, dragonfly?” I continued, keeping my voice low. “What you need from me?”
She pulled her foot from my hold, dropped her leg, and leaned forward, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist and pressing her face against my abdomen.
“Just stand here and let me hold you for a little.”
And I stood there, one hand stroking her back while the other massaged the base of her skull, feeling her breath even out against me. We remained like that until a knock at the door broke the spell. Carmen entered after Forever’s muted “come in.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “But there’s someone here to see you.”
Neither Forever nor I moved from our position. I continued to massage her temples gently, mindful of the pain she wouldn’t voice.
“This is… cute,” Lucien said, revealing the someone to be him. “But the three of us need to have a chat about how things go moving forward.”
I hummed quietly, my focus remaining on the only important factor in all this.
“Not right now,” I replied, careful to keep my voice soft so close to her ears. “Come back later and bring Soleme with you.”
Lucien said nothing as I continued to ignore his presence. I wasn’t about to entertain any request from my mother until she faced me directly. No more intermediaries.
“She’s not ready to face you yet,” he finally said. “Not until Forever does her part.”
“Then we don’t talk,” I countered simply. “Forever already placed her pieces where they need to be; she’s doing her part. Soleme gotta come up off something else worth my wife risking her life, or Imma dead all this shit.”
“What is it you want?” Lucien asked, sounding bored.
He didn’t give a fuck one way or another, the only true neutral party in this game.
“To open Everwood up for business with outside organizations through a council made up of representatives from each,” I said, closing my eyes. “But she can start with seeking forgiveness from Oliver and Solei. Tell her to make it right with them and then give me what I want, and we’ll be square.”
Forever’s arms tightened around my waist, and I took it as a silent show of support that meant more than any words could.