6. Ember
CHAPTER SIX
EMBER
I t takes me longer than I expect to spot him, but once I do, I can’t escape him.
Every time I look around, I meet his dark eyes, and I can’t help but lose myself in them.
Fuck.
I thought I was better than this.
I thought I was over him.
But I should have known it would take longer than a few months to get over the man who brought me back to life.
Orion steps closer, and I dodge around a group of people I vaguely recognize as B-list celebrities to avoid him.
This is becoming a game of cat and mouse, and I’m not the predator, no matter how much I would like to be.
I turn to dodge behind another group, only the come face-to-face with Killian. He has a mask on, just like everyone else, but the simple half mask does little to hide his intense eyes.
“Ember,” he greets.
I glare up at him. “Move.”
He chuckles. “I don’t think I will.” He wraps a hand around my bicep and tugs me further from the crowd.
This is definitely not part of my plan.
“Let me go,” I snap.
“No.”
“Killian!”
“I said no, Ember. You owe him at least a conversation.”
“I don’t owe him a damn thing. He killed my brother. He stalked me. He manipulated me. He lied to me. The only thing I owe him is a bullet.”
Killian’s features are amused, as if he’s finding my hatred funny, and I have to clench my hands at my side to stop myself from taking a swing at him.
Men.
“I hate to break this to you, Ember, but that man is not going to let you go. He will hunt you to the end of the earth, and maybe even then. It’ll be easier if you just talk to him.”
I huff out a laugh. “I don’t really give a fuck what’s easy, Killian.”
Orion is only a few feet away, and every step he takes makes my body more desperate for him. My mind may be totally on board with killing the asshole for what he’s done to us, but my body has yet to get on the same page, and that’s never been more clear than right now.
I glance over my shoulder and notice a bathroom only a few steps away, giving me the perfect easy escape.
I don’t care if it makes me look weak. I don’t care if talking to Orion would make both our lives easier. I just need a minute.
I need to have a cool head when it comes time for the auction, and right now, my head is anything but cool. My entire body feels like it’s been through a furnace.
Without giving myself enough time to talk myself out of it, I pluck a glass of champagne off a tray as it passes before promptly throwing the contents in Killian’s face.
The shock of the move gives me more than enough time to slip away from him and into the bathroom without anyone noticing.
The moment the door closes behind me, I can breathe again.
This was a bad idea.
I’m not ready.
I thought I was. I was sure I was ready. But I’m not, and now that I’m here, I’m not certain I ever will be.
I’m so desperate for revenge that I overlooked just how much Orion affects me.
I cross to the luxe basin in front of me and press both hands to the cool marble. This place is bougie as fuck, considering it’s underground. But whoever owns this place is probably charging an arm and a leg to everyone who is auctioning something just to be here.
The door swings open behind me, but I don’t look up. I just need a few more seconds to get myself together, to slide my unbothered mask back in place, and get back to work.
A soft click signifies the door lock sliding into place, which gets my attention.
My eyes fly up to the mirror, and my stomach rolls.
The Hunter stands with his back against the door and his arms crossed over his chest. He doesn’t move any closer, nor does he say anything as he holds my eyes through the mirror.
Why did I come in here? I should have known he would follow me, that he would trap me the same way he did in his apartment.
His eyes flick to my wrists, and I try not to flinch as they move over the ugly scars that have become a part of me. They’ll fade eventually, but in an effort to stop the bleeding, the doctors didn’t bother consulting a plastic surgeon, and therefore, they’ll always be raised and jagged.
But I don’t mind so much. They’re just another reminder of my survival. Even when my mind was desperate to give up, my body wasn’t ready yet.
This is the first time I’ve even thought to be self-conscious of them.
Except when I look at Orion standing in front of me, it’s not disgust swirling around his dark eyes. It’s concern. Relief. Anxiety. It’s a whole host of emotions you would never expect to see staring back at you when looking at one of the most infamous criminals in the country.
“Little Flame,” he rumbles.
I press my eyes closed, the nickname he gave me feeling too raw with everything else.
“Don’t call me that,” I whisper.
He chuckles, but there’s no humor in the sound. It’s empty. Devoid of emotion. And I fucking hate it. It doesn’t seem to matter that he’s the reason my entire world fell apart. My heart still calls to him, proving once again that tonight won’t be the night I kill him.
But the time will come.
The Hunter will pay for taking the only person who ever loved me away.