18. Ember
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
EMBER
I stare up at the jet with my heart in my throat.
Leaving LA feels wrong, and that in itself is all the evidence I need that I do, in fact, need to get out of here while I can.
Orion is dragging me back into his orbit, and if I let him, he’s going to steamroll me into forgiving him.
But what he’s done is too big for forgiveness.
The only way I’ll ever be free of the grief of losing Travis is if he’s six feet under.
I press my eyes closed at the thought, my chest tightening to the point of pain.
See? This is the fucking problem.
When I flew in, I was ready to end this, to have my life back without worrying that the Hunter is out there, hurting other families.
And now I’m leaving with my broken heart renewed and my conviction wavering.
“You okay, love?” Max asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I just need to get some distance.”
He looks like he’s about to say something, but instead ushers me toward the private jet and up the stairs.
Before I met Max, I had never been on any kind of plane, let alone a fancy private jet, and now this is the only kind of travel I know, a fact I truly cannot wrap my head around.
Once we’re inside the cabin, I drop into one of the single seats, while Max and Darius take the two seats on the other side of the aisle.
The flight attendant and captain talk in hushed whispers at the front of the plane, and I rest my head against the seat, allowing my eyes to fall closed.
I hate to admit this is the most rested I’ve felt in months, and I have no doubt that it’s because Orion held me through the night. Even as my heart broke with the knowledge that my brother gave me away to a man like Lucas, I still slept through the night and into the early morning.
Why does my body have to be so confident in Orion when my mind is anything but?
The captain takes a few steps toward us, his eyes flicking between me and the guys. “Just a short delay while we wait for clearance to take off. Shouldn’t be too long.”
“Thanks, Matt.” Darius gives him a kind smile before meeting my eye across the aisle. “You need anything, sweetness?”
I shake my head. Nothing he can give me, at least.
I pull my phone from my purse and scroll through my notifications. I only really use it for work these days, and although I almost exclusively work for Max, I do take some odd jobs here and there when the mood strikes me.
I’ve found that keeping myself busy makes it easier to ignore my broken heart, but now I’m not so sure even that will help anymore.
Commotion at the doors drags my attention up, and I vaguely hear Max laugh before a huge frame fills the doorway, and I sigh.
Should have made those knots tighter, it seems.
Orion stalks toward me, his intense, dark eyes holding mine with every step he takes.
Without pausing, he dips his body and lifts me, depositing me over his shoulder so easily I forget to be mad for a second.
No one should be that strong.
“You’re in so much trouble when we get home, Little Flame,” he growls, slapping a hand down on my ass and tearing a yelp from my throat.
“Let me go!” I snap and pound my fists against his back. “I mean it, Orion. Let me down right fucking now!”
“No.”
I turn to look to Max and Darius for help, but they’re both laughing as if they’re watching a comedy play out right in front of them. “Will you two help me?” I growl.
Max smirks and looks up to meet Orion’s eyes. “You hurt her, I’ll make you disappear. I don’t care how big you think you are, I will end you.”
I stare at my best friend for a long second, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound so…terrifying. He’s nothing but a big teddy bear toward me, and yet right now, I’d be tempted to step away if I were on my own two feet.
Which I’m not.
Because I’m being kidnapped by the man who killed my brother.
And my two best friends are letting it happen.
“Max!” I snap.
“And I want to speak to her at least once every twelve hours. If I get even a whiff of her being harmed, I’ll be on your doorstep in hours.”
“You got it,” Orion says and turns on his heel, heading toward the door.
“Orion. Let me down. I don’t want to go with you!” I slam my fists into his lower back again, hoping it’ll make a difference, but he doesn’t even seem to feel it.
“Too bad,” he growls. “You’re in danger, and the only place I know for certain you’re safe is with me. Which means that’s where you’ll be until further notice.”
“You’re fucking crazy!”
“When it comes to you, absolutely. Now you can keep kicking and screaming all the way home, but it’s not going to change a damn thing, so I suggest you sit down and shut up.”
Before I can argue, he deposits me in the back seat of an SUV that Killian’s driving. I wrap my fingers around the handle on the opposite side of the car, fully prepared to make a run for it, but when I tug, nothing happens.
“What the fuck?”
“Child lock,” Killian supplies from the front seat. “I had a feeling you’d try to make a run for it.”
“You realize he’s kidnapping me, right? That I don’t want to be here, or anywhere near him, for that matter?”
He shrugs as Orion climbs in behind me. “Wouldn’t be the shadiest thing he’s done since he met you.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It’s probably better that you don’t know.”