24. EMMA #2
“My what?” I spit. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.
Ace looks to me questioning and my eyes search his, my breathing gets heavier; not again, not another a fucking secret.
“I don’t have a brother, Caz.”
“Oh, I think you should start asking Daddy some questions.” His words rasp out with Bear's tightening hold as if he weighs nothing. Caz's feet dangle about two feet off the ground.
A gunshot fires out, and Caz falls limp in Bear’s grasp from Ace's shot. I look over at Ace noticing the steam rolling off his shoulders, the rage engulfing him with the betrayal setting in.
Ace turns and walks away, leaving me standing there in complete shock. Once again, but this time, I’m not breaking down and crying.
I’m breaking every bone in my father’s body.
BEAR
I drop the backstabbing fucker to the ground and when I turn and look at Ace, I see that crazed look in his eyes, the same look he carried the day he killed Luca’s son. To hear the betrayal of the man that he trusted; I can assure you, that hit his ticker, and he is ticking.
He turns and walks away from us. Emma tries to go after him, and I wrap my hand around her wrist stopping her. “Don’t. Trust me, he needs a minute.”
“Bear, he’s been shot, he needs a doctor.”
I shake my head. “It was a clean shot, through and through; he’s had worse. Leave him alone. I’m warning you, Emma, he is not Ace right now.”
She searches my eyes and I need her from the bottom of my heart to understand what I am telling her right now.
Ace is a good man, a way better man than me, until he is not.
And right now, he is not and he will hurt anything in his path with what is brewing in his head right now.
And if I don’t keep Emma away from that, she will get hurt and he will not be able to live with himself.
“I’m not leaving him alone, Bear. ”
“Get in your car and go home.” I tell her.
She huffs with annoyance, and I inhale a deep breath; keep your cool Bear. I say to myself over and over.
“Emma, trust is his ticker, and when it is broken, he ticks. Right now, he looks like he might explode, you need to stay out of his path of destruction before you become a target.”
“Stay with him then.” She insists. “I can’t do that; I must stay with you.”
“I have someone for that.” She spits. Trying to find any way of getting me to go after Ace, and I know better. “It doesn’t work like that, Queen. Get in your car and drive it home before I have someone drive it home for you.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and I wait for her to fight me, but our attention is broken by the sound of Ace’s car starting up, and he peels wheels out of here.
I pull my gaze back to Emma and lift a brow. “He doesn’t want to be around anyone, just give him time to accept what just happened. I know we have our differences, Emma, but I can assure you, you need to stay out of his way.”
EMMA
The entire drive home I tried to call Ace, but he didn’t answer me.
Don’t shut me out baby, please don’t shut me out.
My heart hurts, but that’s been hurting for a long time, but this, knowing he has been shot, and Caz, who has been his right hand here in the states, even when Ace was in Russia, Caz was supposed to be on Ace’s side, doing what he asked and he did, but what else was he doing.
That we won’t know because he’s dead. But the shocker of it all, I have a brother? What the fuck!
My mind stirs in a million directions at a rapid pace with that detail, or should I say secret. My entire life I have felt a void in my heart. Like a piece of me was missing, but I always thought that was because of my mother.
I need to find out what the truth is. Is it true, do I have a brother?
Before going down to the chambers to pay my father a visit I call Ryan, the one person I prefer not to talk to, but he is also the only person that has been in my life, my whole life, besides my father.
I chew on my lip as the phone rings in my ear, my worry of Ace consuming me, but I try to control all the emotions quaking through me.
“This is a surprise.” Ryan says immediately when answering the phone.
“Yeah, I wasn’t thrilled to have called you to be honest.” My tone is bitter and cold. “We had a problem tonight and I need information from you.”
“What kind of problem?”He growls.
“Answer my question first.” I hear him sigh with annoyance through the phone, causing my lip to curl with a smile. “Do I have a brother?”
The phone goes silent. Nothing. You’ve got to me fucking me right now. My patience is already thin, I don’t have enough in me to deal with this.
“Why do you ask?” His voice cracks with anticipation.
“Answer Me!” The words hiss from my tongue with venom; if he was here they would have struck him dead.
“He’s dead Emma. You had a twin but he died at childbirth. Why do you ask?”
A twin. Is that the void I have always felt, Pop never told me, no one told me I was a twin. The words snap out of my mouth. “He’s not dead.”
“Impossible.” Ryan spits. “Nothing’s impossible.” I respond with venomous annoyance. “Caz betrayed Ace and now I think he’s been working with my brother, whoever that is.” This is all getting so confusing. I don’t know what to think anymore. It amazes me how many secrets people keep, honestly.
“Where is Ace? Let me talk with him.” He orders me. And that has me annoyed too so of course once again I spit my words out. “Call him, he’s disappeared.”
“Fuck.” He roars. “Emma, stay out of his way.”
“Yes, I’ve been told, but I can’t be left in the dark like this Ryan.
” I’m not hurt he left; I understand needing a minute alone to process something if that’s even what he is doing.
The furious rage that was feeding from his body was not a rage of hurt, it was rage of betrayal and a dangerous anger, so I truly feel in my heart he is acting on that, and that, is what scares me.
“It would not be a good idea for me to call him Emma. Let him do what he needs to do and stay out of his way.”
“Yeah, I hear you.” But I don’t. I hang up and pull myself from the counter I was leaning against processing the actions that have unraveled. It’s time to pay daddy a little visit.
I make my way to the Chambers and low and behold, Bear emerges from the shadows. “Can you stop doing that?” I ask with annoyance in my tone.
“What?”
“Hiding in the dark being all creepy and shit.”
He chuckles. “I could be worse.”
I roll my eyes. “Are you going to follow me down to see my father or will you let me be a big girl and do it on my own.”
He cocks a brow and holds his gaze on me for a minute. “Ace might enjoy your bratty shit, but I don’t.”
“Oh, I’m not being a brat.” I smirk.
“I’ll be going with you everywhere you go; get used to it.”
My lip curls into a snarl. Right now, I don’t like Bear. He’s the reason I haven’t gone out and looked for Ace yet. He is the reason I let Ace walk away in the first place. I’ve been on my own my whole life, I don’t need him following me around like a fucking puppy dog.
I turn away from him and continue to make my way to the chambers and he trails behind me.
When I open the door to the room my father is in, my eyes immediately fall on his pale face as his eyes slowly lift open, pulling a smile to my lips. “How you feeling?” I tease.
He growls but says nothing.
“I think we have a lot to talk about.” I grab the long leather whip; you know the ones they use in those old western days, where they snap them leaving that deafening crack; Yeah, this is perfect.
With the handle held in my hand, the tail drags the floor as I walk in front of my father, hiking my ass up on the table in front of him.
I rest my hands in my crossed legged lap and shoot daggers at my father with a sinful smile.
“So, I guess I should start by saying, I know you tried to kill mom.”
His eyes raise, meeting my gaze, and my words come out playful.
“You like how I said; tried. You didn’t succeed and she’s alive.
Want to know the best part, she and Ryan are so deeply in love, and Ryan is who saved her.
” I say the words with playful seductive venom, which makes even me sick hearing about it.
His eyes widen and I smile. And in the blink of an eye, the whip slices across his chest with an echoing crack.
I watch my father wince and his breathing becomes ragged as I continue my torture. “But there’s something you guys never told me.” I hold my gaze on him with a raised brow. “I was a twin.”
His lips curl into a sinful smile and right there. I knew it was true, I have a twin brother that is alive.
“You fucking bastard.” The whip cracks again, and again, and again, ripping a painful groan from my fathers throat.
And about ten more times in a crisscross pattern across his chest. His now shredded suit bearing his bare lacerated bloody skin as he pants in agony.
“Talk. NOW!” The words furiously roar from my lungs.
He chuckles. “You’re after a dead man.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said. You’re a smart girl, figure it out.”
The whip cracks down again, this time the tail of the whip wraps around his throat and I pull it tight, choking him. “I’m done playing your games of secrets.” I tighten the rope as my mind works in ways it never has. And my father holds his sinful grinned look as his face brightens blood red.
I release the pressure and the whip loosens its tight hold. I stare at my father for a moment, and the bright blinking light bulb in my head lights with a bright red glow; Oh, my god.
“It’s my brother that’s after us, not Luca.”
My father’s grin gets bigger. “I outsmarted all of you. I told the nurses to lie to your mother, knowing she would coddle him, they told her he had passed, and I hid him. Trained him. I began my dealings with Luca, sent your brother to him to train under him after Ace killed Kaiser, to use for his revenge. Your brother has been working on Luca’s trust, so he can do what we had planned, but then Ace came home and fucked everything up.
So, I had to play along until your brother could do what needed to be done. ”
“And what is that?” I hiss.
“Your brother has killed Luca and has claimed his empire. The plan the entire time. Needing a man of power not you, a woman, holding the power of two powerful empires.”
“I do that now, along with Ace.” Snapping the words from my mouth; does he forget I hold the power to our empire.
“Not for long.” My father rasps out and the whip flies down across his face.
“WHY? I would have given you and him the empire.”
He chuckles. “You were just a toy in my game, but your brother has found an interest in you. He wants you to stay as his Queen, and rule the empires together. Your brother sees a great potential in you, but I tell him he is wrong.”
I can’t handle another word, not right now.
I hop off the table and bend over in front of my father, staring deeply into his eyes, as a red streak starts swelling across his face.
“Now, you’re just a toy in my game.” I grab the back of my fathers head, raising my knee up, I slam his nose into my knee, before I drop the whip and turn away from my father, heading for the door.
“Watch your back, Emma, your brother is dangerous, and he is close; closer than you think.” I look over my shoulder at my father, enjoying the sight of the blood pouring from his nose, my words dangerously whisper from my lips. “So am I.”
I wrap my hand around the door handle and slam the door behind me as I walk out.
“Well done, you make me proud.” I roll my eyes with annoyance of Bear, deeply and desperately wishing Ace was here .
“Have you heard from him, Bear?” I ask with desperation in my voice. He shakes his head, his lips forming a straight line. Sucking in a short breath, I let it out as I swallow and walk out of the chambers.
When we emerge from the chambers, I start for my room before Bear asks. “What are you doing now?”
“Do I have to tell you everything?”
He huffs a laugh. “No, but I thought you might want to do a little research with me, because I think I know who your brother is. Ace might kill me for this, but technically you’re in command right now, with him gone.”
The corner of my lip curls, liking the sound of those words. “I am, aren’t I?”
He chuckles. “There she is, come on, we’re taking a drive.”
“Okay, hang tight, I need to do something first.” And I do, I need to tell Ace over a text what I learned, and how much I need him.
I get back to my room and sit on the edge of the bed, grabbing my phone from the nightstand, hoping, praying there’s a message from Ace. But there are none.
My shoulder’s slump, and I feel my chin start to quiver as tears sting my eyes.
I just want to know if he’s okay. I close my eyes, holding back the tears as my lips suck between my teeth, fighting that burn in my jaw.
I open my eyes taking in a long deep breath before I let it out as I start typing my message to Ace.
I understand you need time. I will give you that, I just ask that you please tell me you are okay. It is true that I have a brother, a twin at that. A very long story, from your father and mine, I want to share it with you. Come home to me when you’re ready, I love you.
I hover over the send button, before I hit it.
Locking my screen, I wipe the tears that have crept up and fallen to my cheeks, before I stand adjusting my skirt, letting out the breath that I had been holding. I walk from my room and find Bear in the foyer waiting for me.
“You ready?”
I need to know who he thinks is my brother, I need to prepare myself for this. I suck in a deep long breath. “Who do you think it is, Bear?”
He searches my eyes, and his jaw clenches as he grinds his teeth. I can see it in his eyes, he doesn’t want me to know who he thinks is my brother. And at this moment I know. I know it in my heart. The connection I’ve shared with him. I know who my brother is.