Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
ARIANA
I ’m on my laptop, trying to find out everything I can about Obsidian Voss, billionaire. So far, there isn’t much. It appears the Voss brothers are intensely private, and most of what I can dig up is business related.
Obsidian, or Sid as he is mostly referred to, is thirty-four years old. He’s a lawyer and in charge of the legal department at Voss Enterprises, overseeing their vast number of holdings.
Nothing states he’s married. The women he’s photographed with are young, beautiful, and come from the same world he does.
I’m keenly aware of how hot the man is. Typically, I’m not into older guys—god knows I’ve had enough of them hit on me at the bar—but something about this man draws me in. Makes my gaze linger on his perfect profile and his eyes so dark they almost look black. The wolf tattoo on his neck feels like a warning against the handsome, put-together man in a three-piece suit. As though something is lurking beneath the surface. A predator.
When I rescued him, it was apparent he was attractive and fit, muscular, but I was too busy saving his life to really look at him. In one picture my eyes haven’t been able to stray from for the past five minutes, he’s looking right into the camera with an intensity in his stare I’ve never seen. It’s almost as though he can see into me, down into my soul, even through the photo.
A shiver works its way up my spine.
It’s been a couple days since my meeting with Uma, and I’m still not sure what to do. No amount of googling has produced any evidence that Sid is looking to find the person who saved him. Maybe my instincts were right, and he was trying to end his life.
If I attempt to contact him, I’ll come off like a scammer trying to fleece him. I’m thinking it’s a complete loss until I see my in.
“What the hell were you thinking going to see Uma?”
My dad’s voice startles me, and I slam my laptop closed. “Jesus, you scared me.”
“ I scared you? She should scare you. You should never have gone there!”
My dad is an easy-going guy and hardly ever gets mad. When I brought home a D in math my sophomore year of high school because I was more into partying and following Tommy Benson around than I was in my classes, he didn’t bat an eye. Then again, he never was a believer in traditional education. The only time he ever really gets pissed at Bastion or me is when we mess up a scam. Then he acts as if it’s the end of the world, ranting and raving.
I look at him over my shoulder. “What did you expect me to do? Have you seen Bastion?” It’s his fault Bast looks like a pi?ata after a six-year-old’s birthday party.
“You’re the one who wanted out, Ariana.”
I lurch up from the chair to face him, hands fisted at my sides. “Yeah, but now you’ve forced me back in. I’m not just going to let her kill you. What the hell were you thinking getting involved with her in the first place?”
He lifts his chin, looking down his nose at me. “I was thinking about one last big payday, and I could get out of this shit. That maybe you’d be proud of me if I did. That we’d all be free from this life.”
My shoulders sag. It’s possible he believes what he’s saying, but I know it for what it is—a lie. Whether to himself or to me to make me feel more guilty than I already do, I don’t know. My entire life, my dad has been chasing the next big payday, and he’s never found it.
“You should have never gotten into bed with her. You know it. Look at the position we’re all in now.”
“You just worry about yourself, Ari, like you have been doing. Bast and I have been managing just fine on our own these past six months.”
My lips press into a thin line. “I’d beg to differ.”
He scowls and stomps over to the fridge, grabbing a beer. At least it’s nine o’clock at night and not nine in the morning. He twists the beer cap off and tosses it in the sink. “It’s not your problem to worry about.”
Rolling my eyes, I walk over and pluck the cap from the stainless steel and open the cupboard door under the sink, tossing it in the garbage can.
“You’ve made it my problem. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it.” I walk back over to the kitchen table and pick up my laptop, then head to my bedroom.
“How’re you gonna come up with that money?” my dad says.
“I’m going to go get myself a job with a billionaire,” I mumble.
It was no easy feat, but I did it.
After an interview with HR, a skills test, and an interview with one very intense Asher Voss, CEO of Voss Enterprises, I am now the assistant of Obsidian Voss. Why he didn’t interview me himself since I’ll be assisting him, I have no idea.
The only thing I was really nervous about was the background check. I don’t know why. Neither my dad, nor my brother or I have a record. We’ve never been caught or charged for any of the scams we ran—it was one of the tenets of our upbringing. Never attract the attention of the authorities. If we ever thought we may have, we’d haul ass out of town and set up shop somewhere else under a different name.
When I saw the job opening on the Voss Enterprises website and how well my qualifications lined up with what they were looking for, I knew this was my in. The best part is that as a part of the job, I’ll be living at the Voss family home, which undoubtedly means access to all kinds of expensive things I can steal and sell. And not for a little money. A lot of money. Billionaires don’t have two-dollar tchotchkes adorning their mansions.
I don’t feel good about going back to the life of a thief, but it’s necessary to save my family and myself. Besides, billionaires? They probably won’t even notice anything is missing.
I’m booked in a first-class seat, and a driver picks me up from the airport to drive me to the Voss family estate. My stomach feels like a witch’s cauldron, bubbling with nerves the longer I’m snug in the leather seat of the fancy car.
The driver doesn’t speak, so I don’t say anything to him. I sit silently in the back seat and watch the city streets turn into country roads until we stop in front of a large set of iron gates.
This must be it. My hand falls to my stomach.
The driver punches in a code, and the gates slowly ease open. We drive down a winding road with large, old trees on either side. Eventually, the trees stop, and I get my first glimpse of my new home.
Holy shit.
The place is enormous. Bigger than enormous. Unfathomably big. I didn’t even know houses like this existed outside of movies.
Even more than that, this place looks as if it’s been pulled out of a Dracula novel or something. There are a couple of stone gargoyles on the top of the building. The dark stone sucks in the sunlight, and the large towers at each end of the massive building give it an old-world castle feel.
The driver stops in front of the enormous front door with stained glass above it and gets out of the car. I use the moment alone to take a deep breath and slowly blow it out.
Before I’m prepared, he opens the car door and helps me out. I’m not used to the humidity in the south, and I’ve been covered in a thin layer of perspiration since landing. All my clothes cling to my body like a second skin.
“Your bags will be brought to your room. I believe Marcel, the house manager, is waiting for you inside. He’ll direct you where to go,” he says.
I give him a small smile and nod my thanks before approaching the door and knocking. It opens almost immediately to a smiling man I assume is Marcel.
“Good day, Miss Clarke. Welcome to Midnight Manor.”
I had no idea that’s what this place was called, but from what I’ve seen thus far, the description fits. I step inside. “Thank you.”
The inside is adorned much the way I expected. Which means richly with a lot of antique pieces. Even though it’s daytime, sconces flicker on the walls because the light from outside doesn’t penetrate the arched windows. At least from what I can see. The house is dim, and you’d never think the summer sun is shining outside.
“Mr. Voss is expecting you. I’m to take you to his office. Follow me please.”
“Sure.” I walk alongside him.
It doesn’t take long before I’m turned around and unsure how to get back to where we started. It goes against all my instincts. My dad always told us to make sure we cataloged all the exits of anywhere we went. You never know when you might need to make a quick escape.
“Um… which Mr. Voss are we going to meet?”
Marcel looks at me. “Sorry. Asher Voss. I believe he wants to meet with you before Obsidian joins you.”
I nod, feeling a little better that my first meeting will be with a man with whom I’ve already interacted. Even if he is extremely intense and not that friendly.
We continue down a wide hallway with a high arched ceiling and stained-glass windows on one side.
“This place is a maze. How do you remember where to go?” I ask.
Marcel chuckles. “You’ll get used to it, I assure you.”
I’m not sure I believe him, but I smile at him anyway.
We stop in front of a large wooden door, and he knocks.
“Come in,” I hear from the other side.
Marcel opens the door and motions for me to enter. “Miss Clarke is here, sir.”
Asher Voss glances at me, then looks at my chaperone. “Thanks, Marcel. Can you please ask Sid to join us in five minutes?”
Marcel nods and turns without saying anything.
“Miss Clarke, have a seat.” Asher motions in front of me.
I enter the room and notice another person in here with us. A beautiful brunette walks toward Asher’s desk from the far corner. Her smile puts me at ease, at least as much as I can be in this moment.
I’ve always struggled with the beginning stages of a ruse. My dad used to say he could see it on me and nagged me about fixing the fact I struggle to lie.
When she gets close, she holds out her hand. “I’m Anabelle. It’s good to meet you.”
I shake her hand. “Ariana Clarke.”
“Anabelle is my wife,” Asher says, and the pride in his voice at his proclamation makes me like Asher Voss.
“Oh. You make a very nice couple,” I say to them, needing to butter up everyone I’m interacting with so they don’t see through me.
Anabelle playfully rolls her eyes as though she finds her husband amusing and leans her hip against the side of Asher’s desk as I sit.
Asher says, “I wanted to touch base with you before you go off with Obsidian to let you know what you’re walking into.”
I fight to keep the smile on my face, but I’m not sure I’m successful.
“He’s not exactly thrilled that I’ve hired you,” Asher says.
My stomach tightens, and my breakfast threatens to rush back up. “He’s not?” I assumed when the job was posted it was because Obsidian wanted an assistant.
Anabelle gives me a sympathetic look while Asher shakes his head, mouth turned down in a frown. “No. But he needs an assistant to relieve some of the pressure he’s under, take some things off his plate.”
I nod. “Okay, I appreciate the heads-up.” Hopefully, once Obsidian realizes what an asset I can be to him, he’ll change his attitude.
“If I know my brother, he’s going to attempt to get you to quit. He’ll be a dick and make things difficult for you.”
Wonderful. I’m not sure what to say to that, so I say nothing.
“If it becomes too much for you, come see me, and I’ll deal with him.”
I nod, knowing I’ll handle whatever Obsidian Voss dishes out because I need to remain in this house until I can fence enough stuff to pay back my father’s debt.
“Good. Hopefully what we’re paying you will help take some of the sting off his attitude,” Asher says.
Now it makes sense why this job pays what it does. It’s about three times what anywhere else would pay, and I’d assumed it was because Obsidian works day and night. But it seems like it’s danger pay because he plans to be an asshole. Even with the good money I’m making, it would be decades before I could pay Uma off.
Doesn’t matter. I’ll take whatever he’s going to dish out and smile while I’m doing it. My family’s lives—hell, my life—depend on it.
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” I smile at them both, but the wan smile on Anabelle’s face gives me pause.
Before Asher can respond, there’s a knock on the door. I turn to look over my shoulder and spot Obsidian Voss stalking into the room like a predator on the hunt, and I steel myself for his wrath.