CHAPTER TEN

EMMETT BEFORE

 

I INSTRUCTED MATTHEW to keep an eye on Amber; she was a flight risk, and I couldn’t let her go. Right now, I needed to bring my attention back to Kirk. I wanted to tell him about my plan before I told the others.

“The Russians are demanding one of my crew be killed.”

“Are you going to kill me?” Kirk didn’t sound afraid. A numbness from Liam's death echoed in his words. 

“No, Kirk I’m not. There’s no need to kill anyone. I’m going to tell them I killed Liam.”

I waited, as he cried behind his arm. “No, Emmett, I want those fuckers dead that killed him. If you say you did it, I can’t retaliate.” 

Patience normally placed high on my talents, but right now, I didn't have the time. I understood his pain; I had lost a brother myself. “And you will, just not right now.” I said, and Kirk bowed his head.

 “Okay,” he whispered, and I patted his back while looking up. Matthew walked towards us from the direction of the toilets.

 “Where’s Amber?” I asked him, and he looked at the door.

 “Oh, shit!” He took off out the front door. I didn’t waste a minute but rang the hotel, telling them the moment Amber arrived to tell me. I left the Gym and got Joe to drive me to the hotel. I didn’t pull up out front, but came in the service doors.

My phone rang as I made my way through the staff quarters. “Miss Green is in her room, Mr. Harrington.” Riley informed me.

I closed the phone and didn’t waste a moment as I made my way to her room. I had reached the door as it opened, and Amber nearly walked straight into me. Her green eyes blazed at me. She always looked so alive.

“Great, you packed,” I said, stretching around her and taking her bag, but like I knew she would, she yanked it back. I let her have control, even if it was just for a moment.

“I’m going home.” She tried to sound brave, but fear lingered in her words and eyes. Enforcing that fear seemed like a good idea. Reasoning with her could also work. To force her seemed more natural than what I ended up doing.

“I understand that this is all very confusing, but it is really for your safety, and it’s only for a few days.” She seemed to consider it, and for a moment, I felt this might be easy.

“No one knows me, Emmett. Seriously, you're being paranoid.” 

“This is not a debate, Miss Green.” Her eyes fired up, her lips tightened, and I suppressed a grin at the expected reaction. She was so different from anyone I had ever met before.

“Don’t call me that. It’s fucking Amber!” She tried to move past me, and I let out a breath of annoyance.

“If you don’t come with me, you will die.” It really was that simple. Now she looked afraid, and that made me angry. I didn’t want her to be afraid, especially not of me.

“Are you threatening me?” I glanced awkwardly at the couple who walked past us, eyes narrowed and full of suspicion. This wasn’t helping. I pushed Amber back into the room. She protested loudly, and I closed the door.

“I am not the threat, Amber; I am trying to protect you.” She huffed for a moment longer and her shoulders sagged. She let out a final sigh before sitting heavily on the bed. Her nails became her main focus. There were small flecks of blood on her nails, and I assumed that was what had captured her attention. It had captured mine, and I wanted her to wash the blood off them, but I didn’t say anything.

“We need to leave now." I tried once more.

“A few days?” She looked at me now, her brows furrowed, darkening her eyes. Her face filled with an expression I had never seen there before, and one I didn’t know how to read. Reading her had become easy to me. I studied her for a few seconds longer, searching for an answer. “Emmett?” she questioned while shifting in her sitting position. 

“Yes, a few days,” I answered her.

“Then I can go home, for good?”

My chest tightened at the thought of never seeing her again. The unfamiliar feeling irritated me. “If that’s what you want, then yes.” She finally got off the bed and reached for her bag, but I picked it up with relief that she was complying. “Just follow me,” I told her, and we left.

 

***

 

I closed the double doors to our meeting room. We hadn’t been here since I left my father’s side. A strangeness settled on my shoulders as I sat at the head of the table. Michael was to my right and Jax to my left, Matthew, JP and Kirk sat on the right also, and Philip, Marcus, and Ryan on the left, and one empty seat remained at the end. Liam had sat there. The seat was reserved for the newest members.  We liked to keep the new recruits front and center. Now, the empty chair would be a reminder of what we lost.

“I was given terms, ones that I don’t expect any of you to follow. I have to make a drop, and I will do it on my own.”

“I’m in,” Michael said. I knew he would be; he was always with me. 

“Me, too.” I nodded at Matthew. One after the other, they all declared themselves in.

“It’s getting us back into either guns or drugs." I declared as their faces fell one by one. I hated that I had gotten them all into this, especially after we had tried so hard to get out of it.

“You should have said no.” JP tore at a cigarette box, tearing it into tiny pieces.

“If I had said no, I wouldn’t be here. I also have to give up a crew member. Dead.” I wanted this over with quickly, for Kirk's sake. He stared at his hands now, while everyone else looked at each other. “So we will say I killed Liam.” 

JP's chair bounced off the floor as he stood up abruptly, he scattered all the paper across the table. “Bullshit. Those pieces of shit have to die.” His fist hit the table. Jax and Ryan backed him with nods.

“Someone has to die JP, so if it’s not Liam, are you volunteering?" I asked. He stared at me for a moment, fists clenched, before sitting down. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the meeting. 

“This threat, is it from Kirill?” Matthew asked. The change of topic I grabbed at. I didn't want to speak of Liam any longer than was necessary. 

“Yes, but I’m more worried about his brother.”

“I hear he’s a mad bastard, eats his victims’ hearts,” Ryan spoke, his hand patting his heart for emphasis.

“Well, I killed his son…”

Too many questions were fired at once, and I told them about the fight with Viktor and how Kirill had set me up.

“We’ll be in hiding forever.” Matthew looked alarmed for the first time. Being the oldest of us, he had seen some decent amount of shit, so his concern spread quickly to the rest of the guys.

“I’ll figure something out.” I stated with authority. He relaxed and nodded. His confidence in me as a leader always confused me. He had been close to my father, but when I broke free, he left with me. He told me I was the type of leader he wanted to follow.

“So keep your families here, no phones, and internet, no one in or out unless one of us is with them. You know the drill.” Everyone agreed. We left the room and returned to the compound. I had left Amber in her room. I had no doubt she wouldn’t be there, but I wasn’t worried because there was no way out.

 

 

AMBER

The grey cement walls rose eleven feet into the air; the top was covered with spikes. I swallowed as I stared at the sharp metal. Was it to keep people out, or in, or both? I had walked the perimeter of the garden, shocked with how big this place was. It had been built like a fortress. The cameras zoomed everywhere I walked. The buzzing had me constantly looking over my shoulder at them and narrowing my eyes. At one stage, I gave it the finger.

 The women all sat in one of the living areas talking and laughing like they did this every day. Maybe they did. I came full circle back to the large, black sheeted gates.  My hand continuously touched my pocket for my phone, but JP had taken it back at the gym. I returned to the ‘compound’ which was a mansion in reality, and searched for JP. Instead, I found a bar, an actual bar, with one lone wolf drinking whiskey, the bottle sitting beside his glass that he refilled now as I paused at the door.

“You can leave. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you.” His voice was familiar to me, but I couldn't pinpoint where I had heard it before.

“Leave the compound?” I asked.

He turned around now, a smile on his face. I remembered him. He was one of the security men from the hotel who had taken the poor man to the ground. “The bar,” he answered while raising his glass and knocking it back. I considered doing just that, but my need for a drink was stronger, so I made my way to the bar.

“And why would that be?” I asked, leaning across and getting myself a glass.

“Because of your friend being kicked out of the hotel.” So, he remembered. He filled my glass and his own. 

“I’m here now, so we may as well drink.” We both did at the same time and he refilled them. I coughed as it burned my throat. The warmth of the liquid, as it made its way down my throat, was a welcome friend.

“Michael.” He held out his hand, and I took it, still reeling from the brandy. 

“Amber.” 

He smiled. “The new nurse.” He continued to smile that weird, knowing smile, and it pissed me off. 

“Care to share?” I asked, refilling my glass, only this time I sipped it.

“Emmett likes you.” He said, his lip pulling up into a grin.

I snorted. “Yeah, I passed him there in the garden. He was picking flowers for my shrine.” I smiled as that got a laugh out of Michael.

“I didn’t say idolize, I said liked.”

 I grinned, that was doubtful. But for some strange reason, it made me feel…warm.

“So how did you guys meet?” I asked as Michael walked around the bar to make a drink. 

“Martini?” He questioned as he flipped the bottle of gin in the air and caught it behind his back. He winked at me as he caught it and poured. I nodded and then watched in amusement and appreciation as he mixed it and shook it like they did in the movies. I had never seen anyone do this, and I became transfixed at how quickly and efficiently he moved. He poured it into two glasses, squirted lemon in both and dropped in an olive, before sliding mine to me, I took a sip.

“That’s real nice,” I told him.

“That’s how I met Emmett’s father. I was bartending, and one drink led to another. He offered me a job I couldn’t refuse.” He moved back around the bar and sat beside me. I took another sip of my delicious martini.

“What kind of job?” I asked, and Michael grinned. At that moment, he reminded me of Craig. He was good looking in a boyish way; his brown eyes and spiky blond hair added to his boyish looks.

“I feel like you’re using me for information.” He drank deeply, looking over the glass at me. I knew when I was being flirted with, and I was being flirted with. It felt nice to do something so normal. Just flirting instead of people hauling me around the place, trying to stay alive and save lives.

“Just making conversation, Michael.” I smiled at him and his grin turned into a smile. But he was right, I was looking for information. He wasn’t going to tell though, so I went down a different lane. “I didn’t see Emmet's father here?” I said, and Michael straightened, the boyish grin gone as a voice spoke from behind. 
 

“That’s because he isn’t here.” Why did his voice make me straighten up just like Michael? I didn’t want him to have such an impact on me. Pretending he didn’t bother me, I took a drink of my martini, draining it. As Emmet sat across from me and Michael, my stomach tightened at the intensity in his eyes. The blue was so pale. Frost, that’s exactly what came to mind while taking Emmett in. “I don’t speak to my father,” he added. I looked over at Michael to gauge his reaction, and I had to blink a few times. I wasn’t sure if he was breathing.

 “Sorry,” I said, feeling awkward. Still looking at Michael, I wasn’t sure how to read this situation.

“I’m not. He's a prick.” My eyes quickly darted back to Emmett as he said that, and his face had hardened. His eyes sharpened even more, turning the blue into a raging sea. I felt like the fool who thought the dog was cute, but discovered it was a lion. Looking for something to do, I drank my unfinished whiskey from earlier. This was awkward.

“I’m going to do the rounds.” Michael said as he stood up, sliding back his stool.  “Goodnight Amber,” His now formal way of speaking sat weirdly on him. It just didn't work. 

“Yeah, night.” He left the room, and the silence had me going behind the bar. I didn’t have a clue how to make a Martini and I wasn’t going to try. So, I found a fridge with Budweiser as a silent Emmett watched my every move, making me nervous. “Want one?” I asked.

It took him a moment to answer, like it always did. “No, I don’t drink.”

I found myself grinning at his blatant lie, one I called him out on.

“Well, that’s a lie, the other night? When you rang?” I reminded him.

“My jaw was swollen, and I couldn’t talk properly.” I stared at him, seeing the fading bruises. Right. I took two more Buds out of the fridge and placed them on the bar before sitting back down.

 

EMMETT

I wasn’t sure if I made her uncomfortable, and I wanted her to relax, but the silence had her glancing around the room and fidgeting.

“Tell me about your family.” My request surprised both of us. I had so much to do; instead, I was making chit-chat. But the minute I asked it, I realized that I wanted to know everything about her, and I was in no rush to leave her company.

She took a deep swallow. “I have one brother and amazing parents.” Her smile lit up her eyes, the green vibrant like the deep green of a perfect leaf.  “My mum is amazing. I mean like super mum. She bakes…I mean really bakes. I always remember either scones or buns in the biscuit tin, fresh brown bread, apple tart of a Sunday. She’s the type of mum that loved education, you know what I mean?” She stopped there and looked at me, waiting for some kind of answer. I stared at her. I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. My mother was never there. All she ever cared about was money and more money. But I was not about to let her know that, so I simply nodded, and I relaxed when she continued, happy with my answer.

“She always read to us, teaching us about the universe.” She took a drink, still smiling, still lost in her memories. So perfect. So happy. Good, I wanted her to feel relaxed. “My Dad, he worked so hard for us, always wanting me and my brother, Luke, to have the best in life. He wasn’t exactly a hands-on dad, but when we needed him, he was there with his words of wisdom.” She looked at me now, her smile fading. “Jesus, sorry, I’m boring you, you ask me a simple question and I give you an essay.” She held up the drink ruefully. “Budweiser, turning me into a real talker.”

“You’re not boring me.” I wanted her to continue, but now she looked too aware of her surroundings, too aware of me. She didn’t drink now, but played with her bottle. “My mother was absent most my life.” I never spoke about this, and I wasn’t sure why I was now, to her. It wasn’t a secret, I just never wanted to discuss it, but right now, I just didn’t want her to leave.

 

AMBER

 

He stopped speaking then. Grace had never told me much. She was like my soul sister, but she struggled with her feelings towards her mum. I knew she was shit, but how shit? Well, I was going to find out.

“Yeah, Grace never talked much about her, so I assumed she wasn’t winning any mother of the year awards.” The bottle nearly fell from my hand as Emmett smiled a genuine smile at me. Wow, it transformed him. His eyes that had the ability to freeze a person, now melted me. The blue crystal clear and sparkling as he smiled. My stomach tightened. His lips pulled into a smile showed a dimple on his right side, one I had never seen before. My heart skipped a beat now. He winced in pain, his battered face not ready for the smile.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what?” The frown that marred his face was genuine. He had no idea why I was apologizing.

“I was going to say for making you smile, but I’m not. You wear it well.” He stared at me, that strange, creepy stare, like he didn’t blink, and I could feel myself going red. He was so out of my league, and now he must have thought I was hitting on him. Crap.  “I j-just–” Now I was stuttering. Wow. What a mess-up.

“I wasn’t hitting on you,” I said. I needed to clarify that. God, he was back to being unreadable.

“I don’t know, Amber, it seems like you are.” For the second time, I nearly let the bottle fall. He smiled, and I realized he was joking. What the fuck? I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face, and I took a drink just to process this new version of Emmett.

“Well, Michael said you liked me,” I said boldly. Way too much drink. When he didn’t say anything, it annoyed me more than it should have. “Well do you?” I don’t know why I needed to know, all I knew was I did. I held my breath as I waited for him to answer.

He answered my question with a question,“What do you think?”

“I think–I think. I don’t know," I answered honestly.

We stared at each other and for the first time, he looked away. I was on a roll tonight.

“We got trouble at the gates, boss.” Suddenly appearing behind me, Matthew scared the shit out of me and I jumped. The moment between Emmett and I broken. This time, the bottle finally fell from my hand and spilled over the bar and down on top of me. I jumped back with a cry as Emmett passed me a towel. I reached to take it, but he didn’t let it go, forcing me to look at him.

“Please stay inside.” This time, it was the way he said it that had me agreeing. It was like I mattered. Mattered to him. The warm feeling returned, and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t want to feel this way about him. It was too dangerous.