Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

LUCILLE

That bitch.

That absolute cunt.

Tears fill my eyes as soon as the apartment door closes behind Emmie and Theron. I hate myself the moment it does. I hate Emmie even more. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and she’s getting what she wants. Why? Because he knows she’s full of shit, he knows that she’s manipulative. Yet he’s backing her. Why? There is a reason. I’m under no illusion that there isn’t. I just want to know what that reason is, and Theron won’t tell me.

But fuck Emmie Grant.

Fuck her.

Fuck. Her.

Pacing my apartment, I wonder what I can do without pissing Theron off any more. I mean, I need to do something, but I don’t want him to hate me, either. I know he doesn’t love her. He’s only with her for whatever secret mission he’s on with his friends. Something that has to do with her father and the Willow Club.

Then it hits me.

His friends.

I don’t know them that well, and it’s been a decade since I’ve spoken to any of them, but if I could find out anything, it would be through them. Theron isn’t saying a word. But that doesn’t mean they won’t… and he didn’t forbid me talking to them.

Since I know that Theron is with the bitch, I decide to grab my purse and keys before heading out the door. Keeping vigilant, I glance around as I make my way toward my car but pause right as I reach for my door handle.

That black bimmer is still sitting in the same spot. I can see the outline of someone in the driver’s seat. The back windows are too tinted. I can’t tell if anyone is in the back, but there is clearly someone sitting in the front.

Opening the door, I sink down in the driver’s seat, never taking my eye off that BMW. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and I know deep in my bones that whoever is inside is watching me.

Maybe it’s like a stalker’s intuition or something, I’m not sure, but I know that person is watching me.

Leaving my apartment complex, I keep a vigilant eye on my rearview, but whoever this person is, if they’re following me, they are good. Really good. Which makes me think that they are professionals, and that’s fairly terrifying.

What if Emmie has hired someone to kill me or something?

Maybe I’m overthinking, but Theron was adamant about keeping me safe, about this being dangerous. I didn’t take him very seriously, but now I’m starting to wonder. Especially since I was in that basement before all of this started. Someone very well could have seen me, thought I saw something that I shouldn’t, and now I’m toast.

I’ll worry about that after I find out what exactly I wasn’t supposed to see. It’s something that Theron clearly doesn’t want to talk about, something from his past, and the only other people who are from his past are his business partners.

Pulling up to the office building, I make sure to park as far away from the building as possible. There is no way I want to risk being on camera, and I know that these people have cameras everywhere.

Watching the back door, I wait for one of the men to walk out. It’s Vaughn. I don’t know him as well as I do Hale, Merrick, or even Boden. But he will have to do because he’s the first one to walk out of the building.

I watch as he makes his way over to an SUV. It’s a sexy beast, too, a lifted, blacked-out Ford Bronco. Nice. Really nice. He backs out of his spot, and once he is on the main road, I ease out into traffic and stay two car lengths behind him.

I have no doubt that Vaughn will track me following him before he reaches his destination, and when he pulls into a grocery store parking lot, I smirk because I am right. Instead of pretending to be doing anything other than what I am actually doing, I pull in right beside him.

Vaughn rolls down his window, his brow arched, but fuck that. I’m not yelling at him through rolled-down windows. I take a quick glance around the parking lot. I don’t see the BMW, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t somewhere close, waiting and watching me.

Unfolding from my seat, I walk in front of Vaughn's machine before I climb inside the passenger seat.

“Lucille Spencer,” he says coolly without even looking at me.

Facing him, I give him a smile, not speaking, and eventually, he turns to face me. His lips twitch into a smirk, but with his glasses on, I can’t tell if it reaches his eyes or not.

“I need to know what’s going on, Vaughn. He won’t tell me, but I need to know.”

“Need and want are two different things in this world,” he murmurs.

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head once. “No shit. It’s both for me right now. This is both.”

“Fuck,” he hisses.

THERON

After getting Emmie dropped off at work, I walk back to my car, sinking down into the seat as I grip the steering wheel and pinch my eyes closed. I cannot believe that this happened. I knew Lucille was going to get caught up in this shit. I knew it.

But… what the actual fuck?

What.

The.

Actual.

Fuck.

Starting my car, I head to the office. It doesn’t take me long to get there. I head upstairs to my office and bury myself in the Willow Club secret project. I think I have everything mapped out the way it’s supposed to be, and then I can put in my own devices as well and place those where I think they should go. Before I make anything permanent, I text the men and ask them into my office.

Everyone responds that they’re close by, except Vaughn. His text causes me to pause. I’m not sure I understand where he is and why he’s there.

VAUGHN: I’M AT THE STORE. BE BACK WHEN I CAN.

The store.

In the years that I’ve known Vaughn, the only time he’s ever gone to a store was when we were first starting and poor as fuck. As our business and bank accounts have grown, he has, without a doubt, participated in the luxuries that life has to offer, and grocery delivery along with online shopping has been his life.

COME TO MY OFFICE WHEN YOU’RE DONE… AT THE STORE.

In a few moments, my brothers are all standing around my desk, waiting for me to speak. Standing up straight, I push the plans into the middle of my desk and dip my chin toward them.

Merrick is the first one to reach for them. I watch as his gaze scans the paperwork. He dips his chin before his gaze lifts to meet mine. “You have everything where it needs to be seen and where it doesn’t.”

My lips twitch into a smirk. I was hoping he would say that. The rest of the men look at the plans, too, but none of them have anything to add except Boden. He reaches out, taking the paper in his hand, and I watch as he scans the document.

I can almost see the wheels inside of his head turning as he takes in everything, almost as if he’s drawing a mental picture of the rooms. “What about this door?” he asks. “Don’t you think we need eyes on it?”

Slowly, he lowers the paper down on my desk and extends his index finger, touching the spot that he’s talking about. Fucking shit, he’s right. Taking my pen, I mark the spot before I lift my gaze to meet his.

“Would have missed it. Thanks.”

He dips his chin, his gaze holding mine for a moment, and then he clears his throat and takes a step backward. The rest of the men agree that it looks good, and I let them know that I’ll be out of pocket for the next week getting it set up.

“When are you getting rid of that succubus?” Merrick asks.

I almost laugh because this man is in the same position as I am right now, except he married his. Arching a brow, I watch him for a moment, tilting my head to the side. Merrick runs his fingers through his hair.

“Mine wasn’t by choice. This was.”

Clearing my throat, I rock back on my heels as I shove my hands in my pockets. “She targeted me. She knew who I was. I didn’t know who she was. Which seems to be pretty similar to your situation, except I’m not married to her.”

Every man in the room winces, but Merrick doesn’t. He knows what he’s done and, without a doubt, is feeling the pain of the choices he’s made. I shouldn’t rub it in his face. Honestly, it could be any one of us. I mean, not me because I won’t be marrying Emmie, no matter what the fuck her father wants from me.

I’d kill them all before I let that… succubus is right... share my name. Sharing a bed is a different story, but I probably shouldn’t be doing that with Emmie anymore, either. It leaves a bunch of shit open that should not be options. Like marriage and kids. Which are definitely not things I have ever wanted with her.

“Difference?” Merrick begins. “I wanted Colette from the moment I laid eyes on her. I took her, and I’m not upset about the fact that she’s mine. I’m pissed at her fucking piece of shit father.”

“That is a difference,” I murmur. “Quite the difference.”

Inhaling a deep breath, I hold it for a moment, then let it out slowly. “That was a low blow,” I say.

He shrugs a shoulder. “It was, but it wasn’t wrong. What I did was a fuckup, even if I’m not mad about it. That’s what it was, and I still don’t know all of the ramifications of it all.”