Chapter 3

Chapter Three

LUCILLE

Walking past the art gallery, I almost laugh. This place is so fucking pretentious. I cannot imagine Theron wanting anything to do with any part of it. But he’s screwing the girl and has been for weeks. It’s clear he likes something about her, pretentious or not. And I’m going to find out what exactly it is.

I don’t go inside. Instead, I move down the street to the crosswalk, then walk across until I make my way directly across from the gallery. Luckily for me, I spy a café with outdoor seating on the sidewalk just across the street.

Sitting one row of tables from the edge of the small fencing, I face the gallery, keeping my glasses firmly in place. Not that she would know who I am. The waiter appears with a glass of water and sets it down in front of me before he asks what I would like to order.

“An espresso and a bowl of berries with granola and Greek yogurt. Also, a side of honey, please,” I say, never taking my eyes off the gallery door.

The waiter thanks me, then walks away, leaving me to my watching, to my spying. Sliding my tongue along my bottom lip, I bring my glass of water to my lips and take a sip. I can’t look away from that door.

I wait.

Emmie has to eat, right? If she doesn’t, there is no way she will go without a coffee, at least. A girl cannot live off nothing; she will at least need an iced coffee treat if nothing else.

My fruit and yogurt are delivered along with my coffee. Thanking the waiter, I lean back and enjoy the show. And by show, I mean the fact three hours pass and not a single person goes in or out of the gallery.

It’s enthralling, and by the time the fourth hour passes, I decide to pay my bill and leave the café. I don’t go far. Instead of leaving, I walk down to the alleyway that is kitty-corner to the entrance of the gallery and continue my watching.

Minute after minute passes. She does not leave for lunch. She doesn’t even leave for a coffee.

Nothing .

When five o’clock strikes, I wait for her to open the front door, and she does. I watch as she slips out, locking the door behind her, and then walks down the sidewalk.

I should just let her go, but I don’t. Instead, I follow her from across the street. I know that her car is parked in the opposite direction of where she’s walking, so I’m beyond curious. She swiftly moves down the street toward the clubs and bars.

Watching and moving right behind her, attempting to keep pace, I stop before she does, noticing that she’s slowing. Then she turns into a building. A club. The Willow Club. I’ve never heard of it, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like I ever go out and do anything.

I’m usually working at night. My job is tedious and boring. I love it, but there will be a time when it’s obsolete. I’m a medical digitizer. It’s my job to take everything that is on paper and enter it into the computer. I don’t have to work with other people, and my days are usually free to do what I wish… like this.

I can’t tear my eyes from the front of the club as Emmie slips inside. I stay on the sidewalk, checking the time, knowing that I’m going to have to leave soon for the job that I love so much. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I pull up my notes app and type in the club’s name so I don’t forget and can do some research on it later.

I’m going to look into this place. It doesn’t have anything to do with Theron, so I’m not sure why she would be visiting it. Unless it has something to do with her life or her family, and that is very interesting because I can’t imagine a girl working at a pretentious art gallery having ties to a nightclub.

Granted, I don’t know a lot about nightclubs, but I can’t imagine they’re all on the up and up. And while Theron isn’t perfect, he is indeed always on the up and up. Even when he’s walking on the edge, walking that fine line, it’s always technically legal.

He’s a good man—the best. However, I know his demons need to be fed. They need to be assuaged, and I know I’m the only woman for the job. Nobody else can do it the way I can. There is nobody else but me.

Checking the time, I frown when I realize she’s been in the building for over an hour. I need to get going. As much as I want to stay here, I need to save my personal time off for other things.

Like… emergencies.

Like needing to expose Emmie to Theron because I will need to do that, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Turning away from the club, I head back to my car. I’ve spent all day downtown, and I need to get back to my life. Well, at least to my paycheck. Right now, without a paycheck, I won’t be able to pay my monthly bills, so that is a need and not a want.

Hopefully, soon, it won’t matter because I’ll be curled up in Theron’s bed. Moved into his home. At his side forever. Right now, that only seems like a dream, but I will get there eventually.

It’s where I’m meant to be, whether he realizes it or not right now—but he will. I know he will. I’ll make sure of it.

It doesn’t matter how many years we spend apart—nothing changes for me when it comes to Theron. It’s always been him, and it will always be him. I will be damned if someone else has him. Especially someone who I know without a doubt does not deserve him.

Climbing into my car, I start the engine. I think about going home and showering before my shift, but then I decide against it. If I leave right now, I have just enough time to go to Theron’s office and see what he’s doing today.

Just a little glimpse, that’s all I want. I already know everything I need to know about him. Sure, there are no doubt things I’m unaware of, but I don’t care about them. I’ve known the man since I was a girl. If he has secrets, then those are his to keep.

Everything I need, I know.

Everything I desire, I know.

I know what I need to know about Theron, and that is that I need him.

Pulling up across from Securus, I shift my car into Park , and I watch the back of the building. Unlike the gallery, I know these men use the back entrance to come and go. The front is for customers only. And front or back, you have to be buzzed in to gain entrance.

I only have an hour before I need to be at my own office to start the night shift, so I lean back in my seat and watch. Waiting . The moments pass by, and just when I think I’m going to have to leave without getting a glimpse of him, the door opens, and Theron walks out of the building.

God .

He’s beautiful.

Every single time I lay my eyes on any part of him, my breath hitches, and I’m taken back to a million different memories of the way it was and visions of the way I can be.

He takes a couple of steps, then stops and turns to look in my direction as if he can sense me watching him. Holding my breath, I wait for him to come over and tell me to get the fuck out of here, or at least ask me why I’m watching him, but he doesn’t.

Instead, he turns his head and makes his way toward his car. I watch as he opens the door and sinks into the front seat. A few moments later, he backs out of his spot, and then he’s gone.

After staying where I am for a breath, I face my windshield, start my own car, and then head toward work. I already know what I’ll be doing on my breaks tonight. I’ll be researching the Willow Club, and by tomorrow, I’m going to figure out how Emmie is connected.

It is my new mission. Along with ensuring that I completely fucking ruin her and her relationship with Theron. Every fucking piece of thread that holds them together will be burned.

THERON

My first shift for listening to the office of the Willow Club is tomorrow night. All night. I can’t remember the last time I worked a night shift. I can’t deny I’m a bit excited about it.

I’m not sure that the actual task is going to be that interesting, but at the same time, I’m ready to just find out what we need to do and get Ravet. He’s been at the forefront of my mind every minute of every day since I was ten years old—the day I met him.

Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times, then let out a sigh as I take my phone out of my pocket. Powering it on, I wait to see if there is a message from Emmie. I don’t know why I decided to turn it off today. I didn’t need to, but at the same time, I wanted to be unreachable. When I start the car, I am surprised to see that there are zero notifications.

Backing out of my spot, I toss my phone in the passenger seat and then head toward home. It doesn’t take me long to get there, and as I climb the staircase, I wonder if this is the way things are supposed to be.

For whatever asinine reason, I can’t seem to get Lucille off my mind. She was the first woman I was with after escaping Ravet. I clung to her in a way that I never have, before or after.

She is part of me and always will be. I wasn’t ready for the things I felt for her then. Maybe that’s why I can’t seem to let her go. Because she is so special to the man I was and helped shape the man I am today.

I was just getting Securus started when we met. The guys and I were very much trying to get our shit together. We were all a mess, but she accepted us for who and what we were then. Lucille is special, and I will never not keep her close and a watchful eye on her—always.

Locking my front door behind me, I move toward my home office and use my thumbprint to unlock the door. I slip inside and close it behind me, then wait for the dead bolt to click into place.

Only then do I power on my computer and open my file. It’s the past, and while I don’t like to open it up and look inside of it, sometimes it needs to be done. Sometimes, I need the reminder of the cruel hand that life gave to me and why Ravet and whoever were his allies need to die.

And they do.

Slowly, painfully.

The first picture I click on is of me and five other boys. We were all between the ages of ten and twelve. Those boys are now the men who I call my brothers. But we didn’t even know one another at this time.

This was our initiation. It was supposed to be a job, a way for a better life. We were promised a dozen different things, and yet all we were given was pain. Copious amounts of pain.

The next photo is of us again, except the next year. You can see the light in our eyes has dulled. Our worlds are dark. They’re ugly and consumed by deep, invisible scars. The next year, those scars become visible, at least if we take off our clothes. They line our backs.

Now, they are covered in tattoos and can only be felt. The year after that, there are scars on the front, also now covered in tattooed markings. Each year that passes in the photos, the six of us look harder and older.

In the last picture, I’m eighteen years old. It’s only two months before I meet Lucille. We all left, walked away, and for whatever reason, we were not taken back. Maybe it was because they knew we would never be believed if we tried to go to the authorities. Maybe because we’d all grown up and couldn’t physically be controlled any longer.

Maybe because we were no longer useful to them; we were men now. Plus, I’m pretty sure that Ravet felt confident he would be safe from us. And he would seem to be correct since it’s been a decade, and we’re still looking for him.

Perhaps it’s because they knew that the police wouldn’t just not believe us, but they probably had the whole department in their back pocket. I don’t know, because we never thought to try it out.

However, nobody can hide forever.

And we’ve made it our business, literally, to search for, protect, and find people. I will find him and whoever is associated with him, and I will kill them. Just when I’m about to look at the next photo, my phone alerts me to someone in front of my door.

Touching the surveillance icon, I smile at the sight of Emmie. She’s just come from work, wearing a dress that I can’t wait to lift and fuck her in. I have some serious pent-up frustrations that I need to get out, and she’s the closest one for that mission.

Closing down my computer, I leave my office, ensuring that the door locks behind me, and then I make my way toward the front door.

Opening it, I smile at the girl who has been a welcome distraction lately. She makes no waves and requires nothing other than a bit of time and my cock. It’s been a refreshing diversion, to say the least.