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“Some of the accusations were never proven either,” Marcel continued. “I was weak in places where you won’t be.”

I looked down at the list again.

These men had spent years believing their money and last name made them untouchable. Marcel had protected some of them because it benefited the empire, and now that he was dying, he wanted me to clean up what he left behind.

I folded the pages while he watched me.

“You want me to fix your mistakes.”

“I want you to build something better.”

I folded the papers again and put them inside my jacket.

My seven-day schedule had gotten a lot busier.

CHAPTER 17

Zay

FOUR DAYS LATER

“She Chose The Wrong Side”

Iwatched Emily climb off me and got up with her because I already knew her legs weren’t about to cooperate. She had rode my dick for damn near an hour, and Emily loved acting stronger than her body some days, especially since she started this herbal regimen that had her hormones going crazy.

Sure enough, the second her feet touched the floor, her knees buckled.

I caught her around the waist before she could fall.

“Easy, busybody.”

Emily burst out laughing, and hearing a real laugh from her felt good. It wasn’t one of those tired ones she gave doctors or family whenever they asked how she was feeling.

“Shut up,” she said, holding on to me. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you expected it.”

“I did.”

She rolled her eyes and smacked my chest, but she still needed me while we made our way into the bathroom. The warm lights came on automatically, and Emily held on to the counter while she caught her breath.

Her curls were wild, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked alive.

That meant more to me than anything.

“I gotta go out. I’ll be back tomorrow,” I told her, already knowing she wasn’t going to like it.

Emily stopped what she was doing and looked at me through the mirror.

“What time is it?”

“Little after one.”

She nodded.

Emily knew my life better than anybody. If I told her I had to leave in the middle of the night and wouldn’t be back until morning, she knew what type of time I was on. She hated those nights, not because she didn’t understand what I did, but because she understood it too well.