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John gives me a slight nod, my father distracted by something on his phone, as the others all follow their leader out.
I’m still standing there, my breathing settling and my heart rate finally coming down. There’s a fine tremor in my limbs, exhaustion washing over me. I can’t show it to him, though. He can’t know how fucking tired I am. Tired of it all.
Looking up from the screen, his top lip curls again and it transforms his handsome face into something ugly. “Go get showered, I have a call to make,” he orders me like a fucking dog, and I have to bite my tongue on the growl that wants to leave my lips.
He heads across the gym towards the door, already bringing his phone up to his ear. Good. I want him to turn his back on me. That way, he’ll never see me coming when I make my move. And trust me, that day is coming.
“Good evening, Ace,” I hear him say, waiting a beat before continuing as if in response to what this “Ace” has said. “Everything is in hand. Our little flower is being well taken care of, don’t you worry.”
My heart beats a frantic rhythm again as panic floods my veins, making me go cold all over. This must be about Lilly, it can’t be a coincidence with that nickname.
“We’ve got the boys on it, Ace. There’s really nothing for you to worry about,” he replies, stepping out of the door before I can hear any more.
Fuck!
Why is Julian so interested in Lilly? And what the fuck did he mean he’s got us on it?
My hands itch to grab the weights beside me and hurl them at the mirror in frustration. I rein the desire in, the ironclad control over my emotions having been instilled in me since birth.
My father is right. I’m so fucking pathetic, so useless that I can’t even protect those that I love. I couldn’t with Luc.
Terror floods my entire body, making me stumble a step, as I think about what may happen to Lilly. What I might be unable to save her from.
I can only pray that together, we can shield her from the monster that is Black Knight Corporation. From my father and all of his depravity and evilness.
A shudder runs through me, remembering the doubt that crept into my mind when I first saw my father’s interest in her. And now this.
What if we can’t?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
LILLY
Iwake with a start as the front door slams open, jolting upright with a squeak. The hot bodies on either side of me leap up, fists clenched up in front of them, and face the door where we see Ash storming past us, heading up the stairs.
Seconds later, we hear the crash of a door upstairs, shortly followed by the sounds of loud pounding music.
“For fuck’s sake!” Loki exclaims, running both hands over his face and through his hair, grimacing.
“Must have been bad if he's back early,” Kai muses from his place on the other sofa, his face troubled as he looks after Ash.
Jax grunts at this, but his hands are still curled into fists, although down by his sides now, and his chest is heaving.
“What's going on?” I ask, looking at them each in turn my brow pulling down in concern.
They all release a sigh, almost at the same time.
“It's not our story to tell, Pretty Girl,” Loki tells me, looking torn and eyes pleading for me to understand that they can’t tell me everything.
“Ash's father is CEO of Black Knight Corporation,” Kai begins, and I see Jax and Loki stiffen. “So he expects Ash to follow in his footsteps. To prepare him for the role, his training has... been the most ruthless.” His amber eyes have a haunted look in them. “Go to him, Lilly. He needs you more than he'll ever say,” Kai urges me.
His words set off a panic inside me, like he's lit a fuse, and it's only a matter of time before the whole world blows the fuck up.
With hurrying steps, I head straight up the twisting staircase and down the corridor towards the door on the end. I can hear the song better now, it'sPopular Monsterby Falling In Reverse, and I press my forehead against the cool wooden door, my heart lurching in pain at the thought that this is how he feels.
Oh, Ash.
Taking a deep breath in a bid to steady myself and to give me courage for what’s on the other side of the wood, I wrap my hands around the brass doorknob and twist, pushing it open and stepping into the room. There’s just a single lamp lit next to the bed. The rest of the room is in complete darkness, the curtains shut.
