Page 13 of Together We Burn
His hand moved, cupping the back of my head as he deepened the kiss in a clash of teeth and tongues and a tidal wave of pleasure that, against my better judgement, I wanted to drown in. I was ready to be consumed by it.
Suddenly, he was on the other side of the elevator, his dark blue eyes filled with triumph at proving he knew my body better than anyone else. He flicked the emergency stop switch again and pressed the button to open the doors.
“This isn’t over, Stefany.” As he walked back onto the office floor, he added, “not by a long shot.”
Chapter five
Jake
Will’sofficedoorfliesopen and bashes against the wall as I storm inside. The smug bastard dares to look amused at my interruption as he holds up a single finger. My chest rumbles at being dismissed as I reach his bar and pour a healthy shot of the first bottle of liquor my hand reaches. Knocking it back in one, I refill it and sit on the other side of his desk.
“Yes, Mr. Lakey, I completely understand. However, it would be wise to remember how you managed to secure your place as one of the members of the council. That privilege could be taken away as quickly as it was given.”
Will disconnects his call and pulls the Bluetooth device from his ear. I didn’t even know people still used those.
“Mr. Weston,” he drawls, leaning back in his seat and steepling his fingers. “This is unexpected.”
“I’m done,” I say in a voice that bears no compromise.
“Done?” he muses, and so help me God, he’s already getting on my nerves.
“Yes. Done. Finished. No longer participating,” I grit out. Speaking with Will is one of the most tedious tasks I have the misfortune of having to endure.
“You must be mistaken; please advise me where it says you can back out of our agreement?” I’m silent because he’s right. “As I thought.”
Will pushes back from his seat and saunters over to his bar, pouring himself a glass before turning and crossing his ankles as he leans nonchalantly against the side.
“If you expect my backing in this synthetic drug project, you will continue to monitor Stevie and her mother and report back,” he says.
“Why can’t you bring Stefany in on this?” I ask, keeping the torment and frustration I feel out of my tone. “She’s an asset, a good one. You know this, Will.”
Will pinches the bridge of his nose like I’m causing him a headache, but I don’t care.
“What you may not know about Stevie is that she’s very loyal to family. Alex, Mac, but above all, her sister.”
This was not surprising. Every report, every file I’d read in preparation for this assignment depicted Stefany as apathetic–never showing emotions of any kind. But the way she fell apart in my arms, voicing the guilt at being unable to protect her sister, spoke to me. Last night, Stefany let herself be vulnerable as she gave me a glimpse of her past. How it had shaped who she was today. She was forged from fire and stone, becoming everyone else's saviour except her own.
Well, damn it, if I couldn’t save her just this once. Clue her in, avoid the inevitable fallout when all the lies and secrets come to light. There was a reason Stefany was deemed Will’s greatest weapon, and Emilia was getting restless.
“All the more reason we should tell her,” I challenge, knowing this will piss Will off. He doesn’t like being questioned about how he commands his ship.
Glaring at me, he continues. “Chris is Stevie’s weakness, Jacob, her kryptonite. When Stevie was seventeen, she killed her half-brother. Emptied a whole magazine into his chest without thinking of the consequences. I cleaned up her mess in return for her working for me.”
My knuckles pop as I fist them, and he purses his lips at the noise. This was not something I had been privy to in any of the dossiers provided by Will.
“Why?” I ask, not sure if I want to know the answer to why a teenager would kill a sibling.
“Why did she kill her brother? Because he got Chris pregnant. She was only thirteen,” Will says with little emotion, like this isn’t the sickest thing he’s ever heard. In his line of work, I guess it might not have been. “Where Chris is concerned, Stevie will stop at nothing to ensure she is safe. The night she found out Chris was pregnant was the night she killed Ronan. I’d placed Chris with my grandmother, at her request, only to be moved somewhere unbeknown to her—a place only Alex would know. Since that day, she hasn’t seen or spoken to her sister. It's been nearly eleven years.
“She thinks by keeping a distance, Chris will have a normal life, a safe life, away from the danger Stevie surrounds herself in. But if she thought for one second that anyone could jeopardise Chris and her nephew’s safety… well, let’s say Stevie is enjoyably impulsive at the best of times, regardless of how she may cause issues for me later on.
“But this whole matter with her mother adds extra volatility that I am not sure I could maintain if she realised everyone in her family was not who they seemed. An abusive father, a rapist brother, and a mother who will stop at nothing to become the head of her family business.
“As of right now, we are still unsure of her game plan. We know she has you watching Stevie, and we know she is collecting business associates of the less than savoury variety, but the ‘why’ is still a mystery. Until we know more, keep your goddamned mouth shut.”
“So you think keeping her in the dark is the best solution to this?” I ask in disbelief. She deserves to know what’s going on. With every passing day, the danger surrounding Emilia increases.
“Yes,” he replies, picking up his glass and taking a sip of the clear liquid. “And it will remain that way. Whatever has made you question rational thinking, I suggest you try to ignore it. You are here to do a job, the same as Stevie. Take your emotions out of it, Mr. Weston. That’s what I always tell Stevie when she starts to…” he trails off and swirls his hand in the air, trying to think of the right word. Shaking his head, he clears his throat. “Is that all?”
