Page 54 of The Burnt Heart

“Oh, I can handle this. If she’s been checked for weapons, let me at her.” A hunger clawed in my stomach, but it wasn’t nourishment it needed. It craved revenge. I wanted to tear strips off her pretty face. There were years of pent-up rage toward her passive aggressiveness. But I didn’t have to cool my temper out of respect for my boyfriends anymore.

“She’s clear.” Jonah stepped out of my way as I strode past him. A grim smile thinned my lips, and I slammed my way into the lobby. The confrontation with Crimson Claw hadn’t fed my need for violence, but this would. Strangely, now I was thankful for the confession Briar had made. I wasn’t walking in blind,but I still couldn’t believe this girl. She smirked as I got closer, shaking out of the guard’s hold.

“Let her go. This won’t take long,” I ordered them to stand down, which they did immediately.

“Hello Adelaide, I hope you’re doing well?” Her voice was sweet, but I knew it was an illusion. She’d been like this the entire time I’d known her. Everything she said held hidden barbs, ones that my guys had never realized. From the very first time I met her, she had been dismissive and rude, all with a smile on her face. I wondered if part of it came from not understanding who she was messing with. To the public, I was a philanthropist. The rumors about my family’s true legacy were difficult to prove if you weren’t in my world. It was better this way. She wouldn’t realize who she was sparring against. Not until I had her head between my teeth, ready to crush her to pieces.

“Nicole, I’d hoped to never see your face again.” I opted for no pleasantries. She had never given me a chance to befriend her. Why should I pretend now? She might think we were rivals, playing on the same level, but she had never even been in the game. It was time she knew exactly that. She confirmed my thoughts when she pursed her lips and pulled something out of her handbag.

Predictable.

It was my blouse. She clutched it in her hand like a trophy. I hadn’t worn this one in years, the color washed me out. My aching chest loosened at the knowledge that Briar hadn’t picked just any piece of clothing. He’d taken something he knew I didn’t care about. It would have been worse if he’d given her one of his shirts. The distinction he’d made amounted to a bit of peace. But I clutched onto it.

“I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d return this. It’s your blouse. Briar gave it to me after I showered in hisbathroom.” She dangled the material from her pointer finger. Lara muttered behind me, voicing all my internal thoughts. I didn’t look away, holding her smug gaze until her eyebrows pressed together. Did she realize yet? That she wouldn’t get the reaction she was hoping for?

“That old thing? Briar told me all about how you spilled a drink over yourself on purpose. But not before you drugged him, right? Don’t worry the Cupid worked perfectly when I was there to hold him later that night. Did you think he wouldn’t tell me? That what happened between you was anything but a pathetic attempt by you, again.” I jerked my head at one of my guards, and he grabbed the blouse. “I haven’t worn that blouse in years. But honestly? I don’t want anything that has touched your skin. I’m very much like Briar in that respect. He doesn’t want you touching him, either.”

I jerked my head, and the guard balled up the blouse, tossing it in the trash.

Nicole made a strangled snarl before taking a shaky breath.

“You are so self-important. You don’t even know what’s going on around you. Sit on your pedestal for a little while longer. Things are moving so fast in Greenich Bay that one day you’ll see how stupid you’ve been,” Nicole played at taunting, but she lacked conviction. It reeked of desperation. Trying to land a mark when she’d already been given the death blow. But her words piqued my interest.

It sounded like she was talking about Adelaide, the Orazio crime family heir. Not Adelaide, the lauded philanthropist with a squeaky-clean reputation. I had intended on having her escorted out, tired of playing with unworthy prey. But now I’d let her talk her way into a confession.

“Oh?” I tilted my head. “That sounds like a threat.”

My gaze beat down on her, unrelenting intensity and rage. I hope she was felt it lick at her bones, scorching away her flimsyego. She was surrounded bymymen, inmytown. I wasn’t afraid.

“You don’t even realize you’re being moved around like a chess piece,” she sneered, but again, it lacked conviction. Her gaze unfocused as she looked past my shoulder, taking in the situation she was in. Surrounded by hostile people who supported me. I laughed, empty and done. Who did this woman think she was?

“Let’s be honest. If we’re talking chess, I’m the queen. You’re just a pawn.”

Nicole’s cheeks flooded pink, and her eyes turned to hateful slits. She didn’t like that insinuation.

“Briar and I have something special. Even years apart, he trusts me. Only I could get close enough to have him confide in me. I know secrets about Briar you couldn’t even comprehend,” she insisted, changing tactics. “When we were younger, he came to me. You might have had his heart for a little while, but he’ll come back to me. I know he will.”

Something about her words sent goosebumps erupting, but I didn’t react. I sifted through them methodically, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.

“There is something about Briar,” she sighed wistfully, the sharpness draining out of her voice. “All the evil that has touched him never tainted his heart.”

“He’s pure,” I agreed. Briar’s time in the foster home damaged him. But he didn’t lock himself up tight like Logan did, or rage like Jesse. His heart wasn’t wrapped up tight with concrete walls. Instead, he was alarmingly vulnerable, sensitive and open. He’d been the first of the three to say he loved me. The first to throw his arms open and declare himself mine, no matter what.

I loved that about him.

He’d taught me so much about accepting and expressing love. I bit down on my lip; the pain distracting me from the surgeof longing that flooded my body. I still loved Briar. It was impossible not to. Even after everything, I could still picture his sweet face, obscured by curls.

“You could never have had him.” I jerked my chin up. “He’s mine and always will be.”

Oh.

My possessiveness surprised me.

Nicole wanted to argue. Her puffed-out cheeks were full of protestations. I could tell by the mulish look in her eyes she didn’t believe me.

“Call him,” I demanded. She didn’t reply, her mouth locked thin and white. Her body trembled with a barely contained frustration. “If you could have him so easily, he’ll pick up, won’t he? It’s not like Briar threw you out on your ass.”

“He blocked me,” Nicole admitted through gritted teeth. She’d wanted to drive me to tears like she had at the awards night. She had torn me down gleefully with her stored secrets. But she didn’t get the satisfaction this time. Instead, she teetered on the edge, blinking rapidly. But I couldn’t hold back. She’d come at me first, now I had to finish this. I had to crush her under my boot. Her words from earlier were off and I needed her unbalanced so she would expose herself to me.

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