My phone started ringing as I drove and I groaned, knowing it would be Jude demanding for me to get home followed by an elaborate threat.
It wasn't even midnight yet and I already passed the billboard that welcomed me to the bloody city. Couldn't he calm the fuck down for one goddamn minute?
The ringing stopped but not a second later, it rang again.
"Will you cut it out? I'm on my way," I snapped as I answered.
"Angel?" a timid voice replied. "It… It's Stella."
I settled down immediately.
"What's wrong?"
"Did I catch you on a bad time? I'm sorry. Maybe I should-"
"Stella," I bit out sharply. "Tell me what the hell is wrong."
"There's a car outside my building," she whispered, as if afraid someone would hear. "I've never seen it in the neighborhood before and you said I should call you if I notice anything out of the ordinary."
I shifted gears and sped up.
"Is there someone inside the car?"
"Yes. I noticed a man coming out of the building when I was on my way in earlier. I don't remember anyone who lived here that looked like him. I saw him get in the car."
"How long ago was that?"
"About an hour, I think."
"Did you get a good look at him?"
"Yeah, uh… he had... scars... all over his face. Really big and red ones. Like they'd been cauterized. And he was tall. Even taller than Jude, I think."
Eerie familiarty came to me as a vague image formed in my mind.
"Was he ugly?" I asked.
"Pa-Pardon?"
"Was he disgustingly ugly? Like not even his own mother could love his face."
"Uh… uhm… I… I guess?"
I cursed inwardly. I was even surer now that I knew who the ugly fuck was.
"There's a new tenant in the building," I said. "His name's Alex. He's a friend of mine. Fifth floor. Apartment D. Go there and tell him you're with me. I'm on my way."
"Should I call Jude?" she said, sounding frantic.
"No, don't. I can't have him barging in until I've taken care of things. I'll fill him in later."
"Okay. Okay. Oh my god."
"What? Sweetheart, what's happening?"
"I just saw the man get out of the car. He's walking up to the building." I heard a buzz, followed by Stella gasping. "Oh my god, it's him, isn't it? What do I do?"
"Fuck. Get off the phone and go. Now. Use the stairs. Find Alex. Fifth floor. Apartment D. I'm with Angel. Say it back. Find Alex. Fifth floor. Apartment D. I'm with Angel."
"Find Alex. Fifth floor. Apartment D. I'm with Angel," she echoed in a shaky voice.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
I cut the call and stepped my foot on the gas pedal, swerving through the road and passing the cars ahead of me as I hit full speed. I took a shortcut on Bayard Lane to avoid the congestion of traffic and cut the time by five minutes. When I reached the apartment building, I spotted the black sedan parked across the street and I immediately rushed to Stella's apartment.
When I got there, the door was cracked slightly open. I took my knife out from the side of my boot and slipped my brass knuckles from the inside pocket of my jacket.
"Pizza delivery for Stella!" I called out as I slipped the brass knuckles on my fingers. "Anyone home?"
I kicked the door open, holding my knife out. The living room was empty and I slowly walked inside, listening intently as I took a long sweep at my surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place. I was about to walk out when I noticed the shadow of feet underneath the bedroom door.
Bracing myself, I sprinted towards the door, slamming the side of my body against it while simultaneously twisting the knob the give way.
I felt something collide on the other side and heard movement. When I pushed the door aside, I recognized his ugly face immediately.
It was my old bodyguard in high school that Ben assigned to me solely because he was too ugly for me to willingly fuck after I'd gotten all my previous bodyguards fired by fucking them to spite him. Once, I got so sick of looking at his ugly face and tried to slice it off, leaving him even uglier.
One of the conditions I had in exchange for living with Jude was that I didn't want any bodyguards, most especially disloyal ones. I should have known Father kept him as his personal spy considering how good he had been at stalking every detail of my past life, even better than Ben whose literal job was to know everything about every single member of the Lastor family.
"Hey there, Nate," I said nonchalantly. "Been a while. You look well. Shall we change that?"
I slashed at his ugly face but he blocked it with his arm, the sharp blade cutting through the sleeve of his expensive looking suit.
"I'll reimburse you for that."
"Miss Lastor-"
"Shut your mouth, you good for nothing rat," I hissed. "You fucking speak only to answer me. Are we understood?" He nodded once. "Why are you here?"
"I'm sorry, but you don't-"
I swung my leg up, missing his head when he deftly dodged the hit. Before he could get away, I lunged at him, slamming him against the wall and piercing his thigh with my knife. He tried to move and I twisted the knife deeper, shushing him softly when he grunted loudly in pain.
"Careful, Nate. If I move just a little further, I'll hit that itty bitty tissue holding the two ends of your precious femoral artery together and if I sever that seemingly insignificant tissue, you're gonna bleed to death." I smiled up at him. "Now, we both know you have no sense of loyalty. Why don't you spare us both the torture and tell me why you're here, yeah?"
He groaned, swallowing hard. "Mr. Lastor sent me to gather intel on Dr. Roberts."
"How did he know who she is?"
"Your brother requested a bodyguard for her several months ago and Mr. Jenkins relayed the information to Mr. Lastor."
Fuck Ben and my idiot brother.
"What does he know?"
"Only matters of public record. The trail went cold after Dr. Roberts moved her residence, that's why I was sent to do field work."
"How did you find this place?"
"I followed her last night after she visited your brother."
"What have you told my father?"
"Nothing."
I twisted the knife and he gritted his teeth to hold back a sound.
"I'm not lying," he bit out. "Mr. Lastor prefers to read a physical file when it comes to sensitive matters. I was supposed to meet him after completing my investigation and hand over all the intel I've gathered."
"Where's the file, Nate?"
"It's in my laptop. In the car," he said, spluttering out a breath.
I took my phone out, quickly dialing Stella. She picked up immediately.
"Give me Alex."
After a beat, he got on the line.
"This is not what we fucking agreed on," he bit out. "The deal only included the bar, your brother's goddamn girlfriend banging on my door while I'm shaving my fucking pubes was not part of the fucking package."
"I know, but I didn't have a choice."
"You do realize that her living in this fucking building that you own means there's a connection that can be traced back to you, which in fucking turn, will trace back to me."
"It's only temporary." I sighed. "Look, let's talk about this later. I need you to get a laptop from the car parked across the street."
"Are you shitting me?" he muttered. "This whole fucking thing reeks of Anthony Lastor! Why the hell would I get involved in his business?"
"Because we're friends and I need your help dammit," I snapped.
He groaned, muttering a curse under his breath. "Fuck. Fine. Anything else?"
"You know what? Clear out everything in the car to be safe."
I cut the call and started patting Nate down, taking his phone and pocketing it.
"Now, this is what's gonna happen in your meeting with my father," I began. "You're gonna tell him she's just my unstable ex-lover who I didn't realize was obsessed with me until I found out she went to the same medical school as Jude and worked at the Trenton branch in order to get close to me. Jude requested to assign a bodyguard for her to make sure she didn't go off the deep end and I moved her to keep her close so I can watch over her. If my father doesn't buy it, pretend to investigate and go back with the same conclusion. If I hear that you diverted from that story, and believe me, I will, I'm coming after you and you're gonna regret ever crossing paths with me again. You hear me, Nate?"
Pursing his pale lips, he nodded once.
"Now get the hell out and don't you ever show me your fuck up face again. You know ugly things piss me off."
I pulled the knife out of his leg and shoved him to the door, following him out as he limped down the hall, heading to the elevator. Once he was inside and the doors closed, I took out my phone and scrolled through my contacts.
I pressed call on Precious. It was answered before the first ring.
"Miss Lastor," Arthur Hagen, my personal aide, greeted abruptly. "What can I do for you?"
"Do you miss me, Art?"
"Ma'am?"
"You must, otherwise I cannot make sense of this deliberate incompetence you're displaying," I murmured softly, consciously restraining my fury. "You want me back with you so much you'd make a fool out of the both of us, hm?"
"Miss Lastor, I don't-"
"Explain to me-" I cut in ever so gently. "- how it was possible for an unauthorized individual to infiltrate my fucking property. Right now."
"Which property?" he said in flustered voice. "Are you injured?"
"Doesn't fucking matter," I hissed through gritted teeth. "This should not be happening anywhere that has my hand in it. You get what I'm saying, Art?"
"Yes, Miss Lastor," he stated in a calmer tone. "I will mobilize personnel to reevaluate the security protocols on all properties and make necessary adjustments."
"You have a day to deliver a comprehensive report, or I'll take over."
"Understood. I'll send the report in a day. Please rest."
I cut the call, taking a deep breath and forcibly calming myself down. Incompetence left a furious pulse in my veins, made worse by the fact that my father was witnessing it. If I wasn't so pissed off right now, I'd be trembling at having him breathing over my neck.
I went up to Alex's apartment and found Stella sitting on the couch, staring at the glass of water in her hands. She jumped to her feet when she saw me walk in.
"Is that... is that blood?" she whispered as she took me in.
I didn't respond, stripping my shirt and jacket off as I headed into the kitchen. I tossed my bloody knife into the sink and turned the faucet on, putting my arms and hands under the running water to wash off the blood.
"You're not hurt, thank God," Stella was saying as she came to stand next to me.
Then she gasped all of a sudden, as if a thought occurred to her, and backed away from me. I glared at her, sensing the accusation she wouldn't dare utter.
"I didn't kill him. How fucking sloppy do you think I am?"
"I… I'm sorry. I just….I was so scared."
She let out a breath, looking to be on the verge of tears. Fuck. Jude warned me if I made her cry again, he'd take my license and ground me for the summer. I knew my brother too well to ever call bluff.
"It's my fault," I said reassuringly. "I was supposed to check in a few days ago but I got distracted. I'm sorry, alright?"
She frowned. "No. I'm grateful for everything you've done. I can't even begin to thank you."
"Gave you my word. Just doing right by it." I grabbed a wad of paper towels and dried off. "Although it would help if you two were a bit more careful. The guy followed you from our place to here last night and you didn't notice him till he was literally standing in front of you."
"I'm sorry."
I went through a drawer, rifling through the clothes before grabbing a Black Sabbath t-shirt.
"Stop apologizing. This is on me," I said as I pulled the shirt on, tucking the front into the waistband of my jeans. "But you can't miss this type of shit again. You gotta learn to be more attentive. I can't protect you if you have no regard for your own safety, Stella."
She sighed, sitting back on the couch. "I'll do better. I promise. Did you find out who he was working for?"
I eyed her intently, practically glowing with purity and innocence. It was no wonder Jude didn't think straight when he decided to fall for someone way below his status in society. He became too blinded by the light she brought into his life and now he was desperate to keep her. And I was stuck doing the grunt work.
"Just one of Jude's many competitors," I fed her the lie Jude had instructed me to tell in case Father caught up with us. "It's all just basic corporate espionage."
"Why would they come after me?" she asked in confusion.
I pursed my lips, shrugging. "Hell if I know, baby face."
The door opened and Alex walked in with a camera and a messenger bag slung across his torso.
"You go clean up the mess. Dried blood is a bitch," I told Stella. "I'll help you out in a bit, yeah?"
"Okay."
She gave us a smile, so genuine and kind it made us cringe. Jesus, she was worse than Rick.
"Thank you so much for everything."
"Christ. Is she for real?" Alex muttered after she left.
I snorted. "I don't even know how my brother managed to convince her into sticking around for the shit show that is our lives. She's way too good for his demented ass."
He glanced at me, his brows furrowing. "Are you wearing my shirt?"
I shrugged. "Looks better on me."
"You better not fucking spill anything on it. It's a vintage, you know," he muttered as he placed the bags on the coffee table. "This is all of it. By the way, nice work on the guy. A stab to a major artery always gets them talking."
"Thanks."
"I was being sarcastic, dumbass," he spat. "I just moved in and a guy was stabbed two floors below me and your brother's girlfriend knows me. Are you trying to get my cover blown, Gel?"
I rolled my eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. I know how to clean up after myself."
"You fuckin' better."
I took the camera and went through the photos. They were mostly of Stella doing nondescript activities but the amount of it was staggering. As I stared at a photo of Jude, Stella, Rick, and I standing outside the restaurant we went to for my graduation dinner, I realized everything we had done was pointless.
Father was more than aware of her and what confused me was why he hadn't done anything. He wasn't one to let things be. Everything he did and didn't do always had a purpose and my mind immediately started coming up with theories and worst case scenarios.
It took me seconds to filter through the nonsense and find the one thing that Father needed. Leverage.
I used to be his leverage over Jude until he left me and I started establishing myself as an influential figure both within and outside the family. Since then, his control over Jude had weakened. I wasn't the defenseless little girl who needed him to be my hero anymore. I had my own power. Sure, it doesn't stop him from beating shit out of me whenever he liked but he couldn't kill me, not unless he wanted to suffer retribution from those who would kill and die for me without hesitation.
He may be a powerful man with his own private army but the same can be said of me. Because of this, I was no longer the chain he kept Jude bounded in and we've both managed to gain a semblance of freedom. But then, my dumbass brother just had to fall in love.
Fucking dumbass.
I ejected the memory card from the camera and pierced the tip of my knife through it before dropping it in the glass of water Stella had left.
"I gotta go check out her place and make sure the guy didn't plant any bugs," I said as I slung the messenger bag across my torso. "I'll see you at the bar later, yeah?"
"You sure you should be doing this? I get that you have your brother's back, but going against your father?" He sighed, shaking his head. "He's hurt you for no reason at all, I don't even want to think of what he'll do to you for conspiring against him."
I smirked. "You worried about me or some shit?"
He scowled. "You're the only family I have left, Gel. Of course I'm worried you're gonna get yourself killed just so your brother can keep getting laid."
"Jude would do it for me," I said, shrugging. "And my father would be foolish to kill me."
"Doesn't mean he won't try."
"I can take the hits, you know that."
He sighed, pulling me into an embrace. "Just don't be sloppy."
I scoffed. "When am I ever?" We pulled away and I headed for the door. "Don't be late, alright?"
As I waited for the elevator, my phone started ringing. I glanced at the caller ID but it wasn't registered. Figuring it was Stella again, I answered it.
"I was just on my way down. You need anything?"
"A cold beer doesn't sound too bad, if you're offering," a voice quipped at the other end that did not sound anything like Stella's timid voice.
"Who the fuck are you, asshole?" I demanded.
He chuckled. "It's Rick."
I paused for a moment before letting out a steadying breath.
"Look, I got a lot of shit to do right now so I can't entertain you."
"What are you talking about?"
"I gave you my number so you can call me if you're bored," I reminded him. "Well, you're calling so you must be."
"No. I just..." He sighed. "I just wanted to talk, that's all. See how you were doing."
Dammit.
I had already decided to end this thing with him, whatever this was. For real this time.
If there was anything I learned from this whole debacle tonight was that I could never allow myself to be with someone if it would put their life at risk. Jude may be able to live with it but I couldn't possibly. I knew I had to end it now before it went too far.
It has already gone too far, my conscience taunted.
"I'm fine. Is that all?" I said, not wanting to talk to him any longer than necessary.
"Yeah, one more thing."
He paused and I waited for him to get on with it, turning away from the elevator when the doors slid open.
"I've missed you," he whispered, his voice low.
I gripped the phone to my ear, letting out a harsh breath.
"Rick..." I pursed my lips, pressing the heel of my palm against my forehead. "Don't do this."
"What? Miss you? It's true."
I gritted my teeth, kicking the wall.
"I can't get you out of my head, Angel," he murmured.
Me too.
I fucking hated it, thinking of him, wanting to see him. I hated everything about him. I was acting like a clingy little bitch and it was pissing me off.
"I have to go. I'm driving," I lied.
He sighed almost in dismay. "Okay. Take care. My break just ended anyways."
"Rick, are you coming?" I heard a voice call out to him. It sounded a hell of a lot like a dumb bimbo.
"Yeah. You go ahead. I'll catch up," he called back. "Hello?"
"Who's the bitch you're with?" I spat.
"I'm assuming you're referring to Laura, my colleague," he said, sounding annoyed.
"Are you fucking her?" It came out before I could help it.
He sighed. "No, Angel. I'm not fucking anyone in this hospital. I have no interest in jeopardizing my career by getting intimate with a co-worker."
I scoffed. "And yet you're fucking your boss' daughter."
"I am not with you because you're Anthony Lastor's daughter and as far as fucking is concerned, we haven't done that in a while so don't throw that at me just because you're jealous. She's just a work friend and I don't even know why I'm explaining myself," he bit out angrily.
"I am not jealous," I spat. "We have no claim on each other."
"Oh really? Then I suppose you won't be against me letting out some tension through Laura?" he taunted. "Working long hours can get a little stressful sometimes."
"Go ahead. I don't give a shit."
"I will," he hissed.
I expected him to end the call at that but he didn't. He stayed on the line and for some reason that was beyond me, I stayed too.
"God, you drive me crazy!" he finally snapped after a long silence. "What is up with you? You're more pissed at the world than usual."
I tapped my fingers on the wall, noticing the blood underneath my fingernails. I suddenly wanted to put my hands on Rick, pretend I wasn't a filthy bastard and feed on the goodness in him to rid myself of this darkness that was constantly on the verge of consuming me. It pissed me off.
"You're pissing me off," I muttered.
"What the hell did I do?"
"I can't stop thinking of you. It's pissing me off."
The silence that followed made me regret even blurting it out. Can't I say one right thing for once?
"I couldn't even enjoy getting my pussy eaten because of you," I added in a sigh.
This apparently got him to find his tongue.
"You were with someone?" he practically snarled.
You stupid girl. Who says that to people?
"I didn't fuck him."
"But he gave you head," he spat.
I pursed my lips, tempted to deny it but the lie hung at the back of my throat.
"Unbelievable," he said when I didn't answer.
I slapped my hand against the wall frustration. "I rejected him. Twice. Because of you. He tried to pleasure me but I didn't want him. He barely even got his tongue inside me!"
"Thanks. I really needed that image in my head."
I groaned, taking a fistful of my hair. "What you're thinking is far from what happened."
"Oh, so something did happen."
"Nothing happened!"
"You were with him with the initial intention of fucking him, Angel. Either way, that constitutes as cheating."
"Cheating?" I scoffed. "We're not even together!" I yelled out in frustration, fully aware that our conversation did not make sense. "We don't owe each other anything, let alone loyalty. And mind you, if we were together, I'm fucking yours inside out. I never cheat. I despise adultery. If you're gonna call me a cheater, you better back it up. I've been called every bad thing in the book, but I'm not taking that. I went to Enzo because my best friend dragged me over there and yes, I was going to fuck him. But I didn't, you know why? Because of you. I didn't even feel anything and I hated that he was touching me that's why I made him stop. Deal with it because I'm not some demure little bitch who's got you on a pedestal, Rick. I don't fucking need you. I don't need this! So go fuck some perfect girl with a tight ass virgin cunt whose only knowledge about fucking is lying there like a goddamn corpse. I bet you get harder while looking at me than when you're fucking that bitch."
I cut the call and kicked the wall repeatedly, seething with inexplicable anger at the thought of him fucking a perfect girl with a tight ass virgin cunt whose only knowledge about fucking is lying there like a goddamn corpse.
Fuck this shit. I need a drink.