Sleeping with the Beast

“Amber’s family is sending you money, aren’t they?”

A moment of surprise. “What do you mean?”

“The Leone family out in Chicago. They’re sending you cash, and part of that deal is you keep Amber safe. How far off am I?”

He leaned toward me, a menacing look in his eye. “Careful.”

“I’m trying to get a sense of what we’re embroiled in here. The way I see it, I could take Amber right now, bring her out to California, and we could stay there until this all blows over. But I have a feeling you won’t let me do that.”

“She’s my family,” he said. “She belongs here.”

“Because if we ditched out, the Chicago Leones might not send so much money anymore. I bet they wanted you to hire a whole goddamn security team, and instead you got me on the cheap.”

He snorted. “You’re not cheap.”

“You know what I mean.”

“You’re way off base, and even if you weren’t, what would it matter? You’re safe here. Amber’s safe here. The incident at the other house was a fluke.”

“Maybe, but I’m not so sure. I think you should let me take her away and—”

“Out of the question.” He glared at me. “Is that all you wanted?”

“Guess so. Good to know where we stand.”

“This war is going to be wrapped up in days. Stop worrying so much about something you can’t control.” He looked away, but I could tell he was annoyed. “Go back and watch over Amber. Do your job, get paid, and be happy. I don’t want to talk about this again.”

I lingered, watching him, and that was all the confirmation I needed. I wasn’t going anywhere with Amber, no way in hell, and that meant this war was going to get a lot worse before it got better. I turned and left his office, and I felt his eyes on my back as I shut the door behind me.

I was angry with Amber, I couldn’t deny that, but I also couldn’t act so damn shocked that she was lashing out. She was stuck in this place with no friends and no allies, and I was more or less all she had in the world. I couldn’t imagine that being easy.

I had to get over my own frustration and find an out for both of us before this war got worse.

12

Amber

I woke up before sunrise the next morning and found Ren sleeping on my couch again.

A strange thrill ran through me when I saw him sprawled out, one arm up over his head, breathing slow and steady. Blankets were tangled around his body and his shirt was half-pulled up, exposing his muscular abs and chest, and I stood there for a moment, admiring him, feeling grateful that he came back, knowing I didn’t deserve it. I was tempted to wake him up, but snuck past him instead and out into the hallway.

The house was silent. It was a few minutes past five in the morning and I was exhausted, but it felt good to walk through the hallways without anyone around. The mansion was normally a strange mixture of bustling employees and dead stillness. This morning though, it was all still, all dead, and exactly what I wanted.

I headed down the main staircase and lingered by the front door. I was tempted to leave, but I knew I wouldn’t get far. I’d noticed the cameras all over the place, and I figured there were people watching me right now, wondering if I was about to make a break for it or not. Ren had to be right, my father and the rest of them were probably sending money over to help fund Vincent’s war, despite the fact that they were in a war themselves. It was war all over, violence all over, and I was stuck in the middle, unable to break free.

I wandered for a while. I stuck my head in random doorways: a gaming room, a home theater, a gym. It took me a while before I finally found what I was looking for.

The indoor pool was humid and the taste of chlorine lingered on my tongue. I stripped off my outer clothes down to a slightly-too-small bikini I found shoved in the back corner of a closet, jumped in, and swam lazy laps under the bright lights. I wondered how much it cost to have a pool in the city, even a small pool like this one, but figured cost was no real object for the Leone family. Not where opulence and comfort was concerned.

As I swam, I thought about my future. I tried to picture what my life could be like after this, and found it hard to imagine doing anything but running away from the mob as far and as fast as I could. I wasn’t sure if my father would let me escape, but I had to hope that there was a chance—if Ren was willing to come with me. One day, at least.