I’m the bait.
I’ll walk into the bar to meet Lucas and walk out, expecting to be taken.
They’ll try to shove me in a car, van, truck, whatever, and Orion and his team will swoop in to save the day. It’s as foolproof as terrible plans get, but that doesn’t help the anxious feeling rolling around in my chest.
I cross the street, my hands shoved in the pockets of the sweater I’m wearing, and shake off the nerves.
I’ve got this.
I do this, and it’s all over.
I do this, and I’m finally free.
I do this, and I’ll finally be able to start over, without debt and my brother’s promises hanging over my head.
My heart pangs at the thought of Travis and the idea that he’s responsible for this mess. If he hadn’t told Lucas I would marry him, perhaps none of this would have happened.
I could have just kept working for him, paying down my debt one job at a time, and when I finally reached zero, I could have walked away with my head held high.
The bar comes into view, and I force the tension from my shoulders.
This is going to work.
It has to work.
“You’ve got this, Ember,” Killian says into my earpiece, startling me. “And Orion says a bunch of shit I’m not repeating.”
I huff out a laugh, keeping my eyes focused on the sidewalk so no one watching sees my sudden amusement.
Orion can hear everything on my end, but I can’t hear him. We thought it was better that if things don’t go to plan, I won’t have him in my ear, losing his mind.
And it really didn’t take that much convincing to get him to agree to it. To the point that Killian told me I’ll be the one to deliver all bad news from now on.
He was joking…I think.
I only allow myself a moment to steel myself before pushing through the heavy wooden doors to the bar.
It’s a run-down place that would probably be condemned if the health inspector saw the condition, but I’ve been here a couple of times to meet with Lucas before Travis died. I don’t know why it took me so long to remember it existed.
“Ah, the prodigal thief returns.” His voice sends a shiver of hatred through me, but I keep my mask of indifference firmly in place.
“Lucas,” I say, my tone bored as I take in the other people in the room.
Cain sits behind Lucas, his frame far too large for the wooden chair he’s perched on.
Another of Lucas’s lackeys stands by the back door, ensuring no one can come in that way, and the owner of the place is behind the bar, his eyes glued to the glass he’s been drying since I walked in.
“I knew you’d come crawling back.” Lucas leans back in his seat with his legs spread wide. He tries too hard to look like he’s the most important person in the room, and I barely catch myself before I roll my eyes.
“Your eyes must be deceiving you, because I’m certainly not getting on my knees for you,” I snap back with my usual snark. “You demanded my attendance, and here I am.”
His eyes harden as I step further into the room, taking the seat across from him and crossing one leg over the other, pulling the jeans I’m wearing tight.
“Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?”
I sigh and tug the check Orion helped me write before we left the penthouse from my pocket, dropping it onto the table between us. “Here’s what’s remaining of my debt, plus some interest.”
He glares between me and the folded piece of paper between us before snatching it up. His eyes move over the figure, and his face turns a color of red I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.
