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Chapter 39 : Oriri's Payroll
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Empire of Dominance Chapter 40 : Half the Battle
“Um, please explain what exactly the fuck you mean?” Raven’s chest felt tight. She felt the shadow of zip tie pressure around her wrists. She and Kade were alone with this man, out of sight, vulnerable—and he knew everything about their plan. Everything.“Don’t panic, Raven.” Kade gestured at the chair that Jane had just vacated. “Sit down, Seymore. I know you have a flair for the dramatic. But that isn’t the kind of dramatic pronouncement you just drop in here. Especially after last night.”“What happened last night?” Seymore asked blankly.Raven turned to Kade, confused. “You didn’t tell him?”“I was focused on the hiring process. Seymore only got off the plane from London late last evening.” Kade sipped. It was a bit of a tell, Raven was realizing. “I didn’t exactly have time to fill him in.”“I’m here now.” Seymore tapped his fingertips on the tabletop. “Right here, waiting.”“Last night, Raven went out for some drinks with coworkers,” said Kade, flat and factual. “O
Empire of Dominance Chapter 41 : Showtime
They rode in silence to the office the next morning, staring out opposite windows: it felt as if silence was far more eloquent than trying to reach back to the place they’d been the night before. Sex was easy, beside this very careful dance of non definitions. They were no longer living within the safe, clear confines of the agreement that had been governing their relationship for the last weeks. Now that agreement was officially dead. And the air between them felt charged with electric warmth–not the simple charge of desire. But something more delicate, more vital. Something neither were willing to look at directly.“I’ll see you at the end of the day,” said Kade as the limo pulled up to the front of the building. “For your report.”“See you.”There was no discussion of her going back to her apartment. They hadn’t even mentioned the fact of her apartment’s existence since the passing mention of the break in a few nights before. It wasn’t as if Raven needed anything from the a
Empire of Dominance Chapter 42 : The Server Room
“It’s almost time.” Kade checked his high-end watch for the the fifth time in five minutes.“I know,” Raven smiled, trying to cool down his nerves and vicariously her own as well. “You said that a minute ago.”“I’ll follow a minute after you. In the car that you’ll be looking for when it’s time to get out. A blue hatchback.”“Yes, you showed me the picture.” Raven rubbed his arm. They were still in the penthouse elevator, standing ready for the taxi that should be appearing in precisely two minutes. Inside would be Seymore, diverting the taxi driver by—untraceable, unhackable—verbal direction to the penthouse. Nothing about tonight could begin with or leave a trail. No rideshare with a saved history and user associated program. It would all be done in cash and borrowed cars. Top secret, she thought. She was beyond finding it funny, though. Nothing about tonight felt funny.When she let her mind wander, she found herself floating back to Garth Lu. His face close to hers
Empire of Dominance Chapter 43 : Bring Her In
Seymore’s POV A few minutes earlier, Seymore strode into the vast Oriri lobby, all slick marble and tasteful gilding along angular edges. They might be evil, murderous assholes, he thought, but they could decorate. Or at least hire good decorators.Seymore’s cheer was his armor, and he kept it up around himself. Nobody could crack good cheer. It was something he’d learned after long struggles. Even Kade didn’t know what Seymore had gone through in the years since school…What he’d struggled with. How he’d nearly broke.But now, he had his armor.He smiled at Charles Lu, as the second-youngest Lu sibling came toward him in the lobby. Seymore grinned cheerfully as he shook the hand of the man who had helped arrange the murder of his best friend’s parents.“Good evening, Mr. Lewis. Thank you for coming.”“Please, call me Seymore.” Seymore knew Charles Lu by reputation, and he was pleased to see his instincts were correct: the surviving Lu brother appeared to be about as
Empire of Dominance Chapter 44 : A Glass of Whiskey
Raven’s POVThe automatic lights flashed on in the server room as Raven moved inside, flash drive in hand. She felt as if she were walking into a gunfight carrying a knife—or not even a knife. Maybe a walking stick. But there was no time to get fidgety or hesitant. She was in this now. Five minutes, she thought. Just let me make it five minutes, and I can do this.She plugged in, setting up at one of the maintenance consoles perched at intervals along the huge servers, with their rows and rows of blinking lights and whirring computer fans. Goosebumps prickled Raven’s bare legs and arms as she watched Oriri’s proprietary software kick into gear. Its format was unfamiliar but intuitive. Just get to the data, she thought firmly. Get to the data, and the rest is cake.And… it was.File after file opened at a tap. UI windows opened in a flash and vanished again as automatic approvals were granted by the certificate permissions Jane and Peter had loaded the flash drive with.The da
Empire of Dominance Chapter 45 : Conquering Oriri
Kade’s POVKade Sinclair did not get frantic. But he was very, very worried.He sat around the corner from Oriri, parked in the borrowed getaway car with the lights off on the cross street. Raven knew where to find him. She’d gone in nearly fifteen minutes ago, and she wasn’t back out. Seymore hadn’t reemerged either, but that was less concerning. Seymore would be pretending to negotiate, he thought, driving up the price for his loyalty before accepting it, to all appearances. Raven should have taken no more than ten minutes.He couldn’t wait any longer.If Oriri got Raven too… That would be too much. That would be it.He wouldn’t—couldn’t—admit that to himself. But that would break him. How they would send her body to him? All those years ago, the Oriri operative had described how a thirteen-year-old Kade would be left on his father’s desk. An ending to a legacy. To a dynasty. The tactics had never changed. Only now, it was the horror show of the Oriri heirs who were pull
Empire of Dominance Chapter 46 : The Reckoning
Raven’s POVRaven felt the shivering motion of a car motor running. Her head was in someone’s lap, resting against a man’s strong thigh. She recognized the pressure of the palm cupping her head. The motion of a thumb stroking her hair. For a moment, she was floating in the heavy, sweet tenderness of that touch—of Kade’s hands, treasuring her with each touch.And then she remembered.She shouldn’t be awake. She shouldn’t be alive.She tried experimentally to wiggle her fingers. They responded—distantly, clumsily. But she could move. She could think. Granted, through an enormous headache and what felt like a boulder lodged in her stomach.Raven didn’t dare to believe it for a few long seconds.“Seymore, hurry.” Kade’s voice was close, cold, and tight. Urgent. “I think her hands are seizing—”She opened her eyes.There was a clear, split second when she saw Kade’s face looking down at her with open concern… and open affection.She felt herself smile. The soft, senseless
Empire of Dominance Chapter 47 : Repairing Relationships
The lawyers shuffled out after about half an hour of celebratory drinking and self-congratulations. Raven was left alone in the dining room, the last of the drug’s aftereffects fading into the light champagne buzz.Raven hoisted herself onto the table, where all the monitors and laptops had been set up only a little while before.But Kade didn’t come back in. She linked her ankles and swung them back and forth. If he didn’t show up soon, she decided, she was going to get at least a few hours of sleep before they met up with Christina Lu. But what was keeping Kade?Then she caught the flow of low, low voices. Hushed, coming from the kitchen. Kade and Seymore.She hopped off the table and moved tentatively toward the conversation. She told herself that she wanted to defend Seymore, if it came down to it. To tell Kade she understood what it would be to be dominated. To be taken. But she also knew she was just intensely curious.Kade and Seymore were poised, facing off from oppos
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Empire of Dominance Chapter 50 : What's Mine Is Mine
Raven reclined in the back room office of one of the most exclusive fashion designers in the city, watching her sketch out another vision of a gown for next week’s gala dinner.“This is your debut among the elite as a serious player,” said the designer, lazer-focused. “I want you to look fucking dangerous.”“I like how you think,” grinned Raven, admiring the sketches upside down. “I look forward to seeing what you come up with. And then terrifying some pampered nepo babies into selling shares in their daddies’ companies.”“I like the way YOU think,” laughed the designer. “I’ll have five options ready for you by Friday.”“Excellent. Then I’ll run—I have a lot of appointments this afternoon.”The black-tie doormen showed her out to her waiting limo. HER limo. She slid into the cool interior, catching the curious glances of ordinary passersby—people who hadn’t even been aware of the massive transformation in the financial world last week, or if they had been, hadn’t been overly
Empire of Dominance Chapter 49 : Contract Signing
They were back at the restaurant on the ground floor of Kade’s apartment building only a few hours later for lunch—or for whatever indeterminate meal marked this strange, endless, wonderful day.Raven gratefully accepted a large pour of Kade’s favorite vintage of wine, allowing herself to breathe out at last. Kade had booked them a table by the window: a very visible table, almost like a stage onto the sidewalk. Kade kept his phone on the table, watching push notifications roll in minute by minute as he sipped at his own wine.“So. The Jackal.” She spoke tentatively, reluctant to broach a topic that would bring the whole mood of this victorious moment down. “How did that happen?”“Easily. I reached out to him and told him I had a job.”“Just like that?” She couldn’t help staring. It seemed too easy.“I have my underworld contacts. As you well know.” He didn’t seem at all phased to be discussing this openly and in public. Well, at least in his own restaurant. But then again
Empire of Dominance Chapter 48 : New Arrangements
They didn’t sleep. Raven felt too full of excitement—the lingering, brutal thrill of mindblowing sex and the impending victory made her feel like she’d had five coffees in a row. She showered instead of vainly trying to catch a few minutes of sleep, emerging in a wave of scented steam and contentment. She dug out the gala-night cosmetics from where she’d stowed them in the bathroom drawers and set about making herself immaculately made up.In the mirror, as she made a perfect, subtle cat eye with a careful flick of the eyeliner, she saw a polished, pristine businesswoman. Elegant and keen, like a big cat in a predatory mode. Christina Lu had this dangerous elegance, Raven thought. And now she did too. She was a part of this world. For the first time, she felt secure in that knowledge. She felt equal to it.Nobody was going to be able to take this away from her, she knew. She was what she was–and she very much liked the feeling of being dangerous, she’d come to realize.Kade ap
Empire of Dominance Chapter 47 : Repairing Relationships
The lawyers shuffled out after about half an hour of celebratory drinking and self-congratulations. Raven was left alone in the dining room, the last of the drug’s aftereffects fading into the light champagne buzz.Raven hoisted herself onto the table, where all the monitors and laptops had been set up only a little while before.But Kade didn’t come back in. She linked her ankles and swung them back and forth. If he didn’t show up soon, she decided, she was going to get at least a few hours of sleep before they met up with Christina Lu. But what was keeping Kade?Then she caught the flow of low, low voices. Hushed, coming from the kitchen. Kade and Seymore.She hopped off the table and moved tentatively toward the conversation. She told herself that she wanted to defend Seymore, if it came down to it. To tell Kade she understood what it would be to be dominated. To be taken. But she also knew she was just intensely curious.Kade and Seymore were poised, facing off from oppos
Empire of Dominance Chapter 46 : The Reckoning
Raven’s POVRaven felt the shivering motion of a car motor running. Her head was in someone’s lap, resting against a man’s strong thigh. She recognized the pressure of the palm cupping her head. The motion of a thumb stroking her hair. For a moment, she was floating in the heavy, sweet tenderness of that touch—of Kade’s hands, treasuring her with each touch.And then she remembered.She shouldn’t be awake. She shouldn’t be alive.She tried experimentally to wiggle her fingers. They responded—distantly, clumsily. But she could move. She could think. Granted, through an enormous headache and what felt like a boulder lodged in her stomach.Raven didn’t dare to believe it for a few long seconds.“Seymore, hurry.” Kade’s voice was close, cold, and tight. Urgent. “I think her hands are seizing—”She opened her eyes.There was a clear, split second when she saw Kade’s face looking down at her with open concern… and open affection.She felt herself smile. The soft, senseless
Empire of Dominance Chapter 45 : Conquering Oriri
Kade’s POVKade Sinclair did not get frantic. But he was very, very worried.He sat around the corner from Oriri, parked in the borrowed getaway car with the lights off on the cross street. Raven knew where to find him. She’d gone in nearly fifteen minutes ago, and she wasn’t back out. Seymore hadn’t reemerged either, but that was less concerning. Seymore would be pretending to negotiate, he thought, driving up the price for his loyalty before accepting it, to all appearances. Raven should have taken no more than ten minutes.He couldn’t wait any longer.If Oriri got Raven too… That would be too much. That would be it.He wouldn’t—couldn’t—admit that to himself. But that would break him. How they would send her body to him? All those years ago, the Oriri operative had described how a thirteen-year-old Kade would be left on his father’s desk. An ending to a legacy. To a dynasty. The tactics had never changed. Only now, it was the horror show of the Oriri heirs who were pull
Empire of Dominance Chapter 44 : A Glass of Whiskey
Raven’s POVThe automatic lights flashed on in the server room as Raven moved inside, flash drive in hand. She felt as if she were walking into a gunfight carrying a knife—or not even a knife. Maybe a walking stick. But there was no time to get fidgety or hesitant. She was in this now. Five minutes, she thought. Just let me make it five minutes, and I can do this.She plugged in, setting up at one of the maintenance consoles perched at intervals along the huge servers, with their rows and rows of blinking lights and whirring computer fans. Goosebumps prickled Raven’s bare legs and arms as she watched Oriri’s proprietary software kick into gear. Its format was unfamiliar but intuitive. Just get to the data, she thought firmly. Get to the data, and the rest is cake.And… it was.File after file opened at a tap. UI windows opened in a flash and vanished again as automatic approvals were granted by the certificate permissions Jane and Peter had loaded the flash drive with.The da
Empire of Dominance Chapter 43 : Bring Her In
Seymore’s POV A few minutes earlier, Seymore strode into the vast Oriri lobby, all slick marble and tasteful gilding along angular edges. They might be evil, murderous assholes, he thought, but they could decorate. Or at least hire good decorators.Seymore’s cheer was his armor, and he kept it up around himself. Nobody could crack good cheer. It was something he’d learned after long struggles. Even Kade didn’t know what Seymore had gone through in the years since school…What he’d struggled with. How he’d nearly broke.But now, he had his armor.He smiled at Charles Lu, as the second-youngest Lu sibling came toward him in the lobby. Seymore grinned cheerfully as he shook the hand of the man who had helped arrange the murder of his best friend’s parents.“Good evening, Mr. Lewis. Thank you for coming.”“Please, call me Seymore.” Seymore knew Charles Lu by reputation, and he was pleased to see his instincts were correct: the surviving Lu brother appeared to be about as
Empire of Dominance Chapter 42 : The Server Room
“It’s almost time.” Kade checked his high-end watch for the the fifth time in five minutes.“I know,” Raven smiled, trying to cool down his nerves and vicariously her own as well. “You said that a minute ago.”“I’ll follow a minute after you. In the car that you’ll be looking for when it’s time to get out. A blue hatchback.”“Yes, you showed me the picture.” Raven rubbed his arm. They were still in the penthouse elevator, standing ready for the taxi that should be appearing in precisely two minutes. Inside would be Seymore, diverting the taxi driver by—untraceable, unhackable—verbal direction to the penthouse. Nothing about tonight could begin with or leave a trail. No rideshare with a saved history and user associated program. It would all be done in cash and borrowed cars. Top secret, she thought. She was beyond finding it funny, though. Nothing about tonight felt funny.When she let her mind wander, she found herself floating back to Garth Lu. His face close to hers
