LaraI don't care how bad it looks. I don't care that I'll be fired, which is a shame because I've fought so hard to be in this position. I made a huge sacrifice and became adapted to this environment. I was completely unfamiliar with it and managed to thrive despite everything. I close the door and hurry away from it. I move as quickly as I can in these heels. I don't care about who's watching; I just want to reach the dressing room in the back and get dressed so I can get out of here."Lara?"It's Ambrose. I don't stop and turn around to see where he is. I just keep going. I reach the room, and thankfully, it's empty. Nobody needs to see me panicking like hell. The door behind me opens, though, bringing my fantasy of being alone to an end. "What's wrong?" Ambrose asks as he storms toward me. His face is a mask of shock. "Why did you leave him alone in the room? Why did you walk away?" He then pauses and takes a good look at me. "Why do you look so pale?"I try to bring his face b
DexterI check my watch again.I'm starting to grow really impatient. When I saw the new girl on stage, I became excited because it always gives me the opportunity to bribe her and get her to report to me on Ambrose's doings. I've not been very successful before because the new girls never stay for long and the ones here are too loyal to him. This I know because I was warned by one of my guards who'd been asking questions. Some of them are out there now, trying to get lucky. Again, I don't believe that he has any illicit activities going on, but Mr. King seems to think that he does, so I do what I'm told and don't complain. I'm starting to get really bored of waiting for this new girl, though. I don't have all night. What even made her leave the room so quickly and suddenly?I check my watch for what I tell myself will be the last time. A guy told me that she'd be here in five minutes, then two, and then he stopped answering my questions altogether. Is she coming or not? If not, the
LaraAmbrose comes into the room just as I'm putting my bra on. His eyes are wild and filled with concern. "What happened?"I shrug and point at the money. "He put this here and left.""Do you think he recognized you?""No, I don't think so. I don't know? I would've noticed it.""Why would he leave so abruptly after waiting for so long?"Ambrose is asking me all these questions but I don't have the answer for him. I don't know. I'm wondering the same thing and have no way of finding answers. I don't know if I'm in danger. I feel very strangely about all of this. He asked me my name, though. Was he expecting me to say Lara? Maybe I'm being an idiot for assuming that he didn't recognize me. Why wouldn't he?"What do we do now?" I ask him after a while."I don't know, Lara," he states before looking at me. "I have no idea. The choice is entirely up to you. I'm going to let you decide. Whatever you decide will be good enough for me. I can't force you to face this situation. It's not fair
LaraWhen Ambrose calls me down from the stage to tell me that Dexter Russell has made a request for me, we're both in shock. It's too soon to celebrate because we don't know what his intentions are yet. This could very well be a trick for him to get me alone with him for some reason. I remain optimistic though. I'm not at all scared of coming face to face with him again. I'm looking forward to it.It's been five days since he ran out on me. This whole time, I thought that maybe he wouldn't come back and that would be that. After I received my first payment from Ambrose, which was some days ago, I was in tears. I'd never seen that much money and I was absolutely blown away by the amount. He's being very generous with me and I hope I can help him incriminate that man in any way that I can, not just to satisfy the rage I feel whenever I think about him but also as a 'thank you' to Ambrose. "This is another shot," Ambrose tells me.I nod. "I'm aware and I promise you that I'll do my b
LaraAfter I tell Ambrose the offer Dexter made me, he’s pensive. I keep waiting for what he’s going o say because I don’t know where’s this is going to go. How will Ambrose deal with the matter? I know that Dexter said that he’d find out if I told him but that would only be in the case that Ambrose tried something against him. Which Ambrose won’t do. “Who would’ve guessed,” he says. “I planted you here to keep an eye out on him and he’s trying to do the same with you.”I ask, “Is there a reason for him to want to have me spy on you?”“Not that I know of,” he replies without missing a beat. “It’s confusing, actually. I’m not sure what I’ve done to get the attention of the authorities.”“But he suspects of something, or he wouldn’t ask me.”“If you can, I want you to find out what it is,” he tells me. “I hate to put you in this position but it seems Dexter didn’t give you a choice. He’ll kill you either way.”I shudder at this. “He didn’t recognize you at all? You’re sure about tha
DexterI watch Red leave the grocery store in mild disbelief. I don’t understand that woman at all. I’ve only just met her but she seems to me like a very complicated person. The problem is that I can’t seem to stay away from her and I’m starting to grow angry at my own stupidity. Telling her about the job wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did. I needed time to assess her and make sure that she’d be the perfect candidate for the job. I don’t know if I can trust her. I know she’s new but that doesn’t guarantee that she’s not loyal to Ambrose. It was a stupid move, and the worst part is that I only did it because I wanted an excuse to push her off me yesterday. I knew what was coming and my fear was that I wouldn’t be able to resist her. So, I said the words out loud. I gave her the offer. I don’t even know if she’ll see this through. I’m not sure if I trust this at all. Hell, I didn’t even look her up. I don’t know what her real name is or where she’s from. It’s frankly ridiculo
LaraIt's showtime.We're dancing. There's no sign of Dexter as he didn't book a session with me beforehand. I still have to do this, though, as people might find it suspicious if I only ever dance when Dexter is around. Anyone could book me. I'm prepared for that, too. In a few hours' time, I have five separate private shows. I'm amazed by the amount. It's about fifteen minutes each, and I can make a respectable amount of tips. Ambrose will pay me afterward. It's quite a lot of money for me, and that is what keeps me dancing for these strange men who gaze upon my body with lust. At first, I'm afraid, but then I realize that they're not allowed to touch me, not if I don't want them to. I do what everyone else does; I let them touch my waist and my belly. Oliver says it's a good way to build a connection with the clients. That way, they'll keep coming back. I let this happen, but they never take it far. I count the seconds until I'm done. Then, I return to the main area after tucking
Dexter My meeting with Red has come to an end. I'm about to leave but I stop at the bar one more time for a drink. I sit there and drink it slowly. I have to go home but for some reason, I'm dreading it. The argument I had with Ellen keeps replaying in the back of my mind and leaves a sour taste in my mouth that the whiskey fails to flush down my throat. I should never have said those things to her and I feel like a jackass. I run my fingers through my hair. I look to my left and see a man doing just about the same thing as me. The only difference is that he doesn't have hair, so he's just rubbing his scalp repeatedly. He flashes me a sympathetic smile. "Women problems, eh?"I don't answer him. "Yeah," he says. "I thought so. Welcome to the club. Everyone here comes to distract themselves from whatever shit is going on at home. These girls aren't judgmental, are they?"I don't want to have to talk to a stranger about my problems, especially the problems I have with my mate. I str
DexterA month has passed since Finch’s untimely death, and Lara hasn’t quite been the same. She’s been suffering quite a lot, and honestly, I understand why. Nothing he said made sense to me. Yesterday, she told me that she started to understand a little, but this is all a mystery to me. Maybe she gets it because she knew him better than I did. She grew up with him even though he was my biological brother and not hers. That gives her a pretty fair advantage over me. I’m haunted by the brief conversation we had over the phone. I hadn’t guessed at the time that it would be our first and last one. To sum it up, he told me that he wanted me to be Beta, and that he wanted me to promise that I’d take care of Lara and never hurt her again. But before that, he told me that he wasn’t as forgiving as she was and that he was glad I lose a hand. It was a crazy damn day, and it ended so tragically. But slowly, she’s been crawling out of her shell. Of course, her grief is only noticeable to t
Lara“Is it done?” Finch asks me over the phone. I find myself nodding, and then say, “Yes. It is.”Putting my father down was a decision we all made. It was ultimately what was best for everyone. We’ve all been hurt by him, and I think now, we can have that closure. With him being alive, there’s always that fear that he might run away from prison and target us. He’s always been vindictive. We had an incident with Jensen’s father, who had been Ambrose’s employer. When he heard of his son’s death, he orchestrated a prison break and came after us. Well, that’s what we gathered from the Gammas and Deltas who protect us. He never got close, but that didn’t mean the worst couldn’t have happened. He’s dead now, but he was a reminder that Lycans are very vindictive and will stop at nothing to get revenge. We’re all part-Lycan, so we understand this better than anyone else. We’re also vengeful in our own ways. All of us. Finch heaves a sigh. “Well, that’s the end of it.”For some reason,
Dexter“You’re free to pass through,” the prison guard tells me as he opens the door to the visitor’s room. I never thought that I would find myself here. After I sent Victor to prison for the murder of my mother, I thought I wouldn’t need to speak to him again. I didn’t need him to explain to me why the fuck he killed my mother so brutally. I didn’t want to hear any of it. But since I got together with Lara, I started feeling this sense for closure. My story doesn’t feel complete yet, and that’s because there are loose ends that I haven’t tied up. Well, there’s one, and that’s Victor. He’s sitting alone at the metal table. His hands are out of sight, and he looks older than I remember him. Maybe it’s the orange uniform that’s giving me that impression.When he sees me approaching, his eyes don’t leave my face. There’s not a single thought behind them, and as I sit across from him, I try to convince myself not to lose my cool and end this in a way that won’t land me in prison.“D
LaraI stand in the balcony of my room and stare at the moon, which is high in the sky.The sky has never looked more lovely. It’s like a velvety canvas dusted with thousands of glittering stars. Then, there’s the moon, of course. She’s the star of the show. I can’t help but feel gratitude spreading all through my body as I stare up at Her. Things worked out well for me. For us. The air is cool and still, and it’s carrying this fresh scent of pine from the surrounding forest that invades my nostrils every my time the wind blows. It’s so serene at this time of the night. Everything is still and peaceful. Arms encircle my waist from behind, and I feel the coldness of the metal of his prosthetic against my bare belly. I nestle into Dex’s warmth. I know it’s him. His warm scent envelops me like a cloud, and he kisses the arch of my neck sensually. “Awake at this time?” he asks hoarsely. “Couldn’t sleep,” I say. “Today was a good day, wasn’t it?”I think about the trial that happened
Lara"So," Finch begins when I sit directly across from him. "What happens now?"I've been asking myself this for the past few days and honestly, there's no answer. I don't think that's such a bad thing, though. Sometimes, it's great to not be able to predict anything. I want to see where this goes, too. Why should there always be an answer to everything?I tell him this, and add, "I'm happy with the progress that we've made. Isn't that great? We're taking it a day at a time. All of us."Finch looks right and stares out the window to the spot where Ander is flying a kite with Dex. The two of them are inseparable and it's a joy to see. Ander is a lot more active and they get along. "Hm," Finch says. "What?" I ask, my lips curving into a smile. "Stop being so pessimistic all the time. Why can't you be happy with me for once? I know how you feel about Dex, but he's a part of the family now. You have to put in an effort."Finch scoffs. "When hasn't he not been a part of the family?"I
DexterThree days later, I'm as good as new.As soon as I step out of the hospital, Lara is outside. She’s in the driver’s seat of the car, wearing dark sunglasses. The sight of her fills me with a fresh new will to live. When I left her room that night—right before getting jumped by fucking Jensen and his men—I thought there was no hope for us. I left that house with no expectations. But look at where we are now. I climb in the passenger’s seat. I lean toward her and press a kiss to her lips. They’re soft and she smiles against me. For the past three days, she’s barely left my side, and we’ve gotten close in a way that I didn’t think would be possible for us. I’m a brand new man, and suddenly, my life is full of possibilities. “It’s so fucking good to see you,” I tell her as I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. She smiles, but then it falters. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. You know what today is.”The reminder makes my heart skip a fucking beat. We both agreed that
LaraWhen we reach the house, I tell the men to stay outside with Dexter. “I’m sorry,” I tell them, looking at the injured man. “It’s only going to be for a few minutes. I’ll send a signal for you to come back.”Dex grabs my hand before I step out of the car. He stares at me and says, “Promise me that you’re going to take care of yourself. That you won’t get hurt.”“I promise,” I say. We stare intently at each other before he pushes me toward him. Our lips collide and we share a brief but passionate kiss. It’s time to go, though. I head toward the house and the gates open. I step in. I can’t meet them yet, not when I’m in only a coat and have my scrapes and cuts on display. I have to get dressed. There can’t be signs of a fight on me. It only occurs to me as I step inside the house that someone could’ve called Jensen to warn him that we attacked. But they didn’t have the time to do it, not when they were fighting for their lives. A man meets me at the door. I think his name is G
Lara But wait. Something keeps tugging at me, and when I pay close attention to it, I realize that it’s the background noise that caught my attention. The rattling chains. That almost metallic sound of the door opening. That’s all familiar to me. I chew my bottom lip and think deeply as we head home. It’s been three minutes since I last spoke to Jensen and I haven’t stopped thinking about that tiny detail. Why’s it all so familiar to me?I close my eyes and try to think. Chains. The first thing that comes to mind is Dexter’s ex. She was tied up in them when he took me there so I could decide her fate. And then there was the sound of him opening the door to the warehouse. That’s how I figure out where Dexter is. Jensen took him to the warehouse where the money had initially been stashed. The realization makes my heart pump faster and I tell the driver. “Stop. We’re going someplace else first.”My nerves are making my fingers shake with anxiety. I just have to take a deep breath
Lara There’s no way that Jensen has Dexter. This has to be another bluff. That’s what I tell to myself to calm down. My heart is slamming against the base of my throat and I find it hard to breathe. “You’re a damn fucking liar, Jensen.”“Am I?” he asks quizzically. “The plan was always to use capture Dexter. Only, we figured it would be hard to get him to talk, considering he’s tough as nails and would rather die than tell us where the money was. I suppose you know about that by now, don’t you? That I’m the one who was your employer? If not, now you do. This filthy fucking rogue took my money and I want it back. I’m prepared to take this to hell if necessary. What the fuck do I have to lose?”I say nothing for a good few seconds as I try to figure out what I have established so far. Jensen is my employer. Earlier, he told me he had someone I cared about and that he wanted to negotiate. I thought it was Ambrose, but it’s actually Dexter. Suddenly, someone comes to mind. I was talkin