Ablaze

19

We were situated in the game room, around the poker table, tobacco clinging to the air.

Liam had two laptops in front of him, typing rapidly. He would regularly alternate between the two of them, his eyebrows furrowed, the dark circles under his eyes evident. His hair had begun to curl at the ends, the length of it longer than when I first arrived.

All the work and stress he was enduring took precedence over his self-care rituals, and I didn't blame him.

I observed Liam's movements intently, entertained by his ability to touch type so skillfully.

"Good job, El. You successfully planted the bug on your Father. I downloaded all the data and listened to everything he said after he left The Royalton." Liam's concentration flickered briefly from the laptop to me.

At his approval, Niall patted me roughly on the back, my torso jolting against the table at the contact. I shot Niall an unappreciative grimace at his aggressive congratulatory gesture.

My scowl deepened as I caught his pleased disposition.

Harry squeezed my leg in recognition, a small smile on his face as his eyes met mine.

"The dick was too busy degrading me to notice." A satisfied smirk spread across my face as I explained my Father's downfall.

I crossed my arms across my chest, leaning back in my chair as I reveled in pride.

"I reckon they're gonna be pissed you killed Jason."

Harry shrugged, lazily justifying his motives, "Collateral. No cleanup, no harm done."

Liam continued, skirting over Harry's blunt explanation, "The chip you planted on Henry is definitely damning."

My thoughts returned to last night, recalling how I had managed to stay in control and how that had led me to fulfill the plan.

When Henry had tugged me closer as a greeting, he had been too busy groping me to notice I had slipped the device into the inside of his blazer pocket. It had been a rapid slide of the hand and a small squeeze to secure it. I had pinched the fabric, pretending to draw him tighter to me.

He would never have believed I'd be behind something like that, that I was incapable, letting me remain undetected.

And when I had readjusted my Father's blazer, I had attached it under his shirt collar. Whenever he spun me around, spewing vile words about Harry, I would gape at him like a wounded animal. I had enacted the part of the victim flawlessly, manipulating his low opinion of me to do what I needed.

Harry leaned over, hastily kissing me on the top of my head, provoking my thoughts to veer to what had transpired once we returned to our room.

His head between my legs, my nails scratching his scalp, holding him close to me, the devilish smirk on his glistening mouth. He didn't stop until I had finished over and over, unable to control ourselves, high from the adrenaline.

High off of each other.

Liam clicked a button, my glazed-over disposition centering on him. I felt my face flush as I reminisced last night, temporarily drowning everything else out.

But as my Father's voice crackled from the laptop, filling the room, my attitude dampened.

He was an absolute buzz kill.

"That fucking bitch, I can't believe her audacity to bring him with her. The embarrassment she has caused me."

His tone portrayed nothing but disgust, evident even through the voice recording. Each word was enunciated. The slight lilt of his accent was emphasized by his contempt.