Children of Fire (Complete)

nineteen

Emerson

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hissed, clearly agitated by not just his presence, but because he made me drop my freshly lit joint. Typical asshole behavior, though I can't say I was surprised.

"I wanted to stop by and see how today went, that's all." Gideon said with a shrug, casually brushing past me and plopping down on my couch like he was actually welcome here. The audacity.

"It went well, not that it's any of your business." I huffed out in annoyance, turning around to slam the door shut and lock the deadbolt behind him. I faced my couch again, searching the floor for the joint I had dropped when the sound of a lighter sparking caused me to snap my eyes to Gideon. "Excuse me, but could you please tell me why the fuck you think it's okay to just barge into my house unannounced, make yourself comfortable on my couch, and light up the only joint I have like you own the place?" I growled, snatching the joint out of his mouth and putting it in my own— taking a deep breath, praying that the smoke would calm me. At this point, though, I wasn't sure that it would, my nerves were shot.

"Actually, Emerson, it may surprise you to know that I do, in fact, own this place." Gideon said coolly, that stupid fucking smirk was plastered on his stupidly beautiful face.

"You're lying." I said in disbelief, even though it really wouldn't be that surprising if he was telling the truth. He did seem to have control over practically everything in this shit hole town.

"I'm not. How did you think I knew your name when you first arrived in town?" He asked, his tone was cocky and I knew he wasn't lying. "When your landlord, Mr. Byrd, had to step out and check the availability? He was giving me a call. He informed me of all the information you had given him, and I had one of my men do a background check. I know quite a few things about you, Emerson June Parker. More than you think."

My eyes had to be as round as saucers, and my jaw had gone slack. I quickly regained my composure and took a long drag from the joint, coughing as I exhaled. Gideon chuckled as he propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"Do you mind sharing? I'll leave you a few to make up for me barging in here unannounced, if that's what you're worried about." He said coolly, stretching his hand out. I hesitated for a moment before handing it to him and taking a seat at the opposite end of the couch, my back leaning against the arm while my legs were crossed in front of me, facing him with an incredulous look on my face. "Thank you." He said, handing it back to me.

"You did a background check on me?" I asked nervously, I wasn't sure what all he would have seen. The police department in my hometown reassured me multiple times that they would wipe my information— that way no one would have any way of knowing about my past unless I told them myself. I shuddered at the thought of them not keeping their word, although they weren't exactly the brightest officers in the world.

"I did. You see, the MC runs a lot of business in this town. We make sure it's kept safe, and we have to make sure there aren't..." he paused for a moment to take a large puff of the joint before passing it back to me. I took it graciously, my stomach was in knots. "...unsavory characters moving into our town. It was really strange to me that an unknown girl would just up and move into the shittiest apartments in Luciana one day. You have no relatives here, and no long-lost friends. So, of course I had to make sure you weren't somebody that could threaten our club." He finished.

"Well? Am I a threat to your precious club?" I asked, becoming angry at the mere mention of The 66. I hadn't forgotten that Gideon basically told all of his club that I was just a pawn in some stupid game for power or money or whatever it is that he was interested in at the moment, I had just tried to put it in the back of my mind.