01

We watched the news, waiting for the outcome of the trial with bated breath.

“We, the jury, find the defendant guilty!”

I exhaled the breath I had been holding, while the room erupted in cheers

“Good job today, team,” the VICE Captain raised his beer to the rest of us. “And thanks to Wildfire, that’s another scumbag off the streets.”

But not without the cost of my reputation. The officers applauded, while I stared at the ground, my face hot from embarrassment. “I’m just doing what I can.”

“And you’re one of the best at it,” Detective Amaryllis, my handler, clapped his hand on my shoulder. “We couldn’t have gotten the evidence without you.” His silver hair matched his copper eyes.

“I’ll drink to that!” another officer said while raising his glass.

My phone buzzed, and I ignored the call. “I gotta get to my normal job.”

“Aw, but this was your victory as much as ours,” the officer complained. “You lost everything to take this guy down.”

“It is what it is, and money is money.”

“I’ll drive you,” Detective Amaryllis volunteered.

We walked to his car and climbed in. Both of our grins snapped to straight faces. My cheeks hurt from the constant smiles.

“A deal’s a deal, Ms. Embers.” He handed me a file.

“This is everything you have?”

“Yup,” he drove toward the Cloud Nine hookah lounge. “That’s everything we have on the Shadow Team.”

“Not much here.”

“The only reason it even showed up on my radar was because that director claimed that he was tricked. Since you only go after bad guys, I don’t see a reason to keep the case open. I’ll make sure it goes cold.”

I put the folder under my arm as he pulled up to the hookah lounge. “Contract’s complete, so lose my number.” I climbed out of the car.

“Never even saved it,” he replied dryly, lurching his car forward to shut the door.

I walked into Cloud Nine Hookah Lounge.

Miranda, my right-hand woman, ran up to me. “Congratulations, Ms. Embers. I saw the news,” she whispered. “You took that bastard down.”

“But look at what I lost to do it. They only got him because he leaked nude photos of me. I don’t even know where they came from.”

She patted me on the arm for comfort. “You have a visitor in your office.”

“Thanks for the warning.” I walked up the spiral stairs to my office on the second floor. I opened the door and was greeted with an angry man.

He grabbed my shoulders to hold me still. “Who was that man?” my fiancé, Quinton Avery, demanded. His slicked back violet hair contrasted his orange eyes.

I smacked his hand away. “None of your business.”

He flung me against the wall, pressing his hands on either side of my head. He leaned in close, his orange eyes narrowed at me. “I tried to call you, fiancée.”

I ducked under his arm and walked to my desk, tossing my jacket to the side. “I know.” I grabbed a coal and a tin of shisha. I packed the bowl without paying any attention to the man. Once the coal was lit and settled on the foil, I inhaled deeply to get the smoke going. I kicked my feet up onto the desk.

He sat down in front of me. “How undignified.”

I handed him the wooden handle of the hose. “Why’re you here, Mr. Avery?”

“You’re my fiancée, Ms. Embers,” he said then took a drag. He breathed the smoke out, making rings in the air.

“And you hate me,” I reminded him.

His eyes flashed dangerously. “Of course I hate you. First, there was that director and now the guy today. You're just a cheating wench clinging to my money.”

“I never cheated.” I yanked the hose from him and glared. “I don’t need your money. Never have, never will.”

“Then why aren’t you calling off the engagement?”

I puffed and toyed with the smoke above me. I set my feet back onto the ground. I dialed a number and put the phone on speaker.

Quinton’s grandfather picked up the line. “Good evening, Rosalind. I saw the news. Congratulations.”

I leaned forward and smiled at the phone. “Hi, Grandpa. Thanks, but that’s not why I’m calling.”

“What can I do for you at this hour?”

“I want to cancel the engagement.”

There was a moment of silence before the old man exploded. “Again? What’re you trying to do, Ms. Embers? Call off the engagement. Bah. You two will get married in the summer.”

“But I don’t love him anymore, Grandpa. He bankrupted my family’s businesses after someone leaked nude photos of me. I can’t stay with someone so heartless and ruthless and doesn’t believe me.”

“Enough!” he shouted. “Just stay on the line, Rosalind.”

Quinton’s phone rang in his pocket.

I slid the phone closer to me and took it off speaker.

He answered it, “Yes, Grandfather?”

The old man’s voice boomed through the ear speaker. “What the hell did you do? This is the third time she’s called me to call off the engagement. If you don’t fix this, I’ll write you out of my will!”

Quinton scowled. “She's a scandal magnet and a cheater. There wouldn’t have been leaked pictures if she didn’t take them in the first place!”

More silence.

“Get her on your side, Quinton. This is your last warning.” He then spoke to me through my phone, “I’m sorry that he’s hardheaded, dear. He just needs a good woman like you by his side, and he’ll straighten out. I’ve gotta get up early, and you should also get your beauty sleep. Night.” He hung up on me.

“See?” I took a long drag from the hose.

He slammed his palms on the table. “Just what did you do to get my grandfather on your side?”

I shrugged. “Hell if I know. I’m guessing it has something to do with a deal he made with Dad.”

“Your father is in jail, just like you should be.”

“I haven’t committed any crimes.”

“You think that I don’t know that? Too bad gold digging isn’t a crime.”

“Don’t gold diggers actually have to pan for gold? I never needed your money. My family had businesses that were booming until you bankrupted us then called the feds to lock my dad up.”

“It was less than he deserved after forcing my grandfather through with this farce of a marriage. A ‘good woman?’ A ‘good woman’ doesn’t let other people take those kinds of pictures of her.”

“The only person I ever allowed to take nudes of me was you. So, by all accounts, I should believe that you leaked them to others and spread them around.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I lost everything because of you.” Tears welled up in my eyes. “I lost my home, my dad, my job, my reputation because of those photos. I never did anything to betray you. I turned down so many roles so because of you.” I looked at him through the haze of smoke in my office. “How could a cute boy become a vindictive asshole like you?”

“How did the little girl who chased me around everywhere become an immoral bitch?” he shot back. He stood up, the smoke wispy around him. “If you don’t convince my grandfather to call this engagement off, I’ll destroy everything you touch, starting with this hookah bar.” He stomped out the door and slammed it shut.

My chest ached as my breathing hitched. “Talk big all you want, Rosalind Embers. But your heart still wants him.”