I’m warming up my muscles when Carm comes into the gym.
“Hey, one of my guys said you came by the office last night?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I nod. “I forgot my knife in the meeting room yesterday. I can’t sleep without it near me. Especially here. I figured you put it in your office.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d have realized sooner that you forgot it.” He grins.
“It’s been fucking hectic,” I scrub my hand down my face.
“Just focus on the fight for now. Wade is trained, Ember. This one may be your toughest yet.” He looks at me with worry in his eyes.
“I figured. It has to be done, Carm. I can’t have people doubting the strength I have. I need to take down anyone who even thinks they could take me or my family out.”
“Fuck, you sound like him a lot sometimes.” He grunts.
I don’t say anything because I know I sound like the homicidal maniac who helped create us. It’s rare that Carm mentions it though and I don’t dare correct him.
“He became really paranoid at the end, calling for anyone and everyone to be killed. Someone questioned him, they were killed. It was gruesome when he got out, like he knew while he was gone his hold had slipped. Then he asked us about Emberlise Craven and how well she was working for us.” He looks at me with sad eyes. “I was the one that spoke so damn highly of you, the girl I had never set eyes on, who refused to meet here and fought her battles in abandoned warehouses or empty parking lots. I had not a single clue who you were.”
“It’s not your fault.” I shake my head.
“In a way it is, his eyes brightened at my praise and he just had to see you. I hunted you down, twisted Tommy’s arm to tell me where you moved. I told him and we were on the road within minutes, he was that eager to get to you. I should’ve known it was something more. When we reached Toronto, he finally confessed to who you were and why we were picking you up.”
“Why was he picking me up? What was his endgame for me?”
“He wanted you to sit next to him. Be his second.”
“Your position.” I narrow my eyes.
“Yeah.” He agrees.
“And you were okay with that?”
“Of course not and to be honest, I really didn’t think you would live up to the hype.” He chuckles, “even after you attacked that guard outside of your school the night we grabbed you. I thought you were just a kid. A great fighter and talented as fuck, but just a kid. You proved me wrong while you were here. I decided I was going to help you and if you were more suited for the position, then I would let it be.”
“And?” I raise a brow. “Am I?”
“Yes.” He answers honestly, “you would’ve ripped the Eastside Rampage apart and made it something better. Eliminated anyone that was deemed a threat and do it all with ease and precision. The only thing against you? You’re a woman and a fucking young one.”
I nod because he’s correct, it’s bad enough being young, but owning a pair of tits makes it difficult to order men around. Especially those who think their balls are the size of fucking soccer balls.
“And now, Carm? How do you feel?”
“I feel like this would never be what you choose. You found someone you want to spend your life with, maybe start a family. If you were here, doing my job, your kids would be next in line and I know you would want something better for them. Look, you wanted something better for your twin.”
He’s right again, this is not where I would raise a family and if I did in fact ever take over the Rampage, it would be dismantled in a hot minute.
“Emmett not being here,” I study his face. “How do you really feel about that?”
“I wanted him here with me. I didn’t want him running off into the sunset with his-sorry-crazy ass sister and thinking life was peaches. Lose his abilities he took years to master and become complacent in life. Instead, he has people he loves and he is the happiest I have ever seen him. I am jealous I couldn’t provide the same but at the same time I am grateful to you.”
“And me? What do you see when you look at me? Am I your sister or the best fighter you have?”
“Both.” He doesn’t hesitate. “When we were in Spain, I went there knowing I cared about you because you were my sibling. It was innate but that was it. I didn’t want harm to come to you because of how important you had become to Emmett and also because we shared blood.” He shakes his head with a chuckle, “I wanted to kill you pretty much every day of that trip. Then, the last few days, I found myself fucking laughing at your antics, even though it was always at my expense. I saw that you weren’t just fearless but you were multidimensional. You had depth so deep, I could drown and you weren’t just strong, you were soft, too.
“So, yes Ember, you are my best fighter. When I have you in that ring, no matter the type of fight, I am rolling in money. You know it because I send you home with a large chunk of it. But when you are outside of that ring, you’re my baby sister and I don’t know what I would do if anything were to happen to you.”
“Just know, I would kill for you, Carm. You’re my family and from the day I knocked you out with that gun instead of shooting you, I knew you would be important to me. You’re my big brother, helped
