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“Cancel it.”

“I can’t. It’s a doctor’s appointment I’ve been waiting for, for months.”

He looks at me skeptically, but he knows I’ve had issues with headaches since the accident. Something about long-term effects of my concussion from the accident, and I really do have an appointment, it’s just not for that. “Come here straight from the appointment.”

I sigh and nod. There’s no point arguing with him.

It’s just a strip club, and I’ve done worse things to pay off this debt than dance for some lowlifes half naked.

How bad could one shift possibly be?

CHAPTER FOUR

ORION

It wasn’t nearly as hard as it should have been to plant the idea of Ember working at the club tonight. But I needed her occupied for what I had planned.

Following her has been tricky, much trickier than it should have been given my unique skill set, and I’ve come to the end of my tether where that is concerned.

I glance over my shoulder as I make quick work of picking the lock of her apartment. I’ll need to get my own key cut, but that can wait. As long as I can track her, it’ll settle my need to be close to her, even if it’s only for a while. Just long enough for me to get control of this obsession I have with her.

I shake off the thought and slip into the apartment, taking a moment to look around the space. It smells distinctly like her, not that I’ve given myself many opportunities to experience her scent up close. Just a couple of run-ins on the street and once sitting behind her at a restaurant. I’ve been playing the long game, even when it’s felt maddening.

Without pausing, I unpack the small bag I brought with me, my eyes darting over the assortment of trackers and cameras laid out in front of me.

This is fucked up.

I’m not too big a man to admit it.

But that doesn’t mean I hesitate before I grab one of the tiny cameras and move into her bedroom. The apartment is so sparsely decorated I’d think she moved in a week ago if I didn’t know better.

I glance at the rumpled sheets and can’t help but stare at the place Ember sleeps, where she’s the most vulnerable. She’s a fighter out in the world. A born queen, even if she was born to poverty. But here she’s not. Here she can allow the veil of strength to slip away, and I’m desperate to see it. To observe the way my little flame falls apart.

I spot the vent across from the bed and move toward it. There are many times my generous six-foot-four comes in handy, and this is definitely one of them as I carefully place it inside.

Once it’s settled, I slip my phone from my pocket and open the app that links to the cameras, checking I have a clear view of the bed. Is this fucked up?

Absolutely.

But I can’t spend another night wondering if she’s okay. This ensures I can tell, even if it’s not time for me to claim her yet.

I move on to the living room and pick the vent again. It’s unlikely she’d think to clean them, seeing as they’re so high up, which means she probably won’t find them. At least not anytime soon.

Once I’m done installing two more cameras throughout the apartment, I move on to the trackers. I need to get hold of her phone because she’ll never leave home without it, but for now, I’ll have to settle for her shoes and bags.

I drop into a crouch at the edge of her closet and carefully slide the thin trackers into the soles of one of each pair of shoes. Next, I snip a small hole into the lining of each bag and slip the tracker inside.

Once I’m satisfied I’ll be able to keep an eye on her even when I can’t physically be around, I take another look around at the apartment. It’s not a bad place, but the area makes me nervous. Ember can take care of herself, but I’d rather she didn’t have to.

There’s not much I can do about it, though. Not yet, at least.

Soon though.

Soon, I’ll give her the entire world, and in return, she’ll become the queen of my empire.

Just a little bit longer.

CHAPTER FIVE