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I have to assume that Lucas’s sudden change in behavior toward Ember is because of my interest in her, and knowing that he wants her for himself is really all the confirmation I need of that. But I need to figure out how I’m going to approach this without having to kill him and also without tipping him off as to who the Hunter is.

I have my work cut out for me.

Ileave Ember’s apartment after breakfast, so she doesn’t have to try to think of an excuse to get rid of me. But I’ve made myself clear that things will continue to progress between us, and if she wants to delude herself into thinking that I’m going to let her go, that’s her prerogative.

As soon as I’m behind the wheel of my car, I dial Killian’s number and pull away from the curb. Now I can track her calls and texts as well as her location. I don’t feel the need to follow her today, although I may change my mind once there’s some distance between us.

“Hey, boss,” Killian answers, his mood lighter than I’m used to.

“Any luck tracking who hired the guys last night?”

“None,” he tells me. “The guys he hired are low-level criminals with no allegiance to anyone. They take cash jobs doing shitty jobs, like staking out people of interest and rummaging through their garbage, but as far as I can tell, the job last night came from an anonymous site they get jobs through.”

I sigh and head toward The Velvet Room. “What about Lucas? Any sign that he was the one to hire them?”

“He was at the club all night last night and didn’t leave until three in the morning with some girl on his arm. Honestly, not sure how she could stand having that sleazeball touching her.”

He can say that again. Lucas is a piece of shit, and he doesn’t even have looks going for him. All he has is his perceived power, something I can take away without even blinking.

“How’s Ember?”

“She’s pushing me away.”

“Are you surprised?”

“No. I knew she would. But that doesn’t mean I’m not frustrated as hell.”

He chuckles. “That’s women for you. It’s why I prefer one-night stands with no names. Saves on the complications.”

I shake my head at his naivety. It’ll only be a matter of time before he finds his Ember, and then all bets will be off, but I don’t bother telling him that. I’ll allow him to believe he’s incapable of falling for someone because it’ll make his fall all the more amusing.

“Do you know anything about a debt Ember and maybe Travis owe Lucas?” I ask.

He’s quiet for a moment. “No, I don’t think that’s come up in my research. But it makes sense. Why else would she still be working for him? She’d be making bank if she did freelance work. It doesn’t actually make a lot of sense for her to work for him, all things considered, especially knowing he got her brother killed.”

“Well, she blames the Hunter for that,” I remind him.

“She can blame you all she wants, but that’s only because she doesn’t know the truth.”

I run a hand down my face. I want to go and confront Lucas, but it will show my hand, regardless of who I go in as.

So instead, I turn around and head toward my apartment building. I need to get the penthouse ready for Ember’s arrival, because if I have in my way, she’ll be moving in within the week.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

EMBER

After Orion leaves, I head out, knowing if I spend too long in the apartment that smells of our night of fucking, I’ll cave and let him talk me into seeing him again.

So instead, I follow up on a lead I found a couple of days ago.

The Hunter is an enigma.

On paper, he doesn’t exist.

There’s no trail that connects his identity with an actual human being, and believe me, I’ve looked.

I’ve tried connecting phone records, bank accounts, and even medical records from the times Lucas is certain the Hunter was injured, but nothing matches up.