Page 8 of Ember (Royal Harlots: Yonkers, NY Chapter #1)

“Um, not really,” she breathed. She stood in the doorway, not sure if she should go into the room or not. “Marco’s not here, right?” she asked. Jean and Kelsey looked at each other and back at her, and she could tell that she had said something wrong.

“You should come sit down,” Jean said, patting her bedside. She did as asked, and Jean pulled her in for a small hug. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Morco is gone,” Jean said, her voice cracking with emotion.

“No,” Kelsey said. “He tried to kill our mom, and he’s dead now.”

“Mom was ejected from the car because she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt,” Kelsey said, shaking her head at her mother.

“It all happened so quickly, there wasn’t time,” Jean insisted. “None of that matters because he’s gone. I might not have agreed with the man that he had become. His father, my ex, had so much to do with that man, but I did love the little boy.”

“Of course you did,” Ember said. She knew that Marco was close with his father—especially after his accident.

His dad helped to take care of him, and he encouraged the change in Marco.

He said that he was proud of the man Marco had turned into.

Ember hated the man he had become—the one who was mean and hit her every chance he got.

She had heard through the town’s gossip mill that Marco’s father was in the mob, but that wasn’t something that they ever really talked about.

“My father is blaming Mom for Marco’s death.

He said that she should have done more to stop him from getting behind the wheel,” Kelsey said.

“I don’t think that I’m going to be seeing very much of him anymore.

He wasn’t a good man before my brother died, and now, he just seems to be out of control with anger and grief. ”

“I’m so sorry,” Ember said, reaching for Kelsey’s hand.

“I think that I need to rest,” Jean said.

She looked weaker than when she had when Ember walked in.

“Will you stick around for a while?” she asked.

That was a good question. Leaving New York was hard, but she had walked away from the only man she ever had feelings for.

Now, going back to Yonkers would hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.

Could she even live there and not be with Jack?

Probably not, and maybe some time away would help her think about her next move.

The Harlots were waiting back in New York for her, but was being their Prez something that she’d be good at long term?

So far, she loved her new role and the women who were in the Harlots, but she wasn’t really a people person, and she knew that sooner or later, she’d screw things up.

Hurricane had his hands full with the guys in his club.

Would the Harlots be that for her? It was something that she’d have to think about, and staying in Florida for a few weeks might help her to clear her head.

“I don’t have anywhere to stay,” she said.

“You can stay with me,” Kelsey offered. “Once mom gets out, she’ll come stay with me for a while too—until her leg heals.”

“Are you sure that it wouldn’t be too much trouble?” Ember asked. “It will only be for a short time.”

“Will you go back to New York?” Jean asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ember admitted. “It’s something that I need to think about.”

“I see,” Jean said, “I’m guessing that a man has you all turned around, and you need to think about what’s next,” she teased. How she had hit the nail on the head was beyond her, but Ember was impressed.

“We can talk about all of that later,” Kelsey insisted. “Right now, you get some rest, and I’ll get Ember situated at home. I’ll be back tonight to check in on you,” she offered. Jean nodded her agreement and settled down into the uncomfortable-looking hospital bed.

Kelsey grabbed Ember’s hand and led her out of the hospital room.

“Come on,” she ordered, “we can catch up while I drive you back to my place. I want to hear everything about this new guy that has you running away from New York.” Talking about Jack was the very last thing that Ember wanted to do, but Jean and Kelsey were right—he had her all tied up in knots, and now that she was free from Marco, she needed to figure out her next move.

Ember had spent almost two weeks with Kelsey and Jean.

They had a small memorial service for Marco down at the bar where his band had played, and both his mother and sister attended.

Ember didn’t, though. She wanted to let them have their moment with the boy that they used to love—not have reminders from her of the man he had become.

If she had shown up at the bar, that was what would have happened.

Everyone would have asked her what had happened between the two of them, and answering a bunch of questions was the very last thing she wanted to do.

Kelsey and Jean seemed completely rung out after the service, and Jean went back to her room to lie down, giving Ember the perfect time to let Kelsey know that she had purchased her ticket back to Yonkers.

She had decided that she was going to call Hurricane to tell him that she would be coming back and resuming her role with the Harlots.

The women in her club had quickly become her family.

Plus, it was a fresh start—one that she desperately needed.

Seeing Jack would get easier with time—she hoped, and if not, she’d figure out what to do about him later.

He had texted her just about every day that she was down in Florida, but she just couldn’t bring herself to send him a message back.

Ember hadn’t made any decisions about him yet, and she didn’t want to lead him on.

In her opinion, silence was golden, but from the messages that Jack had sent her, he didn’t think so at all.

At one point, Jack threatened to get in his truck and drive down to find her, but that turned out to be bluster and false promises.

Now, her bags were packed, her bus ticket was purchased, and all she needed was a ride to the airport. She hoped that was where Kelsey would come in, but she felt bad asking her. Kelsey had a rough day, and abandoning her now didn’t feel right, but it had to be done.

She found Kelsey in the kitchen, sitting at the table, sipping her hot tea. “You okay?” Ember almost whispered.

“I will be,” she assured. “Mom took it pretty hard. I think a part of her believes what my father is saying about Marco’s death being her fault. She was his wife for so many years; I’m betting that he did some major damage to her psyche.”

“That’s horrible,” Ember breathed. This next part was going to be painful, but she had always been a rip the band-aid off kind of girl.

“And I hate to pile on, but I have to head back to New York.” She didn’t necessarily have to go back to NY—it was more of a want to.

She felt this unexplainable need to go back to Yonkers and begin her new life—whatever that might end up looking like.

“So, the mystery guy wins,” Kelsey teased. She was surprised that Kelsey remembered her even talking about a guy. Ember was careful not to mention Jack—they didn’t even know his name.

“No,” Ember breathed, “I win. My new life is there, and I’m not even sure that there is a mystery guy anymore.

” That was the most she had said about Jack in the past two weeks.

A bus ride was going to do her some good.

It would give her time to think. That might be a bad thing, but she was hoping that everything would end up as it was supposed to be.

“But you said that he has been texting you. I took that as a good sign,” Kelsey challenged.

“He has been, I just haven’t been texting back.

I just needed some time to think, but I’m ready to go back to New York.

I have something that I need to do up there, and I have a feeling that it’s what I’m meant to do—you know?

” Kelsey nodded and smiled, although Ember was pretty sure that she wasn’t following what was coming out of her mouth.

Hell, she was having trouble following her train of thought, and she was the fucking conductor.

“I just want you to know that no matter what happens, you can always come back down here and stay with me. I know that my brother wasn’t an easy person to love, but I do know that he loved you.

” That wasn’t something that she’d ever believe.

If you claim to love someone, you don’t beat them until they agree with you, but telling Kelsey that wasn’t going to happen.

If Marco’s little sister needed to believe what she was saying, then so be it.

“Well, he loved me enough to stalk me,” Ember teased. “Sorry,” she squeaked. “I should have kept that to myself.” Sometimes, she just couldn’t help herself.

“I don’t think that he was actually stalking you,” Kelsey said.

Ember barked out her laugh. There would be no holding her punches with this part for Marco’s little sister. “Your brother followed me to New York and tried to drag me back here,” she reminded.

“I don’t know that it was his idea to come after you. When you two broke up, I was pretty upset, but he told me that he was okay with it. He said that your relationship had run its course. He was fine with letting you go.”

“Okay, then what changed?” Ember asked.

Kelsey shrugged, “I’m not sure. I do know that Keith started hanging around more at the time. He always did love to egg Marco on, you know? Maybe he stuck his nose into Marco’s business and told him to come after you.”

“That’s a stretch,” Ember said. “Keith and I had no problem with each other.” He was Marco’s best friend and someone who was always around. He played bass in the band, and Ember kind of accepted Marco and Keith as a combo package—where there was one, there was the other.

“He did come up to New York with Marco,” Ember whispered to herself. Why would Keith want Marco to stalk me?” she breathed.

“Again, it’s just a theory, but I was around the two of them enough to know that they were up to something when you left, and Keith seemed to be the one calling the shots for some reason.

” Ember wasn’t sure what she was going to do with that new bit of information, but for now, she’d tuck it into her back pocket for later.

“Will you drive me to the bus station?” she asked Kelsey.

“Of course,” Kelsey agreed. She stood and pulled Ember up to hug her. “I’m sure going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too, Kelsey,” Ember said, wrapping her arms around her. She didn’t have too many friends in the world but knowing that she could count Kelsey as one of them felt good.

“Let me grab my purse and tell Mom that I’m leaving,” Kelsey said.

“I’ll come with you,” she offered. “I’d like to say goodbye to Jean—if you don’t think that it will upset her too much.

Ember knew that letting go of her past wasn’t going to be easy, but she had a bus to board and a new life to get to.

All she had to do was put one foot in front of the other, and she was pretty sure that her path would lead her back to Yonkers, New York.