Page 49 of The Echo of Forever

No matter what, Forever was part of me, this place, and the one down the hall. She was never far from my mind, andI let thoughts of us plague it during my shower, while getting dressed, and forcing myself to eat.

A few hours later, I left my feelings at the door and headed to meet with Millicent Everwood.

She owned a mixer bar downtown, really driving home the bring Everwood together bullshit.

“Yo, Echo, what’s good?” the bouncer, Kenny, greeted, holding his hand out to dap me up.

I looked at it, then back at him.

“What’s my name?” I asked.

He laughed, but I wasn’t joking or in a good mood. Anybody could feel my wrath tonight, especially for calling me what only Forever was allowed to.

“My bad, Demetrius,” he said, stepping back to allow me inside. “Millie is on the second floor.”

I slipped past him without another word, maneuvered through the semi-crowded lower-level and up the stairwell, where two guards moved aside for me to enter the empty VIP space.

“Mr. Cannon,” Millicent mused from her spot behind the bar. “Take a seat, I’ll make you a drink. Whiskey, right?”

I accepted the offer to sit but waved off the drink.

“No need,” I said, wanting to get down to business and the fuck on right after. “Appreciate you for getting Violet and Forever in the same room.”

She’d also been the one to approve the hit on my head before it landed on my baby’s desk.

“I see this is a business meeting and nothing more.”

Her assumption would be correct, and it stumped me as to why she thought otherwise. Millicent was in this for revenge against the Carroways and understandably so.

Before Forever, she was set to marry Jayden until Jeremiah forced himself on her in this very bar. The details weren’t mineto repeat, but in order to placate her, Jayden agreed to fund the hit on his brother’s life.

Not because he was some stand-up guy with morals, but to keep his political ambitions on track. Marrying Millicent would’ve taken him far on that front, especially with the public. Tying himself to the James family opened up another set of doors he’d never get to walk through.

The society wouldn’t have agreed to killing Jeremiah without Millicent admitting to what he’d done, and she didn’t want to expose herself in that way. That’s where I came in, and it’s where our familiarity ended.

Everything I did, was doing, and would do was for Forever and only her.

“When can I expect delivery on Seo-Yeon’s head?” she asked, moving the conversation along after I ignored her attempt to bait me into more.

I tsked.

“When the contract is issued, I’ll do what I agreed to,” I said, lifting from the stool. “As long as you keep up your end of the bargain, that is.”

She eyed me closely with a frown pulling at her overlined lips.

“Violet is safe in Everwood.”

I nodded.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked as I started to walk away. “I wasn’t aware you and Forever had history before now.”

I kept moving until I reached the stairwell entry and only then did I respond.

“You still aren’t aware of anything, Millicent,” I told her, meeting her gaze over my shoulder to make myself clear. “I’ll be in touch.”

There was no room for error, but I needed her for full access to Forever. And Violet could only be in Everwood as a member ofan outside crime family with either Millicent or the head of the Collective’s approval.

She’ll have to die,too, I thought as I slid into the driver’s seat.