Page 36 of Wickedly Played (Checkmate #1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

SERENA

To my surprise, I feel a little better after Max told me about his ex.

After being cheated on and being single for so long, I don’t know if I could handle a ghost haunting our relationship before it even became one.

The truth is, I’m falling for the asshole.

I wasn’t lying when I screamed at him in my house when I told him how I felt.

After getting all checked into Alpha, I led Stella to the bathroom for us to change and get ready to go. I gave Deacon and Max simple instructions on what to wear for our scene, and I hope they followed them. Or maybe they don’t, and they get punished.

“Holy shit, Serena!” Stella gushes the minute we step behind the bathroom doors. She’s bouncing on the balls of her feet like a little kid on Christmas morning. “You guys have it so bad for each other!”

Quickly, I grab out my robe, lingerie, and heels from my bag for tonight. I’m glad Stella packed a couple of different colors for the evening, because this deep purple one is gorgeous.

My emotions have taken over me. My hands are shaking as I try to place one thought in front of the other thought. Nothing works. After admitting who my father is and about my ex, I feel exposed. I feel like a doll being played with. I hate this feeling.

As much as I adore Stella and would love to get her on her knees for me, I can’t tell her anything more than I already have.

She is already too close to me. Everything is muddy.

I hate not being able to see my clear thoughts while I work out this scene in my head.

All I can see is murky water with monsters hiding below it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mutter unconvincingly.

So, I do what I know best. I am deluding.

“Don’t lie to me, Mistress.”

I drop my heels to the ground, wiggle my feet in them, and then stand up. After I have shed my street clothes, I’m putting on my lingerie. “Seriously? We are going to do this?”

She gasps. “Why is it so hard for you to admit you care about people?”

I tighten the robe around my waist. “I admit it when I care about people!”

She’s standing up with her arms wrapped around her middle. “This whole time, I have been telling you how much I cared for you, and you have pushed me aside. You have pushed everyone away. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with your brain to make you feel like others don’t care about you.”

I stand up in front of her and fight the urge to wrap my hand around her throat. “You don’t know anything about what I’ve been through, Stella. You don’t know shit.”

Her hands fly out to smack me in the chest. I fly back a little since I’m in heels. My eyes widen as we have our first fight.

“You’re right. I don’t know much about you.

It isn’t for my lack of trying. You keep people on the hook, make them fall for you, and then push them out before shit gets too real.

Do you know how scary it is to be around you at times?

You are like the sun. I’m not around you too much, I get cold, but I’m around you too often, I’m too hot. ”

“Tell me more about how you feel, Stell. It seems like you have a lot to say!” I’m practically screaming at her. This is the first time I have ever yelled at her. I fucking hate it.

She is in my face with tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Mistress. I shouldn’t have done that,” she whispers with her head down.

She’s trying to receive absolution for yelling at me, I know that’s what she’s doing. I have two choices: run or stay here and try to work this out.

Instead of doing what I should do, I grab my stuff and walk out of the locker room.

Max is waiting for me in the hallway, and he must be able to read everything on my face.

Max, unfortunately, was the one who was on the receiving end of my wrath.

He’s the one who will have to take the verbal beating.

“I’m going home,” I tell him as I stroll past him.

“Baby, what the actual fuck is going on?”

I’m shaking in my heels. I reach into my bag to grab the file I found on the desk in my house. Holding it up, I see Max’s face fall. “What is this?”

“Fuck,” he blurts.

“No. What the fuck is this? Have you been gathering intel on my family?”

We are standing in the middle of the hallway at Alpha, but I have to get this out. I have to know what his plan is. I can’t have another thing blown up in my face. I can see his mind working as he tries to think of something to say back to me. “I want the truth.”

He looks from the file back to me, shaking his head. “I can’t tell you yet.”

Jamming the file back into my bag, I reach into the pockets of his pants, fish out my keys, and then practically run out the door.

More secrets. More lies. More keeping me in the dark. After getting my ass handed to me by Stella, I can’t do another confrontation. Max is banging on the glass windows of my SUV, but I zoom off.

I quickly call Jim, who answers on the first ring. “Serena, what the fuck is going on?”

“I’m going out of town for a few days. Message my clients and tell them that I’m leaving.” I hang up before he can respond.

After seeing Glenna Murray, being drugged, being dominated by my bodyguard, my violating me like this, and then this shit with Stella and Max?

I’m overloaded. I can’t do anything more.

My brain is throbbing from overstimulation. I can’t think anymore.

I park outside my house to run inside and get some stuff before I leave. I haven’t checked out plane tickets yet, but I know I want to be someplace warm… on a beach.

Before I got married to Connor, and even before I had to start fulfilling my duties as a mob daughter, I spent a few summers on a beach in Aruba.

I loved spending time there. I especially loved how free it felt to just be without the expectations of being a McGuire.

The summer before I turned eighteen was the last time I visited Aruba.

I was in such a hurry that I didn’t realize the alarm hadn’t gone off when I stormed through my house. I am also distracted that I didn’t recognize that my front door was unlocked, either.

My suitcase is packed, and I’m running down my stairs to leave as soon as possible. The quicker I get out of here, the better. My emotions can’t handle anything more than what has been thrown at them. This is too much.

I can’t do it anymore.

Once my foot steps on the bottom stairs, I feel a slight scratch on my neck. My hand tries to slap whatever it is away, but then everything gets dark. Everything gets heavy.

Then I see the one figure I didn’t expect to see.

What the hell is happening here?

“Serena,” he greets me as I blackout.