All Chapters of Salt And Steel: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Chase.Present day. Same night.I watch Lucy cry.My chest tightens, hard and viciously. A twisting ache clamps around my ribs and refuses to let go. She’s folded over the dining table, sitting upright but breaking apart. Her hands gripping her head like she can physically hold herself together. She can’t.And I stand there, watching my kitten crumble right in front of me.The memory of the last few hours crashes into me like molten iron.Me. Gathering my men.“Yes, Boss,” Cameo said when he stepped into my office at the bank.“Get one of the boys to shut down all the security footage leading to the Roshids’ residence. Everything. The neighborhood. The street.” I ordered darkly.I pressed the button beneath my desk. The wall behind me gave way, sliding open to reveal the vault. My arsenal of weapons.Air conditioned. Clean. Sophisticated.“Sir? What are you planning?” Cameo asked from behind me as I stepped into the air-conditioned space.I ignored him.My fingers drifted lazily over

Tamara Dale. Meanwhile. “Ugh!” I toss my phone across my bed, rage burning hot and vicious within me. How dare he ignore my calls? No man dares ignore my calls. I’m Tamara Dale, and my father is a powerful man. A man who controls the blood and sweat of others. Not just because of his chain of businesses, but because of what he represents. A dark secret. One no one else knows but me. I cross to the bed and pick up my phone again, dialing my dad’s number instantly. He picks on the first ring. He knows the tantrum I’d throw if he didn’t answer. “Ta…Tam…mara…” he grunts. “Can’t this wait… Daddy is in the middle of something…” Another grunt follows. Anger coils sharply and tightly in me. “You mean you’re buried deep in the pussy of one of your whores.” I snap impatiently. He laughs, actually laughs, even as the sound of skin slapping skin echoes from the other end of the call. “It’s about Chase.” I cut straight to the point. Silence. “Meet me at the office tomorrow.” His ton

Chase.I watch as Lucy’s hand freezes on the receiver.She stares at me, wide-eyed. Like a cornered deer.Jealousy coils tight inside me as one word echoes in my head.Honey.Who the hell did she just call that?She dares not call another man such.No.She belongs only to me.Slowly, I move toward her. My steps measured. Controlled. I come around the counter until I’m standing right in front of her. Close enough to feel the shift in her breathing.I take the receiver from her hand and bring it to my ear.Dial tone.Of course. She ended the call.“Who were you talking to, Kitten?” I ask casually, even as my senses scream with jealousy. I replace the receiver, gently.She shakes her head frantically. Her lie already oozing before she says it.“N…No one, Chase…” She stammers.A lazy smile tugs at my lips. I nod slowly.“Okay, Kitten. I believe you.”I don’t.My finger trails lazily along her face. She flinches, just slightly. But she doesn’t recoil.Good.“How’s your first day at work?”

Lucy. He said, 'Dad.' Yet Chase looks at me, his expression pained. As if he tasted poison. As if the phone call he just got from Crane Olympus is poison. Well, it might as well be poison. The man is no good. Not at all. Ugly memories of me and him claw up my skin like rats. I was summoned by Davenport. It was my fourth day there. My body aching from all the use. My eyes swollen from crying so much. My only consolation was that my mother was safe. Dad wouldn’t kill her. Dressed in a black bodycon, thin-strapped shift, I walked behind Cecil, the lady in charge of the girls at Davenport. I heard she was Davenport’s sister. Half-sister. Yet he fucked her whenever she grew horny. He was sick. She was sick. The entire establishment was sick. “Welcome, honey.” Davenport greeted enthusiastically as we stepped into his office. I stood there. My eyes instantly fell on a handsome, middle-aged man dressed in old money. His face mean. Brown trench coat over a black three-piece sui

Trigger Warning!!! Lucy. No… no… no… I stumble into the hallway, my breath tearing out of me in ragged pants. It feels like I’m clawing for air and getting nothing in return. A muffled cry slips from my lips. Sweat breaks over my skin, sudden and cold. And then my mind goes blank. Completely blank. Like every possible way out of this has been wiped clean. I stand frozen in the hallway, ignoring the curious stares of people passing by. I don’t know if I should turn left toward the elevator or keep moving right. I don’t know anything anymore. So I start walking toward a door, labelled, 'ROOF.' My dress suddenly feels suffocating, tight and restricting. Like it’s choking me alive. I want out of it. Out of all of it. First, I rip off the damned heels and toss them aside. Then my expensive jewelry follows, clattering uselessly onto the ground. I push through the door, barely aware of anything except the tears spilling hot and endless down my cheeks. My coat comes off next. And I k