Empire of Desire(Empire #1)(9)

Until the door opened and he appeared. Uncle Nate. He was still an uncle at the time, an intimidating one who would put a bully’s parent in their place with a few words. He’d done that once, when I was ten and a girl called me uneducated because my mother was a whore. It’s been an ongoing rumor; Kingsley Shaw fucked a whore and had to become a single parent when said whore disappeared.

I didn’t tell my dad, because I knew he’d be loud and cause drama, but Nate picked me up from school that day on his behalf and noticed something was wrong. He interrogated me until I confessed everything while ugly crying. That same evening, he visited the girl’s home and told the mother she would either keep her daughter under control or he’d sue her for everything she owned.

“You don’t cover up for people who hurt you, Gwyneth, do you hear me? That’s the exact attitude that will encourage them to continue hurting you and others. If you don’t want King involved, you come to me. Understand?”

I remained silent in his car, still a bit stunned about how the bully and her mother looked genuinely scared. At that moment, I almost idolized Nate as much as I did Dad.

“Do you understand?” he insisted in that firm voice, and I finally nodded.

“Good. Now, let’s go somewhere you can forget about all of this.”

He took me to the amusement park and bought me vanilla ice cream. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

The following morning, the bully apologized to me. That’s when I realized people fear Nate not only because of who his father is but also because he always keeps his promises.

What happened on my fifteenth birthday was a bit similar to the bully incident. Nate found me and crouched by my side, but he didn’t touch me.

“But I hate it.” I hid my face with my hands. “I hate that something is missing inside me.”

“Are you going to let it rule you or are you going to bring it to its knees in front of you? Because those are your only two options, Gwyneth. It’s up to you what you decide to fill it with. Strength or weakness.”

I chose neither.

I chose to fill it up with him.





2





Kingsley





I use the voice command to call Nate.

The sound of ringing fills the car, but there’s no answer.

“Fuck.” I hit one of my fists against the steering wheel as I take a sharp turn to the right.

I zigzag between cars, ignoring their honking and the occasional name-calling.

Right now, I’m on a mission.

One that will only be fulfilled once I’m at the firm and talking to that low-fucking-life.

When I first saw the document this morning, I thought something was wrong. Surely, the name and the fucking proof that lay in front of me were some sort of a mistake.

A miscalculation.

A coincidence.

A fucking anomaly in the system.

But it wasn’t.

And neither were the facts that I learned from the private investigator. Neither were the records that I had to stoop low and call in favors to acquire.

The truth was sitting squarely in front of me all this time, hiding in plain fucking sight and I was too blind to see it.

Was it arrogance?

Ignorance?

After all, I’ve grown so fast in so little time. Not only that, but I’ve also taken on unnecessary and endless battles for the sake of my pride. My bitch of a stepmother who nearly got me killed would attest to my ruthlessness. I’m out to destroy that woman, but only in small doses until she’ll consider taking a rope to her own fucking throat. But then again, she’s too narcissistic to ever consider that option.

All this time, I’ve thought myself above being manipulated or toyed with. After all, I’m Kingsley fucking Shaw, owner and cofounder of Weaver & Shaw, which has grown tremendously in only a couple of years.

That’s what happens when two geniuses leave their fighting days behind them and decide to take over the world. We once wondered what would happen if Nate’s ambition and my power collided. What would happen if he chose to crawl out of his senator father’s shadow and become a force to be reckoned with?

What if I used the fortune Dad left behind and I fed off my best friend’s ambition?

The answer was simple. No limits.

That’s what I’ve always loved the most about Nate, even back when we used to punch each other, race cars, and compete about who got the hottest girls. Even when I win, he bounces back stronger and on the verge of breaking all hell loose.

His tenacity is endless.

Like a loop or an infinity sign.

Like a fucking horizon.

If you give Nathaniel Weaver the right resources, he’ll build one castle, then more, and then a whole fucking city of them. Other people may dream big, but he dreams of taking over the world. Not in a political way like his father, but in a discreet type of way. From the shadows, where no one can see or hurt him.

Just the way I prefer it.

That’s why we’re like yin and yang.

When we first met in high school, it was hate at first sight. We were both driven, him more inwardly, me outwardly, and it was only a matter of time before we clashed. That happened in one of the underground fighting rings since we often participated in matches. I box to stop myself from killing. He does it to blow off steam.