Present

This was all a bad idea. Maybe if anger hadn't blinded me, I wouldn't have followed through with it. But it was far too late now. I was already in the elevator to get to the club and make my grand entrance. Already walking right into the death trap that Queen had laid out for me.

Take a deep breath. It's all going to be fine. You have a plan.

This club was my territory. I knew every inch of its floor plan; I knew every hidden exit and entry; I knew how to sneak people in without guards knowing about it. This would work out in my favour, and if it doesn't... at least I'll get to see Jake again.

"Hello, boys." I said as the elevator doors opened to reveal four men dressed in black suits and holding semi-automatic weapons. Perfect. This was all just fucking great. "Not even a single hello back. Rude." I walked to stand between the four of them and the lead me into the main room where Queen was sitting at the bar. The bartender looked frightened and nobody else was in the room. She hadn't even bought the room. She must have used fear to get everyone out.

Her blonde hair was cascading down her back in waves as she wore a black pantsuit. There was a time I looked up to her, thought her my mentor, but I knew better now. I knew I was just a tool to her. That she feared what I could become if given the chance. That I could have taken the empire away from her, if I hadn't been so blind to it all.

"It's been too long, Maxie." My spine shivered at her voice, at the belittling nickname she had called me since I had started working for her.

"Why am I here? And why am I not dead yet?" I asked straight away. I didn't want to waste time. I didn't have the energy for it.

"Because I wanted to make an offer." She turned to look at me with her startling blue eyes.

"An offer?"

"I want you to come back. Do you realise how hard it is to find talented drivers? Especially since you raised my standards?"

"Yeah, thanks, but I'll pass." I said, ignoring the guns that were pointed at me. The small, fake smile on Queen's face fell away.

"You're making a mistake..."

"How so? You have no leverage over me anymore. You killed my family a year after I started working for you..." Her anger at me faded into confusion. "Yeah, I know about that. I knew because Esmond investigated their deaths for me. It was why I switched sides. Now you've also killed Jake... that was a terrible idea. And if that wasn't enough, I also know that you planned to kill me with the same drug that you killed him with." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you on the spot." I was a bit too confident with my words, considering the situation at hand. She laughed. Yep, definitely over-confident.

"The plan will still go ahead without me, so if you think killing me would stop the end of the world, you're wrong. But I guess you knowing everything just gives me extra incentive to kill you." She pulled a baggie out of her pocket. Two pills were inside of it. Pure white.

"Hold her. I want her to experience Dusk before she dies." Queen said, and two of the guards grabbed my arms before pushing me onto my knees. Queen walked closer to me and I felt my heart race. I didn't want that drug in my system... but I also didn't know what Esmond's plan was.

I suddenly heard gunshots, and the two guards on either side of me fell to the ground. The other two stood on either side of Queen.

"This place is surrounded, Esmond!" Queen shouted, and Es walked in through one of the side doors.

"Yeah, by my people. Do you know how easy it was to kill your men?" Es responded as I stood up. I saw movement in the corner of my eye. I focused my attention on that movement, on that second man, and felt my heart fall out of my chest. No. Esmond wasn't that stupid. Surely.

"Oh god, how long have you two been working together?" Queen asked, disgust in her tone.

"Since you brutally murdered my brother in a drug trial." The second man, Micah, said. Fucking Micah Simmons, Jake's twin brother. The one who ran the family business and lacked any form of emotion other than anger.

"I did you a favour, Micah. He was a detriment to your business. You should thank me." Queen said, Micah laughed. But not in a friendly way. It was dark, hollow, and terrifying. I always knew the difference between Micah and Jake, even though they looked like carbon copies of each other. Micah's irises were half a shade darker than Jake's, and they always looked void of a soul; hollow and lonely.

"You are awful confident for someone who is falling into a hole full of shit. Losing Hyde meant you lost the favour of your investors. If this little apocalypse plan of yours doesn't work, you'll be out of money in a year." Micah argued. The apocalypse plan was a money grab? How would that even work?

"You're just disappointed you didn't come up with the idea first."

"She has some Dusk in her pocket. She put it away when she heard the gunshots." I cut into the conversation as I walked over to Queen. Even though we had the upper hand, I knew Queen had a backup plan. We needed to get out of here. Now. I reached into her pocket while staring her in the eyes and took out the pills.

"Tell me, was this a part of your plan?" I asked her. She smirked. I didn't let it faze me. I couldn't.

"Let's go." Esmond said, walking backwards towards the exit with his gun still trained on Queen. Micah walked backwards as well, but I just turned my back to Queen and her guards. Showing them my back meant that I wasn't afraid of them, and that was the facade I was trying to play. When I reached the elevator, I waited for the other two to walk in before I closed the doors.

As soon as we were descending, they put their guns away.

"My people will take the stairs. Make sure no one follows us. I also have some on the ground, surrounding the building for the same purpose." Micah said. I nodded, but stayed silent. I had to process it all.

I looked at Esmond, but couldn't speak. The way he took half a step away from me implied he understood what my look meant.

And this was only the tip of the iceberg of my anger.