Corrupted Chaos (Tarnished Empire)(48)

With a beautiful blonde as his right-hand woman.

Predictably so, I guess. He was a billionaire mogul and our boss, after all.

The very one I’d told myself I hated only a few days ago. He was an enemy, not a friend.

Still, if we had to answer the questions, then so should he. The fire snapped, and the bugs buzzed around me as I got up to grab another drink. “So, what made you get into data security, Mr. Armanelli?” I asked. “Heather made all of us answer the question. You should too.”

He smirked at me as if calling him by his last name was ridiculous. Then, as I grabbed my beer and marched back to my seat, Rodney swept me up and pulled me into his lap.

Cade’s smile died. It dropped off his face like a weight falling from a skyscraper. That lightning in my stomach, the one he commanded, struck as I saw his glare take over.

“Ms. Hardy, I’m so glad you asked,” he murmured as his eyes watched Rodney’s hand on my thigh. My legs were bare except for the small skirt I’d thrown on, but that was basically covered by Rodney’s sweatshirt. “Data controls us all. When I was younger, it was a way to escape. Now, I make sure nobody can escape it.”

Melanie combed a hand through her long hair and flicked it over her shoulder, smiling at him. “I love that. It’s so heroic, all the work you’ve done.”

She did know he was a mobster, right?

Heather laid a hand on his forearm, and I saw her move her wrist back and forth, wiggling it enough that we all saw how the diamonds on a bracelet she wore sparkled in the night. “Cade’s done so much good for the nation.” She giggled then. “And for us. Cade? Remember when you got me this bracelet?”

I thought I saw Cade’s jaw tick and his amber eyes seemed to avoid mine in that moment. “I recall.”

“Cade, are you shy?” She smirked and I swear she met every single one of the women’s eyes as if to stake her claim on him. “This is what I mean. He won’t say that he gifted me a bracelet after we hung out a few times and he knew I would be able to set up events well for him.” She poked him. “You never give yourself enough credit.”

“How generous of him,” I blurted out and almost slapped a hand over my mouth. But Cade’s eyes caught mine and held me hostage, as though he was ready for me to lash out.

Cade hummed, not responding to my barb as he laser-focused on Rodney’s hold around my waist. “Izzy, I heard your story as I was walking over from my cabin. You ever prove to that specific someone that you weren’t what you had tattooed on yourself?”

He had to know that story was about him. The first time he’d seen me, he hadn’t realized how broken I still was.

No one knew the reason behind it. I’d hidden it away and pretended my actions were just the terrible choices of a dumb child.

That was part of the story. Just not the whole thing.

Yet that day, he’d called me an addict and I’d been gutted in a way I wasn’t used to. My friends were addicts, the person I’d loved had been an addict, but not me. My parents babied me, my siblings tiptoed around me, and my friends enabled me. No one outright called me on my shit by digging a verbal knife in and then twisting it when I wasn’t ready.

No one but Cade.

“I’m not sure there’s anything to prove. I am what I am. It’s why I got it tattooed on me. You have tattoos also.” I pointed to his hand, the lettering and black ink snaking up toward his forearm. “I’m sure they mean something to you too.”

He dragged his thumb over the letters and nodded. “I either enact the chaos on my hand or I leash it. We control the data, right? So, we make the rules.”

Rodney chuckled. Heather leaned in and whispered something to Cade.

Did she think he was available? That he’d be interested in a woman like her? Was he? To me, that woman had no demons, had no rebellion locked inside for him to push out. But maybe I was just a plaything, and she was more his style.

For some reason, the thought wreaked havoc on my heart.

After more chitchat, and Rodney rubbing my arms up and down as the fire got dimmer and dimmer, people started to retire to their cabins. I heard Heather whisper to Cade, “I’ll see you later, then.” She kissed his cheek, and he let her.

He even nodded like he intended to go meet her somewhere in the woods for a rendezvous. If he brought her back to the cabin, I would truly lose it. The jealousy that slithered through me was fierce as it wrapped around my lungs and stole my breath.

“Want to go to bed?” Rodney whispered, and I glanced at Lucas as he yawned.

“You two keep it PG tonight.” Lucas hugged me and whispered, “Text me if you need anything.” Then he headed off, and the dominos kept falling. The last few people stood and stretched, not willing to go too far with drinking or staying up late since Cade was in our presence.

Cassie and Penelope said good night, but I saw Penelope slip Cade a note before she walked down the darkened dirt path that led to our cabins.

“Yes,” I jumped up. “I definitely think it’s time to go to bed, Rodney. Walk me?”

With only Cade still sitting and Rodney getting up from behind me, I took in the man I’d avoided the whole day.

The fire illuminated his skin, licked at the Italian tones of it, and highlighted the jagged edges of his cheekbones. “Ms. Hardy, I’ll walk you back to our cabin. I need a word before you turn in for the night.”