When Snow and Flames Collide

Chapter 11: Sparks and Suspicion

𐙚ྀ˙✧ They tried to break me, but they only woke the warrior within. The world may owe me nothing, but I owe myself everything. And that's enough!

𐙚ྀ˙✧˖°⋆｡˚───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────˚｡⋆✧જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩

Amber's Pov

I practically bolted from the table, my pounding steps a jarring discord to the composed clatter of the silverware. This wasn't how I pictured things going with Daniel.

Visions of a smoothly working in the Redmon Industries, maintaining pure professionalism, and finding secrets about Cole'n Groups had danced in my head. Now, the prospect of going to Geneva with an ever-present associate, a human guard dog, hovering over my every interaction with Stawarski, doesn't do anything to calm my nerves.

"No, no, no," I muttered under my breath. Not him. "Not a damn zombie bee on steroids." A humorless snort escaped my lips. Bee wasn't quite the intimidating image I was going for for Daniel.

Spy. Spy fit the bill much better.

Dennis, a few paces ahead, seemed lost in his own thoughts. Had he picked up on the tension between me and Daniel? Glancing back, I searched for them, but the hallway was empty. I'm pretty sure Daniel and Eric followed us.

Although, I must say, dinner with the Redmons had revealed cracks in their seemingly perfect facade. The smiles, the happiness underlying something hidden from the rest of the world, the undercurrent of tension when Daniel spoke with Laura and Ethan - something was off.

Then there was Diana, Sam's mother? Where was Sam's father on this seemingly family occasion? Is she staying over here for a while?

The memory of Daniel's white-knuckled grip on his spoon during Adrian's talk about Geneva and security, a flicker of fear in his eyes, all fueled my growing curiosity.

Unraveling these secrets could be the key to dismantling this man. But was it manipulation? Blackmail? The line between vengeance and deceit blurred the more I considered it. My mission was Stawarski, not collateral damage to this innocent family.

A pang of guilt stabbed at me.

"Amber?" A hand clamped down on mine, startling me, but there was nowhere to go. Behind me, the cool metal railing pressed into my back. Spinning around, I found myself trapped.

Daniel loomed in front of me, his arm reaching across my body to grab my hand. The maneuver pinned me between him and the railing, our closeness suffocating. His grip was firm, his breath warm against my cheek and my heart stuttered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Was it just the physical proximity, or the dawning realization that my carefully laid plans were teetering on the edge of collapse?

"Did you really work at Sterling Corp?" The question hung heavy in the air. The unwelcome memory of his endearment, "Beautiful and enchanting," surfaced inappropriately.

Really, Amber? Now of all the places and time to remember this?

"Everything I say feels like a lie to you anyway" I countered, voice laced with defiance. "What's the point?" Trust was a fragile commodity, and I wasn't exactly known for my stockpiles of honesty.

Daniel's jaw tightened, muscles flexing beneath the skin. His gaze flickered down to the space his arm created between our bodies, a fleeting acknowledgment of the forced closeness. "Amber," he started, his voice low and laced with a weariness that tugged at something unfamiliar within me, "until you show me you're not a threat to my family, trust is a luxury I can't afford. I saw you with that shard. The thing you did to Stawarski...it left a chill. Forgive me if I'm not exactly laying out the red carpet."