Her Sins, His Rules

Chapter 002

Emery’s POV

I’d Rather Burn My Passport

No way," I muttered under my breath and backed away from the door. There was no way I could live with him. Just the thought of being in the same space as Garrett Lawson for more than five minutes made me itch. Over the years, I’ve avoided eye contact, avoided conversation, avoided even thinking about him longer than I needed to. And now I’m supposed to live with him? Under the same roof?

I felt sick. From where I stood in the hallway, I could hear the quiet tension in the living room. Mr. West had dropped the idea like a bomb and was waiting for Garrett’s reply. But Garrett didn’t say anything right away. A whole stretch of silence passed.

Then came a sigh.

“I’d love to help,” Garrett finally said. “But you know how things are with me. I’m barely ever home. Always out of the country. Can’t even keep track of my own laundry. How exactly am I supposed to take care of a nineteen-year-old?”

So, he does remember my age.

That detail made me freeze. Why did that matter to him? And why did it make my stomach twist hearing it?

“You don’t have to be around all the time,” Mr. West replied quickly, practically begging now. “I just think she'd get some structure under your roof. That’s all. She listens to no one. Maybe she’ll at least fear you.”

Wow. Great parenting, Dad.

“She could get structure here too. All you need to do is follow my advice,” Garrett pushed back. I could hear the annoyance in his voice. He wasn’t buying into the guilt trip, and for once, I liked him for it.

But of course, Mr. West wasn’t ready to give up. “Garrett, she’s my only child. You know how I am with her. I can’t bring myself to be as strict as I should be. Please… for the sake of our friendship?”

A heavy pause.

Then Garrett let out another sigh. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”

What? No, no, no. You don’t think about something like this! You say no, you laugh it off, you walk away and pretend the conversation never happened!

I wanted to march in and yell at both of them. I’m not some package they can hand off to each other like a business deal. But I knew my dad’s mood wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows tonight. I’d probably just make things worse.

So instead, I tiptoed back to my room and dropped onto the bed. My thoughts were racing. I had to find a way out of this. Garrett Lawson was not an option. For more reasons than I wanted to admit.

For starters, the man was terrifying. He didn’t yell. He didn’t lose his temper. He just looked at you like he already knew every lie you were about to tell and already had your punishment ready. I’d be locked in some tower, Cinderella-style, without the dress or the fairy godmother.

But the real reason? The real reason had nothing to do with rules. I’d had a thing for him since I was fifteen. It started out innocent, I guess. A stupid little crush. I figured it was because he was my godfather and showed up now and then like some mysterious shadow. But then one summer, I saw him shirtless by the pool…

Yeah. Let’s just say it stopped being innocent real fast. The man was built like something out of a Greek statue catalog. And my brain? It betrayed me on a regular basis with dreams I was way too embarrassed to admit out loud.

I groaned and stood up, pacing my room.

Focus, Emery. You need a plan, not a fantasy.

Then it hit me. A stupid, dangerous, possibly brilliant idea.

I hurried out of the room. The living room was empty now, Mr. West probably back in his study. Garrett was gone.

I stepped outside, muttering under my breath. My car was still at the club. No ride. But that wasn’t going to stop me.

“I’ll just grab a cab.”

One of the security guards near the gate looked at me sideways. “Going out again, Miss Emery?”

“Yeah,” I snapped. “I need something from the store across the street. You got a problem with that?”

He held up his hands, not wanting to argue.

“Didn’t think so.”

Out the gate. Down the street. Into a cab.

“Garrett Lawson’s place,” I told the driver.

As the city blurred past the windows, I went over what I was about to do. It was risky. But if I could convince him now—face to face—not to take me in, maybe he’d shut the idea down for good.

The cab dropped me at the gate of his estate. I took a deep breath and rang the bell.

A guard opened the gate, confused to see me. “Emery?”

“Garrett asked me to come,” I said with a straight face and walked right past him.

“He didn’t mention, “I said he asked me. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Inside the mansion, two more guards stared at me like I was a ghost.

“Where is he?”

“He didn’t tell us you were coming.”

“Well, maybe he didn’t want to interrupt his plans. He said he had something to show me.”

One of the guards looked uneasy. “I’ll take you.”

We went upstairs. Down a hallway. The guard stopped in front of a door.

“Your friend is inside,” he said. “Maybe that’s what he wanted you to see.”

My friend?

Something twisted in my gut.

I pushed open the door.

And froze.

Tied to a chair in the middle of the room was Blake. Bruised, bleeding, mouth gagged. Garrett stood in front of him, knife in hand, blood staining his fingers.

“What the”

They both turned.

“Emery?”

Garrett’s voice was sharp. Angry. “What are you doing here?”

Blake whimpered. “Help me…”

I started to step forward.

“Don’t,” Garrett barked. “Stay where you are.”

I stopped.

He handed the knife to one of his men. “Keep working on him. I’ll deal with this.”

Then he walked over to me, grabbed my arm, and dragged me out of the room.

“Let go!” I whispered, but he didn’t even flinch.

Back in the living room, he let go of me and turned to the guards.

“Which one of you let her in?”

“She said you told her to come, sir,” one guard muttered.

“Use your heads next time. You’ll be dealt with later.”

He turned back to me, furious. “You lied to my men?”

“What was that? Why are you torturing him?” I asked, shaking.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Like hell it isn’t.”

He stepped closer.

“You have thirty seconds to tell me why you're here.”

I crossed my arms.

“Not until you tell me why you’re torturing Blake.”

Garrett stared at me like I was stupid. “He set you up. At the party. The drugs in your bag? That was him. He tipped off the cops too.”

“What?”

“He did it because you embarrassed him. You turned him down, and he couldn’t handle it.”

I felt like the floor had dropped out from under me.

“Now, why are you here?” Garrett asked again.

“I came because I heard everything. You and my dad are talking about dumping me on you. I came to say no. I’m not doing it. I’m not some helpless little girl.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You said it yourself, I’m a spoiled brat. And guess what? That means I’ll make your life hell. So just reject his offer. For your own sake.”

I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me cold.

“Stop.”

I turned around slowly.

Garrett’s eyes locked on mine. For a second, everything felt too quiet.

“Jaxon,” he called out.

One of the guards stepped forward.

“Drive her home.”

Then he walked away without another word.

I didn’t breathe until he was gone.

Jaxon led me out to the car. The drive home was dead quiet. But my mind wasn’t.

I kept thinking about everything. About Blake. About Garrett. About the look in his eyes when he said stop.

When I finally got home, I snuck upstairs and crawled into bed. My thoughts were still tangled. I hated the way I talked to him. But I had to push him. He needed to not want me there.

That was the plan.

It was the only way.

The Next Morning

A knock on the door yanked me out of sleep. I groaned, dragging myself to the door.

The second I opened it, I forgot how to breathe.

Garrett Lawson stood there, blank-faced.

“What are you”

“You have thirty minutes to pack. You're coming with me.”