Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“Why are you here, little bird?”
Right. I’m here to stop him by sacrificing myself fully. But as much as I want to, I can’t give in too easily. I reach for my anger, the sense of injustice. “I’m here because I saw the news and read the paper. By the time I got to work, three entire murder investigations were shut down.”
His expression shutters. He’s not my mystery dom. He’s Rex Roy, billionaire above the law. “And?”
I knew this wouldn’t be easy. I square off with him to show him I’m here to fight. “You’ve crossed a line.”
Rex
“You did it.” She bares her teeth at me, her eyes sparking. “You interfered with an investigation.”
Does she know how glorious she looks, challenging me? I want to wrap her hair around my fist, drag her to my dungeon, and punish her for mouthing off to me. I want to gag her, flog her until her back is painted red. Put her on her knees, chain her to the floor, and fuck her mouth whenever the fancy takes me.
Instead, I half turn away to freshen my drink. “Allegedly.”
“What?” She glares at me, chest heaving, fists clenched at her sides.
“You can’t prove anything.” I leave my drink on the bar and return to tug her leather jacket down her arms.
She tries to jerk out of my hold. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to pat you down. I need to see if you’re wearing a wire.”
Color flares in her cheeks, but she nods. I have the pleasure of removing her jacket and molding my hands to her back and front, touching her in all the ways I wanted to this morning. She’s not wearing a bra or panties, and I can smell her sex, pungent as the perfume of a freshly opened flower. I let my hand shackle her ankle for a long moment.
She’s not unaffected. The moment I release her, she stumbles back.
“There,” I say, all innocence. “Now we can speak freely.”
“Oh, can we? Are there no cameras in here?” She makes a show of looking around. “Nothing to record your dark deeds? And here I thought you kept watch of everything.”
“As much as I love watching you on camera, some things are better left to memory.”
“And there he is.” She looks at me coldly, like a cop viewing a suspect. “Rex Roy, heir to a fortune. Playboy. Philanthropist. All those people out there, dancing and partying, they have no idea what you really are.”
She’s trying to wound me, and as much as I love our sparring, this does sting. She’s right. I’ve spent my life alone, surrounded by people who will never understand what I am. I keep my bland billionaire mask fixed in place to bait her. “And what am I, Detective?”
“A serial killer. Someone who thinks he’s above the law and who rigs the justice system like it’s his own personal slot machine.” Red spots appear on her cheeks. “You tampered with evidence.”
“Allegedly.”
She stares at me, her shoulders rising and falling with her rapid breaths. “How could you do this?” Her appeal weakens me. She feels this injustice deeply. The deaths of her parents gave her the gift of great empathy, while the deaths of mine taught me that justice is a fraud.
“You killed three men and framed a random gang. Innocent men will go to jail.”
“Innocent,” I snap. The beast inside me refuses to be baited any longer. “They’re far from innocent.” I loom over her, crowding her as if the physical intimidation will force her to bend. “Shall I show you their rap sheets? The list of hate crimes they’ve carried out or planned?”
She faces me, unmoved. “You tampered with evidence.”
Now that I’m close enough to feel her silky breath on my face, I let my voice drop to a purr. “Evidence that was for your eyes only.”
She closes her eyes. She knows I manipulated this outcome from the very beginning. I almost feel sorry for my little bird, so small and fragile, trapped in thorns she can’t fight. “And you expect to get away with it.”
I pull away to give her space. “I know I will. I’ve done it before.” I don’t like that I can manipulate the justice system so easily. But if it can be manipulated, I might as well be the one doing it.
“How did you do it?”
“A bribe here. Bit of blackmail there.” I glance back to watch her face as I crush any flicker of hope. “Jordan resisted for a long time, but he has a daughter he’d do anything for. And she has a bright career ahead of her because of the scholarships that the Roy Foundation has given her. It’s so easy to manipulate people when they care for someone else.”
Her eyes are full of pain. Does she grieve her beloved justice system? Or the man she hoped her dom would be?