Page 18 of Rapture and Ruin

“You're a bastard,” she says as I let go of her and take a step back.

“And you’re a liar.” I hum to myself as I start rummaging through the cupboards again, looking for anything that might tell me who used to live here. “Tell you what, if you don’t want to tell me about what is going on in this house, then we can make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“I’ll give you two hundred dollars to go to dinner with me and tell me what you’re doing here.”

I keep my back to her, though I’m not sure she isn’t going to drive a knife in it the first chance that she gets.

“Two hundred dollars is not enough to put up with you or your prying questions,” she says, venom in her voice.

“Three hundred?”

“A thousand.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “Now you’re just being greedy.”

“From what I understand, you have more than enough money to meet my requirements. You want to go to dinner, I want money for school.”

I turn around and approach her, getting closer and closer until her back is pressed against one of the charred walls. She looks up at me, and for a brief second, there is fear in her eyes.

Good. At least she knows enough to be afraid.

“If you were smart, you would take me up on my offer instead of trying to make a deal. I know you think you want to play with the big boys, but trust me, you really don’t.”

She glowers up at me. “I would never make the mistake of trusting you.”

“Smart girl. I wouldn’t do that either. It would be the worst thing you ever did.” I take a step away from her, turning away before she sees the way my cock is straining against my pants.

Instead of rummaging through the cupboards, I head for the door. I can come back here and look through the house later, when Hadley isn’t around. I want to know why the Domingos’ sigil is here and how she is connected.

It would help to have those answers before I have dinner with her. I don’t like being the only one left in the dark.

Being left in the dark is how people die.

“Five hundred dollars,” I say without looking back at her. “You’ll go to dinner with me Thursday night, tell me whatever I want to know, and then I will give you the five hundred dollars.”

“Fine.”

I smirk as I look over my shoulder at her. “Try to wear something pretty. I don’t want people to think I make a habit of hanging around with petty criminals who break into abandoned buildings.”

“You’re infuriating!” Her voice carries after me as I walk out of the house, amused with the entire situation.

If Hadley thinks that she is calling the shots here, she has another thing coming.

7

HADLEY

As I stand in front of the restaurant Thursday night, I wonder what the hell I’m doing here.

I never should have agreed to tell Jovan anything about my life. His questions are going to dig too deep. He’s going to make me uncomfortable and push me because he can. There is no doubt in my mind that he is going to hold the money over my head.

A smarter woman would be running away right now. If I didn’t need the money, I wouldn’t even entertain the thought of meeting with him.

Well, the money and the way he intrigues me like nobody else ever has. I know that I should stay far away from him. He’s a dangerous man and he has the power to do whatever he wants.

That only makes spending time with him that much more exciting.

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