Page 55 of As the World Falls

My legs are shaking as I walk back to my hotel. They haven’t stopped since I left Hodge at the bar with the ledger now in his hands. He was all too happy when I gave it to him, his eyes lighting up like a pirate finally finding lost treasure. My stomach rolls at the memory, which is still fresh in my mind. It keeps replaying over and over, taunting me with the anxiety of the final nail that I personally stuck into James Kingston’s coffin.

It was what I had to do. Right?

Ugh, why do I keep asking myself that? Of course, it was. James was playing me from the beginning, offering me what seemed like help, all just to put on a show in front of my face while he kept my brother from me, probably doing all the dirty work I couldn’t see. I felt so stupid and probably looked it to him. I was embarrassed, but the feeling cutting me deeper than theothers, the one that came as a complete shock to me, was that, more than anything, I felt betrayed.

At first, I thought he wanted to reassure me, but over time, it turned into a little game between us, one that I thought I was also playing. We pushed and pulled from each other, and I felt alive for the first time in a really long time. I felt seen and felt like I actually belonged somewhere I was considered an equal.

I was wrong.

I was the game James played, and he played it like a king, making me the joker.

I step off the elevator of my hotel and walk down the hall, but I freeze when I see James standing outside my door, knocking on it. I don’t make a sound. He doesn’t notice me standing here as I watch him stand and wait. His hands disappear into his pockets as he does, and he keeps his head down, looking at his feet.

Obviously, no one answered the door, and when he turned to leave, he stopped, finally spotting me. It feels as if my heart stops beating completely when our eyes lock onto each other’s.

Does he know what I just did? Does he know his ledger is missing and is now in the hands of his enemy?

I force myself to move. I try to be strong, proving to him that he did not break me and will never deter me. I keep my chin up, and I walk toward him.

“I thought you might be sleeping,” he says as I approach him. His eyes slide down the length of me, making me feel all kinds of wrong before he meets my eyes again. “You’re still dressed in your work clothes.”

“I got dinner,” I lie quickly.

He glances down at the watch around his wrist. “At 2:30? That’s fairly early for dinner.”

Shit. I forgot I left work earlier today, so that lie probably made zero sense, but I dig my grave deeper, quickly adding to it. “I wanted an early dinner to catch up on sleep when I returned.”I move past him now to unlock my door. “Which is what I’m going to do now.” I unlock the door and step inside, turning to face him. “Was there something you needed?”

He eyes me suspiciously, which isn’t a new look for him when it comes to me. He’s always known I was no ally of his.

“I thought we could talk,” he says. I stare blankly back at him, unsure how to respond.

“Talk? About what? I think we’ve said all we needed to say earlier.”

“That’s my point. I don’t care for how we left things.”

“You don’t care about anything, James, so don’t pretend you do about this. You knew what you were doing and guided me like a master puppeteer. I have nothing left to say to you.”

I go to shut the door in his face, but his hand slams against it, stopping it before it can close. “Please,” he begs, shocking me. “Let me in, and let’s talk.”

I scowl at him. “Do I have a choice, or will you break my door down too?”

He shoots me an unamused smirk as I open the door wide, reluctantly welcoming him inside my hotel room. He walks inside slowly, his eyes falling onto the simple room containing a large king-size bed, a mounted TV, and a cheap white wicker dresser.

“I could have put you up in something nicer,” he remarks.

“I don’t remember an offer.”

He glared at me over his shoulder. “I didn’t think. I apologize.”

“Ugh,” I groan in frustration. “Can you just say what you want to say? I do want to get some sleep at some point.” I needed him out of my hotel room. Out of my vicinity. Why did he have to come here after I had just played a very big role in the beginning of his downfall?

He faces me, both of us only feet apart, as he grabs something from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. His eyes never leave mine as he pulls out a small black box and hands it to me.

“It’s a gift for everything you’ve done at Labyrinth. For… everything I’ve put you through. I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way.”

I eye him skeptically as I slowly take the box from his hand. I hold it, using my other hand to lift the lid off. I gasped when the two moss-green crystal earrings came into view. The ones I saw and liked at this store.

“How did you know?” I ask in disbelief.

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