Page 57 of As the World Falls

It was all supposed to be black and white. He was bad, and I wasn’t—bottom line. But now our bad and good felt like they were mixing lately, and I couldn’t help but like the medium we were reaching even if I knew it was very, very bad in the grand scheme of things.

I walk up the stairs, deciding that my best chance is to go to the spot in the corner that I saw James and my brother occupying last time. When I reach the top stair, my gaze isimmediately snagged on James’s icy blonde hair in the last corner booth, just as I suspected. My brother was sitting next to him, looking like a bodyguard. It was so strange to see him in this scene. He fit in well, and I didn’t like how that sat with me.

I move through the crowd, dancing to the music as I sip my drink, pretending to be a careless passerby. I linger by their table, leaning onto the nearby railing that overlooks the dance floor below. I turn to my side, bobbing my head and sipping my drink as I try to keep an ear open to their conversation.

There was one other man at the table with them. He was handsome in a bulky, macho way, and upon listening closer, I overheard them calling him Udovich.

“Mayor Fireux has been on my ass over this lately. It would be best if you lay low for a while with things,” Udovich says.

“Chuck’s all talk. He can’t do anything to me even if he had the police force backing him. Let me handle him. You keep doing what I pay you to do,” James says.

“He keeps calling like some stalker, asking for my support,” Udovich snickers.

Tobias chuckles. “Can you imagine? The mayor begging for partnership with his own Sheriff.”

James smirks at their remarks, sipping his glass of what I guessed was whiskey. “It’s my favorite part. He has to stoop so low to get some leverage.”

Udovich grins. “He’ll never get it, and I’ll make sure the rest of my guys remain on board.”

James smiles now at that. “Perfect. That’s all I wanted to know.”

“I’ll ensure no more of them get sent your way again. Everyone’s been briefed on the harassment calls.”

Tobias smirks evilly now, making my stomach somersault. “I think it’s safe to say we also handled our little anonymous caller very thoroughly. So, we should be in the clear.”

“All’s well and ends well,” James says, rising from the table. I spin around as he does, facing the dance floor again, and grip the railing like a lifeline. My legs were shaking, and I felt like if I let go, I would lose control. James and Tobias were clearly working with the city sheriff, and the way Tobias spoke…he sounded so dark and comically cynical. It was shocking, and I was pretty sure they were referring to hurting someone earlier. My own brother…

I was so shocked by everything I heard that I didn’t even think of taking pictures or a video recording.

Nausea churns in my stomach, and I push off the railing and race back downstairs, stopping at the bar once more, where I asked for the coldest glass of water. I chug it, letting the coolness soothe my shaking insides. I need to get it together. I suspected all this criminal activity. I’m not clutching my pearls surprised by what I heard, but it’s the way I heard my brother so nonchalantly involved in it all for the first time that threw me for a little loop.

I finish the rest of my water and lift my straight hair over my shoulder to get some air onto my back. I felt like I was a million degrees now. I turn around and spot James and my brother walking down the stairs together in conversation, and I decide to make myself scarce and blend into the crowd in the middle of the dance floor. I sashay through the swarm of people and begin mingling with everyone around me, moving to the beat of the music. After a minute, I’m not trying as hard to be inconspicuous, and I actually start to enjoy myself. There were two other girls at my side dancing, and they gave me appreciative smiles as I danced next to them. I found a laugh bubbling out of me as I stayed near them, dancing, feeling like they were a safe space. They were very obviously drunk, and one of them grabbed my hand, spinning me around as the other yelled salacious compliments. A moment after she spins me, Itrip on my own clumsy feet, and I stumble backward, my back falling into what feels like a hard wall.

I still, looking over my shoulder, the smile dropping from my face in world record, when I see James staring down at me, his eyes fiery and his jaw clenched tight. His hands coast around my waist, holding my back against his chest as he drops his head to the crook of my neck, where his mouth falls in line with my ear. The movement sent shivers down my spine, and although I was a little scared shitless right now, I was secretly enjoying his embrace that was almost too tight for comfort.

“Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you, little owl?” he whispers in my ear, and the blood drains from my body, leaving me so damn cold.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I rush out, trying to break free from his grasp, but he only tightens it, jerking me harder against him.

“Don’t fuck with me, babe. Do you honestly think I wouldn’t see your face? Your eyes? And not know it’s you?”

I stopped fighting, his words rushing through me like an unexpected tidal wave. He had a way of saying mediocre things but making them sound much more profound, which always left me absolutely confused about how he really felt.

I turn around in his arms, his hands gliding around my waist and settling on my back like a hot brand. I look up at him, and his furious eyes snap to mine as he sucks in a breath, his jaw clenching again in the way that it does that I hate to say I’ve come to find irrationally attractive.

“Fine. You caught me.”

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “It seems I have. What are you doing here, and why are you dressed like this?”

“I suppose there’s no point in lying to you?” His smirk grows as he shakes his head once. “I came to do what I’ve been doing all along,” I admit.

“And did you gather anything of substance?” I nod, smirking back despite feeling off balance because his hands drift slightly lower down my back, and I’m closer to him than I was a second ago. When did that happen?

“I know that you’re selling under the table and that you’re paying the sheriff off to turn a blind eye.” His smirk drops as his gaze roams my face like he was surprised by the tidbit of information I picked up tonight. My smile grows now, feeling devilish. “Your little labyrinth isn’t so hard to figure out, James.”

He jerked me against him, plastering my chest against his and stealing the breath from my lungs because it was too close. His scent wrapped around me with the heat of his arms, and I was beginning to falter under the depth of his gaze. “I’m impressed, little owl. I can’t wait to learn how you use it all against me.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Aren’t you scared of what I can do to you?”

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