Page 18 of As the World Falls

I opened my laptop and went to my emails, checking the damned never-ending things, but an email about ten down caught my eye. My security forwarded me an email from Labyrinth’s public one. I assumed it was a threat because I requested they forward me such ones to watch for any dangers that could be potentially larger than they’d think, considering the other half of my life.

It was from a mailing address calledBibliocilia.The subject readingRich Dick.

What the fuck?

My eyes widen in surprise as I read the bloody thing. The girl had a set of balls on her; I’d give her that.

I slam my laptop shut, a wave of annoyance and competitiveness surging through me. I grab my phone from the desk and dial the number of the head of my security team, who has an impressive gift for hacking and obtaining private information.

“I want the address and workplace of Cecilia Bowen. Her brother is Tobias Bowen, who works for me, so there should be no issue.”

“Give me twenty,” he replies, and I hang up the phone and call my assistant now, having her cancel my schedule for the rest of the day. I didn’t do well with threats, and although she was Tobias’s sister, his strong suit was not keeping her in check. Iwas going to have to do it myself. I didn’t care who she was or that he wanted me to stay away from her. This was my empire she was trying to mess with, and a personal message felt like the only way I could ensure she actually received it. Although nothing I’ve said to her face-to-face so far has been enough to deter her, maybe a little visit to her neck of the woods would instill a little fear.

I had a pest to control.

An hour later, I stepped off my private jet in Boston. I breathe in the fresh air, having already decided to stay for a night or two. What most people who know me don’t know is that my home is actually in Boston. I kept it private because it is the only place I call home. I don’t get the privilege of being home much when my life and work are in the city. But I like it that way. I like the distance whenever I decide to come home for a while.

I ordered a car and gave them the library address where Cecilia was a librarian. It doesn’t take long before I’m outside, and I waste no time going in and looking for her. I instantly spot her behind the front desk, her lengthy hair in a high ponytail atop her head as she focuses on whatever is in front of her.

For a moment, I feel utterly ridiculous being here. I was one of the most powerful men in the city, and yet here I was, paying a visit to a small lion-haired girl because she sent me a foul-mouthed email. But I was curious. She claims to know who I am and apparently lacks fear of the fact. Despite this, she isn’t going to stop looking into her brother and my business, and that was the issue for me.

“Cecilia Bowen,” I say, smirking as she jumps behind her desk. Her gaze flits to mine, and her eyes widen. I finally see some fear in them, and I eat it up. “Age twenty-four. Graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s in English Lit and is now a little librarian at Stone Corridor, the oldest library in the city. You’re the younger sibling of Tobias Bowen and daughterof David and Celena Bowen. My condolences, by the way. Your address is 284 Hedge Avenue, apartment 3B…”

“Stop it,” she snaps, standing from her seat.

I lean onto the desk, drilling her with my gaze. “Am I scaring you?”

She blinks rapidly before squaring her shoulders back, standing a little straighter. “No.”

I grin. “Lies.”

“What are you doing here?”

I lean off the desk, fiddling with trinkets of items on top of it. “I got your email. I foundRich Dickto be absolutely poetic. I’m thinking about naming my next venture after it.”

A blush stains her cheeks, and she fidgets with the necklace around her neck. I drop my gaze, inspecting it and the rest of her body. She was more modest than at my club the other night. She was dressed in a billowy white shirt and had on a cropped dark brown suede vest over it. Her jeans were tight, drawing my attention to her legs, all the way up to the chunky belt she had wrapped around the waistband that sat ridiculously high on her stomach. The necklace around her neck was gold and had one minuscule charm hanging from it. A teddy bear charm.

“I’m sorry about that. I sent that after having a little too much to drink.”

“So, the part where you said you were coming for me isn’t true? I must admit, I was scared for my life. Had to come all the way here to beg for mercy.”

Her gaze hardens on me, and I can’t help but enjoy how her demeanor changes. “So, it’s not true then?” she bites back. “I wouldn’t expect some mobster to come to waste his time on little old me.”

I chuckle darkly. “I’m not in the mafia, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fear me any less.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. I wasn’t in the mafia…anymore. “I came to tell you my own message,little owl.” She stiffens slightly as I regard her. “Go back to your little storybooks and stay out of my way. The deeper you try to go, the harder you will fall.”

Her eyes darkened, and my gaze dropped to the way she white-knuckled the pen in her hand like she might stab me with it. Part of me wants her to try. It’s been a dull morning. “Tell me what my brother really does for you, and I’ll leave you alone,” she demands.

“What makes you think we do anything more than what you already know?”

“You evade me every time I ask about him. He was at the headquarters, I assume with you, awfully late at night. You’re hiding something.”

“Speaking of hiding things,” I say, doing exactly what she said. “I’m starting to wonder if your brother hid your identity from me because you’re some depraved lunatic. It would make a lot of sense.”

“You’re the lunatic here. What billionaire comes and wastes his time on a little librarian threatening his empire? Or are the skeletons in your closet bigger and scarier than I anticipated?” She taunts.

“You know,” I lean on the desk, letting my eyes penetrate her like knives. I liked watching her squirm under my unrelenting gaze. “If I didn’t find you one of the most irritating people I ever met, I think I’d enjoy your spite.”

She cocks a brow at that and lets her gaze roam over me. “If you find me so irritating, Mr. Kingston, why did you come all this way?”

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