Page 69 of The Lieutenant

Now I didn’t know what to think or how to feel. I’d given him an alibi, an action for which he should be eternally grateful. But it didn’t seem that way. I could tell by his demeanor he truly believed he now owned me. He had another think coming.

“Only when provided with permission.”

“Because you have things to hide. Are there dead bodies located inside of freezers? Do you have some torture room in one of your locations where you take all those who defy you?” Pushing my luck with him had become a signature card. The reason why was something I didn’t want to face.

I couldn’t get enough of him.

He sighed and looked away briefly, even scratching his forehead by using my credentials card. “Perhaps we should start over, my little kitten. What do you think?”

“How so?”

“I’ll be happy to show you around the club, even take you to the other one located a few miles away. However, you will obey my directions from now on.”

“And if I don’t?”

He took another step and my entire system was filled with the scent of his exotic aftershave. “Then I will have no other recourse than to punish you. My way.”

I shuddered from the thought, but maintained a direct and heated look on my face. “Alright. I will… obey you, but on one condition. Tell me the truth about something.”

“I’ve always told you the truth.”

“Did you kill Theo Artino?”

“No, I did not. Have I spoken with the man, expressing my anger with how he manipulated information? Absolutely. Killing him would have been bad for business.”

“I don’t know whether to believe you.”

Every move he made was so smooth, so natural for him that when he fingered a tendril of hair that was stuck to my lip, easing it gently aside, I didn’t stop him.

Because I didn’t want to.

“It’s your choice whether to believe me or not, but now ask yourself this question. As you already know, Theo was a fairly well-known television reporter with a solid, albeit false reputation as being fair and honest. Why would I kill a man knowing that his death would be labeled as an assassination and I was the man giving the orders? Does that make sense to you?”

He had a point there. “Not necessarily, but you could be trying to play with people’s minds, doing exactly what you believe they think you would do and being able to tell them just what you told me.”

His laugh was somehow forced. “You Americans are all alike. You see something on television and you believe it.”

“I take offense to that.” Perhaps he didn’t know about the questions I’d asked. I wasn’t certain it mattered any longer even if he did. He had the upper hand at this point. He could do anything he wanted, requiring me to follow any rule because in his mind I’d broken the terms of the contract. That would make it easy for him to dismiss me.

I’d truly thought about leaving. I’d planned that in my mind. But now, I was more determined than ever to find out what the man was hiding. How many skeletons did he have in his walk-in closet?

“No offense intended, Kara. However, I am a businessman as I’ve told you time and time again. You can make your decision at the end of our interview process as to whether I’m the monster you seem to prefer writing about. I’ll temper my controls on your piece, allowing you to say whatever you believe is the truth.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes, it’s a promise. And I never break them.”

I had to believe this man, or my time and a significant amount of money had been tossed down the drain. Without a finished piece, I wouldn’t get paid. Without getting paid, my landlord would toss my things into the street, renting out my tiny apartment. The thought of being homeless wasn’t appealing in the least.

I held out my hand for a shake on the deal and he was more amused than ever. But he accepted, squeezing my hand in an entirely inappropriate way. As always, he believed he was in full control of the situation.

And of me.

He’d learn this kitten was a tiger in disguise. Then again, wasn’t that the reason he was drawn to me in the first place? Tingles washed through me from our strong connection, but at least I was able to maintain eye contact. I couldn’t allow myself to like him.

But craving him was almost all I could think about.

As if I was addicted to the passion, emotions and sensations only he could provide. Because he’d opened up Pandora’s Box. Shutting it would be tough, but that would eventually happen. After I got what I wanted. If that took using him the way he was using me, then fine. I could make that happen.

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