Page 59 of Indecent Secrets

“…I don’t think just fucking you would be enough to get Jack to do what I want.”

David spoke like he wasn’t actively strangling me. I clawed at his arms, black spots dancing in my vision. I wasn’t in control of my body, panic infusing me as I tried desperately to get away.

“Oh, sure, I think he’d be hurt,” David said too casually. “But a man scorned like that is liable to do the opposite of what you want. Tit for tat and all. No…”

David leaned in. It terrified me how cold his eyes were. Like my death, and life, were nothing to him. “But if he finds out you’re in danger? That your life is in my hands? Now that… that’ll get him where I want him.”

A tiny, sardonic voice at the back of my mind piped up that he was deeply overestimating how much Bryce cared about me, but even if Bryce condescended to me, he was a good man. He’d literally taken this job to protect Jack and find a killer. He’d probably be worried for me, just as a matter of compassion.

Still… as my vision blurred and black closed in, I couldn’t help but hope that maybe I was wrong, and David was right, and I was in some way special to Bryce.

That was the last thought I had before it all went dark.

Chapter 22

Bryce

* * *

There was immediately something off when I entered the restaurant.

Not the restaurant itself. That was fine. I instinctively checked the exits and the various guests seated at the tables, but everyone looked normal. No, it was when I sat down across from David that the hairs at the back of my neck stood up.

“How was the rest of your day?” I asked.

“Eh, you know how it is, trying to work with a lot of demanding people who often want conflicting things.” David shrugged and raised his hand for the server.

Once we’d ordered, he leaned back in his chair, smiling genially. “So, you going to meet Leigh after this?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think that my private business is anyone’s concerned, but for the record, I’m not. She has other things to do and we’re not—I told you it’s not like that.”

I sounded like an absolute moron, but I couldn’t let him see the real wolf’s teeth in my mouth without revealing that I was more than I was pretending to be. Jack Lawton would be a bit nervous and stammer over a glamourous woman. I just had to keep this up for a short while longer.

Although, I hadn’t heard anything from Leigh since she’d stormed out on me. I’d sent her a text just to make sure she was doing all right, but hadn’t gotten a response. I had assumed she was ignoring me.

But now, my gut twisted. I had a feeling that David wasn’t asking merely out of curiosity. In fact, I probably should’ve been more suspicious of his asking about Leigh at the meeting earlier today. Had he just used that to get the confirmation he wanted?

“Of course it’s not,” David said smoothly. “So, the company. . .”

He outlined his thoughts on the entire thing while our food arrived and we ate. I kept myself alert, watching the exits and the staff as well as the diners. Nobody around here seemed to be an accomplice. That was a foolish mistake. David probably thought he was being smart, operating alone, and maybe in most circumstances he would be. But I wasn’t what you’d call ‘most circumstances’.

I watched David as he pulled out his phone over our dessert. “I appreciate your advice,” I said to him. “But I know what my course is. I’m going to retire as CEO.”

David blinked at me. “Well, that was easier than I expected.”

“You think I didn’t know you wanted me to step down? I suppose I appreciate that you tried to be my friend about it, unlike your father. I suspect you did the same to my uncle, trying to get him to see your side of things. But I knew you wanted me out of the way. I agree, I’m not fit to continue as the head of the company.”

“That’s a relief.” David smiled. “I suppose I…”

“But,” I added quickly, “I won’t be giving it over to you.”

David frowned. “Jack. Don’t be stupid. You’re so close to doing the right thing. I would hate to have to give you the consequences of making a bad decision.”

“I’m sure that you’re prepared to make my life a living hell,” I said patiently. “But you’re not the only lawyer in this city…”

“You misunderstand.” David waved his free hand in the air dismissively while he unlocked the phone with the other. “I thought you might be stubborn, and I have to admit I’ve developed a fondness for going about things… in a way that’s not exactly legal. It’s just so much fucking faster. More efficient.”

He pulled something up on his phone and slid it across to me. “Wouldn’t you say?”

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