Page 129 of The Sinner: James

He slides into a chair in front of me.

“What did he say?” he asks.

“He invited me to send the recording to his wife. He didn’t give a fuck about the compromising information.”

He looks at me, puzzled.

“Are you fucking serious?”

I nod.

“Does he know about Rain and you?”

“No. He was agreeable to me in the beginning. He recognized my name but had no fucking idea who I was until we started to talk. I charmed him at first, but it was useless. I tried to sell him on the idea. He didn’t buy it. And then I had no choice but to use what I had on him.”

“Maybe he thought you were bluffing.”

“He’d been involved with three different women. He didn’t deny any of it. He just didn’t care.”

I tilt my head back, clasp my hands behind my neck and stare blankly at the ceiling.

“It’s done. That’s all there is. Other than killing someone tonight, there’s nothing I can do about it,” I joke darkly. “We’ll find out tomorrow,” I say, patting my pocket for my cigarettes.

“He might turn other people against you.”

“He might, but I can’t control any of that shit. If it fails, it fails. We’ll have to find a different piece of land. One that’s zoned commercial.”

“That will be way over our budget.”

My phone buzzes.

I snatch it from the desk and glance at it. Tension sets in my jaw.

I toss my phone at Lex.

“You care to take this?”

He glances at the screen and moves his finger across before bringing my phone to his ear.

“Hi, Rain,” he says, his eyes locked with mine. “Yeah... Mm-hmm. He’s not available right now. What do you want me to tell him? Okay… All right, then.”

He drops my phone on the desk.

“She needs to talk to you. It’s important.”

I roll my eyes, pick up my jacket and phone, and head to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Silver. Do you want to come?”

“What about...?” he asks, motioning to my phone.

“I’ve had enough drama today. No more.”

Forty minutes later, we park our car in front of a building carved in dark glass.

The owner of the club, a friend of mine, greets us with a smile. We shake hands before he shows us to a private room.

---