Page 45 of When It Rains He Pours

A firm hand grabbed my shoulder from behind, causing me to yelp in surprise. Spinning on my heels, a man in a suit was glaring down on me, his lips thinned. I knew him, we had met once before, and I told him to go fuck himself.

“What the hell do you want? I gave you your answer already.”

“No, you gave me a message. I'm curious if you got mine?” he asked, stalking forward and pinning me against the building. “I'm pretty sure I made myself clear.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I haven't had any messages from you, and I already told you no, I'm not selling you my building”

Slapping an open palm against the brick beside my head, he snarled. “Do you think you can just tell me no? If destroying everything you owned in that place wasn't a message, you're a stupid fucking girl.”

My heart stopped inside my chest as his words hit a nerve.

He did this! He's the one who's responsible!

The thought had crossed my mind, but I pushed it away. I couldn't imagine a man in a suit, a man who seemed to have more than my lonely little building could ever offer, would do such a thing.

“That was you?” My voice was sharp and short.

“Do you think I'm stupid? It wasn't me exactly, but money talks. All I had to do was offer the right price to the right man, and my message was sent loud and clear.” Laughing, the man tipped his head back, opening his mouth wide. “It was easy as fuck to higher someone to do the dirty work for me.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you do that?!” Yelling, I veered my stare, wishing that my eyes could shoot bullets. “I'm going to call the police and tell them what you did!”

“The police won't do shit. Do you have any idea who I am? Do you understand what I can do to you? Let me make myself really clear; if you don't sign the papers, I'll have to finish what I started.”

My heart stuck in my throat, his threat evident on his face. “Why? Why can't you just leave me alone?”

“Because when I want something, I take it.” Lowering his face, he pressed his lips to my ear. “And I want your building, so stop making this difficult on yourself.”

“If you have all this power, then why not buy something else? Why take it from someone who doesn't want to give it? This is my life you're trying to buy and it doesn't have a price.”

“Everything had a price.” His eyes connected with mine as he took a step back and adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves. Chuckling, his smile deepened. “You have the papers, sign them. Don't make the same mistake again and tell me no.”

“You can't so this,” I said, furrowing my brows. “You can't threaten me into doing what you want.”

“Let me make myself really fucking clear. My next move won't be a threat, I'll literally turn your building into ashes. If you don't want to watch it go up in flames, don't fucking test me.” Smirking, his eyes turned black and his grin turned sinister. “Have a nice day, Glory.” Winking, the man walked off with the most evil smile on his face I had ever seen.

Snatching the phone from inside my purse, I called the police. It didn't matter to me who the fuck he was, he had no right to threaten me like that.

“Hello, can I help you?” A woman answered.

The words tumbled out, broken up with relentless tears and heavy breathing. Adrenaline was purging my veins, making my body feel cold. I was shaking from head to toe, so hopped up on emotional chaos that I didn't even pause to let her ask questions.

After spewing what had happened from the very beginning, she put me on hold so she could check into the original report.

“Miss Daniels, Detective Glenn has your case, would you like me to transfer you?”

“Yes, please.”

The phone went silent, leaving me to hear the blood pumping through my ears. It felt like forever before I heard a click and the soft sound of someone clearing their throat.

“Miss Daniels, this is Detective Glenn. Valerie tells me that you have new information about the break in at your business. What do you have for me?” His question hung in the air as I tried to gather my thoughts.

“Yes, I do, did she tell you what I said before?”

“She filled me in, but I'd like to hear it from you? Can you come down to the station so we can speak in person?”

Thumbing my lip, my eyes scanned around me, wondering if that asshole was watching from a distance. I didn't see him, but that didn't mean he wasn't tucked away someplace.

“I can come in a little bit.”

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