Page 48 of Cruel God

I straightened my suit jacket sleeves, taking no more than two seconds to decide what my next move would be to make for great fucking entertainment before tonight’s events.

“I’ll make you a deal.” I turned to face him. “I will give you a no bullshit answer to your question, on one condition.”

“What?”

I smirked, loosening my tie and pulling it from around my neck. “You play.”

His eyebrows slanted inward in question, his confusion forming grooves on his forehead. “What do you mean I play?”

I slowly approached him, my Italian leather shoes easing across the carpet. “We both know how I love to be entertained. You and Piper.”

Colton’s expression hardened.

“You’ll both join me in one of the many playrooms we have at our disposal here, and you will, well…entertain me.” I accentuated every syllable, leaving no room for confusion as to what my demands were.

Colton narrowed his eyes at me. “You really are one sick motherfucker.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“I won’t do it.”

I shrugged. “Fine. Then I won’t be answering your question any time soon.”

Just as I was about to turn and walk away with my offer, Colton called out, “Wait.”

I stopped, still fucking smirking because I knew I had a rope around his neck, a cord I could tighten whenever I pleased and make the son of bitch do whatever I wanted. Just. Like. God.

“Only if Piper agrees.”

“Oh, Mr. Riggs.” I turned to face him. “Of course, she will agree. She’s a pet.”

“She’s a person.”

“She’s a fucking number,” I sneered. “Have you not seen the tattoo on her wrist? That’s what she is, Colton. A number. Nothing more.” I placed my hands in my pants pockets. “And the best part is, she has no desire to be anything else.”

Colton shook his head, biting his bottom lip in disbelief. “You don’t know that.”

“Oh, I do. No one knows these girls better than I do.” I shot him a sly grin. “I know these girls…inside and out because I—”

“Fine,” he blurted. “Fine. I’ll do it. But I have my own terms to negotiate.”

I snorted. “This is not a fucking democracy, and I do not negotiate. Do as I say, and I will answer your fucking question. Easy. Now, you have three seconds to decide. One. Two. Th—”

“Okay.” He sucked in a breath, rubbing his hand behind his neck. “I’ll do it.”

“Good. Now get cleaned up. I’ll send Piper to escort you to the room of my choosing.” I patted him on the shoulder, shooting him a coy smile. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

I walked off, my spine practically tingling with the potential of the day ahead. The man was so fucking desperate to find Hope, he was naïve enough to believe I’d tell him anything when it came to his sister.

There was no way I was going to show Colton all my cards. Only an idiot would do something as reckless as that. Every good player knew to give their opponent just enough to think they had a chance in winning, when in fact, your hand consisted of a royal fucking flush. I had come this far, and I was not about to lose because one idiot was determined to find a sister he would never get his hands on. Not while I lived and breathed. Everything I had done so far was to secure Hope’s place in my life, to make sure no one ever took her away from me. I had every damn security measure in place to keep her safe, but unfortunately, tonight, I had to take a bigger risk than I had ever done before. Tonight I needed to raise the stakes by putting everything on the line.Everything.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make, and it wasn’t something I took lightly. But after weeks of consideration, trying to figure out another way, I came up with nothing. So it had to be done. But I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t nervous—which was why a little distraction from Colton and Piper was very much needed.

My shoes had just touched the first step of the spiral staircase when I heard Piper.

“Master.”

I stopped, and instant annoyance fogged my mind. “Yes, Piper.”

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