Page 12 of The Secrets That Kill

She doesn’t want to be wet. Not for me. But my command hotwired a circuit that makes her body and mind buzz. I could watch her for days, test out her limits, and bring her pain and pleasure that makes her mind melt and her body open just for me.

“I don’t want?—”

My gaze catches hers and she stops talking, lifts the glass and takes a mouthful, shuddering as she swallows.

“Good.” I tap my fingers against my glass as I watch her, spinning out possible moves in my head. They’re all reaching the same end point, but it’s the B move to C I’m toying with.

I settle on one and go in for the kill.

“I’m sorry for your losses. All of them.”

She breathes in and takes another mouthful of scotch on her own. Ivy knows exactly what I’m saying.

And she’s got it right. Her fucking life’s an open book sitting in front of me. But I’m the one with the pen, filling in the blank pages past this moment.

Her life.

My hands.

She’s right to be scared.

“Are you stalking me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I keep tabs. I owe it to Jaxson.”

She shakes her head. “You sold him drugs.”

“That he wanted.” I nod. It’s true. But it’s not the whole story. “We were also friends. I saved you tonight, Ivy. You walked into a place I own, not the other way around. Cara goes often enough, so I know her.”

The trick is to tell enough of the truth to let her make her own connections. Cara goes there, it’s true. Me? Not so much, and I don’t mingle with patrons when I do. But Cara’s there more frequently because of our deal. A girl like that can’t resist VIP access to one of the coolest places in town.

I take care of her, and she delivered Ivy for me.

“You don’t need to like me. But this isn’t about a grudge.”

No. It’s revenge. The game is simple once you work it out. Patience is all you really need, and I have that in spades.

“Isn’t it?” she asks as she shoots me a look of pure dislike.

I smile. “Look at me. I’m beyond rich now. I work. I take care of problems.”

“Like what? You’re not the police.”

“No. I’m not. But now I use my money to right wrongs. And the things I saved you from tonight? Anton was nothing compared to the person I’m targeting, a man named Henderson.He—” I stop, shake my head. “Let’s just say I have a personal reason for finding him and punishing him, Ivy. And when I saw you tonight, it was like…fate. I can’t do this alone. I need help.”

“I’m not helping you.”

I ignore her words. “Have you heard of Broken Angel?”

“It’s a sex club, right?” She blushes as she asks. “I heard it’s for rich people. A place to be seen, to be bad in.”

“On the surface level, yes.” I drop my eyes to my glass for a split second, timing it perfectly. Ivy leans forward, like she can’t help herself. “But there are other businesses, other clubs and groups owned by Broken Angel. They’re all darker, way more perverted and downright criminal than a club for the rich.”

“I don’t?—”

I lift my gaze back to her and hold up a hand to stop her from speaking. She presses her fingertips into her glass, her eyes bright and wide with curiosity.

“The men who frequent Broken Angel’s underbelly appreciate girls like you. Like your sister. Sweet and innocent. And there are monsters who like the kind of injuries Elise has. Injuries that make her weak, unable to fight against them. They will use that vulnerability in their depraved brand of sexual torment. They hurt women. They turn some into sex slaves, and… do things to them.”

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