“And if I say no?”
The smile sharpens. “Then you’ll discover just how fast a man can lose everything he’s built.”
The air turns heavy, thick enough to choke on.
I lean back in my chair, forcing a smirk, though my pulse is hammering against my ribs. “You think you’re the first man to corner me? You’re not. And I’m still here.”
His eyes glitter. “You’re here because I allow it.”
The silence after that feels endless. My skin crawls. I want to break his neck, to put a bullet between his eyes and be done with it, but I know the kind of men who sit at tables like this. Kill one, two more appear, each hungrier than the last.
Rafe finally lifts a hand, casual, dismissive. “Take the week. Think it over. You’ll find the world much smaller than you believe.”
The two men at his side move then, stepping forward just enough to remind me that this isn’t a conversation—it’s a verdict.
I rise slowly, the chair scraping the floor. My eyes flick once to James, pale and stricken, before I pin Rafe with a last look. “If you’re going to play with fire,” I murmur, “be careful you don’t burn.”
Rafe only laughs. A slow, rich sound that follows me as I push through the doors and back into the dim stairwell.
But the truth gnaws at me with every step down.
I hadn’t walked out victorious.
I’d walked out owned.
The stairwell feels longer on the way down, each echo of my boots against the iron steps grinding deeper into my skull. James trails behind me, silent, and it’s that silence that makes my blood simmer.
By the time we hit the lobby, I’d had enough. I grab his arm, yanking him to the side where the glow of the neon doesn’t quite reach.
“What the fuck was that?” My voice is low, lethal.
James blanches. “Dean?—”
“No.” I jab a finger into his chest. “You walked me into that room blind, with him sitting there, and you thought I wouldn’t notice? You think I wouldn’t smell the setup a mile away?”
He swallows hard, throat bobbing. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Bullshit.” I slam him back against the wall, the sound of it cracking like a gunshot. “There’s always a choice. You either didn’t make one, or you made the wrong one.”
His eyes flicker, guilt written all over him. “They came to me. Weeks ago. Said if I didn’t—” He breaks off, jaw tightening, but I see the fear. It’s raw, real.
I lean in closer, my hand braced beside his head. “If you didn’t what?”
“They said they’d ruin me. They knew about… everything.” His voice is barely a whisper. “My debts. The girl.”
Christ. My gut twists, fury mixing with something uglier—disappointment. I’d taken him in, trusted him, and he’d handed me to the wolves because he couldn’t keep his own nose clean.
I step back just enough to keep from putting my fist through his face. “You just put me on Rafe’s leash, James. Do you have any idea what that means?”
His eyes dart, desperate. “I thought maybe you could handle it.”
“Handle it?” I bark out a bitter laugh. “This isn’t a boardroom negotiation. That man doesn’t play games. He burns people alive for fun. And you’ve tethered me to him.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
I stare at him for a long moment, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles ache. There’s a part of me that wants to walk away, leave him to whatever mess he’s dug, but I know it’s not that simple. Rafe doesn’t just ruin the weak link—he ruins everyone attached to it.
I lower my voice to a razor’s edge. “Listen carefully, because I won’t say it twice. You breathe a word of this to anyone, you look at me the wrong way, you so much as flinch around me—and I’ll deal with you myself before Rafe gets the chance. Are we clear?”
