“Internado’s cheating on his wife—the one he made a public fuss over reconciling with—only, this time, he’s gotten smarter about not getting caught. Instead of screwing his office staff or propositioning any attractive woman who gets within three feet of him, he’s gone underground. There’s chatter he’s playing in a very exclusive, very discreet group. Everyone is hard-core. Masks and aliases are required. The onboarding process is lengthy.”
Maverick scraped his fingers over his whiskered cheeks.
“Infiltrate the group and capture video of him,” Sin continued. “Now you have the power. He’s days from announcing his run for Governor and he’s favored to win. Threaten to throw a monkey wrench into his campaign by going public with the video and he’ll fly right.”
“I stoop to his level and, what—blackmail him into reversing the committee’s findings?”
“That hearing was theater. Internado pulled some nasty shit to throw you under the bus. If an X-rated video of him at a kink club went viral, he would be forced to drop out of the race. Possibly even resign his current position. His career means everything to him, Ash.”
“I see.” Shaking his head, Maverick pushed off the chair.
Sinclair’s gaze hovered on Carly before shifting back to his brother. “Why aren’t you fired up?”
“There’s gotta be another way.”
“There isn’t. He’s been running amok for decades. No one gets a free pass for this long.”
Maverick respected the rules. He believed honesty was the only way.
“If you don’t get the upper hand, your career is finished,” Carly said.
He stared into her eyes, alight with energy. “You know I don’t fight dirty.”
She hitched her brow. “Maybe it’s time you did.”
“Carly’s right,” Sinclair said. “He’s leaving you no choice. You do nothing, he destroys your company. You’ll have to let your employees go. Families will suffer. Your clients will, too. What about future hostages ThunderStrike can’t rescue? What happens to them?”
His clenched his hands. “Dammit.”
Tense silence hung in the air.
“Or you fight back,” Sinclair said. “And you show him who’s really running the show.”
If I do nothing, he wins and everyone else suffers. The truth has got to come out. Steeling his spine, Maverick slid his gaze from Sinclair to Carly. “I’ll do it.”
Sinclair made a call. “Greta, Sin. How are you, beautiful? I have a couple,”—Carly shot to attention—“who are close friends of mine. They’re very discreet, very private, and they’re ready to take their kink to the next level.”
Carly stared at Maverick, intensity pouring from her.
“She was a Top. Now she’s a Switch.” As Sinclair listened, his eyebrow arched ever so slightly as his attention shifted from Maverick to Carly. “Exhibitionism.”
She whipped her head toward Sinclair. “Oh, God.”
“They’re searching for something unique,” Sinclair explained. “If they become members, it’ll be my gift to them.” He shot them a devilish smile. “They’re newlyweds. Mr. and Mrs. Black.”
1 6
M R . A ND M R S . B L A C K
C arly’s stomach flipped while her pulse took off. She couldn’t wait to play with Ashton again, but there was no way—no way —she could pretend to be his wife. She couldn’t fake it with the only man she’d ever loved. When the ruse ended, her heart would shatter.
Propping her hands on her hips, she glared at Sinclair. “What the hell was that?”
“How’s he supposed to get this done without you?”
“How much do I owe you?” Ash quipped.
Carly flicked her gaze to him. “Didn’t you hear what he just did?”
