Page 48 of Reveal

“You’re fucking her too, then?”

“I don’t sleep with clients.”

“Apparently Vaughn does,” he says and then tsks when I shift in my chair, my fist clenched as I bite my tongue. In our last conversation, I basically confirmed that Vaughn is Vee. There’s not a chance in hell I’m going to make that mistake again. Stupid, because Carter already knows it, but I’ve learned my lesson. “It’d be a shame for you to take a swing at me right now. My security detail is a little bored as of late and might be a little too eager to take care of you. Besides, there are too many connections between us right now, so you don’t want to risk being noticed.”

“It just might be worth it.” I meet his glare and lift an eyebrow in a taunt. The tension thickens as I wait for him to make the next move.

It’s his call. Ramp this down, or take the hit my fist is begging to throw.

“You know what, Lockhart? I’ll tell you the same thing I told your hired help.” He shakes his glass so the ice rattles.

“What’s that?”

“I’m not the best guy to threaten. While I’m sure your ego is large enough to think that a part of this has to do with me pursuing Vaughn to get back at you for screwing me over with Bianca, you’d be wrong. While I normally wouldn’t put it past me to be that vindictive, don’t think so highly of yourself that I care anything about you one way or another. If I want to get back at you, sure, I’d fuck her and take every ounce of pleasure hearing her cry out my name . . . but it’s easier than that. All I have to do is let Roxanne talk. Offer to pay my old friend what she’d stand to lose if that divorce settlement of hers is overturned due to her attorney’s misconduct. She’d be more than willing to throw you under the bus for that with the whole woman-scorned bit she’s playing. A few gossip mills later and your reputation will take a big hit over how you sleep with your clients’ wives and then go soft during negotiations against their favor. That would be payment enough.”

And Roxanne resurfaces once again . . . fucking cocksucker. If he’s trying to hit every please-break-my-nose-with-a-punch button, he’s more than succeeded. I shift in my seat to abate the urge and take in a deep breath.

Keep your focus, Ryk. While punching the hell out of him will make you feel better, it does nothing to get him to back the fuck off of Vaughn. De-escalate the situation.

“Vaughn’s off limits,” I grit out. “Not because you want to get back at me, but because she’s not someone you want to get tangled with. She goes down, you go down.”

“She’s going to go down all right, and it’s going to be on me.” He tilts his glass up and empties its contents with a satisfied sigh. “You see? I don’t care if she’s with you or not with you or if you’ve gone soft and now are a pussy. I want her, and I will have her for no other reason than to even a score. Yes. I’m a sick bastard like that. No woman gets the upper hand on me and gets away with it. And I’ll fucking get off on every goddamn moment of it.”

I try to remain calm and not engage. I’m realizing that the more I react, the more I fight, the more adamant he becomes to have her.

“No man uses fear to corral a woman.”

“She’s not a woman, Lockhart. She’s a whore. And you’ll thank me in the future for reminding you of that little fact.”

“Half of Washington has dirt on you, Senator. You going to hate-fuck all of them as well?”

“If I need to.” His smile is cold and calculating and begs me to say more, but I refrain. My body is so taut with anger my muscles ache. “Cat got your tongue?”

“Nope. Just trying to figure out how an asshole like you hasn’t been killed by a guy like me yet.”

He chuckles and taps his glass against mine. “You go from all but serving up Vaughn’s pussy on a platter to me to defending her as if she’s your holy grail. What happened to using sex to garner fear and then gain power? Where did that eager little beaver who gobbled up my advice go?” His chuckle rumbles through the bar as I let him ramble to see what else he’s going to say to me. And fuck if it isn’t one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. “You think there wasn’t a reason I didn’t tell you what I had on her? You think I haven’t been around the block enough times to feel out the fucker who screws me over by taking my wife on as a client and then promises to let me sample his whore? More importantly, I have you admitting on tape that you pay a woman to have sex with you. I have you offering to pay her to have sex with me. Bribing a politician is a serious offense, Ryker. You’re a lawyer. You should know that.”

“You son of a bitch.” It’s all I can think to say as my mind tumbles out of control. Over how I walked right into his trap without blinking a fucking eye. I said her name, and it was recorded. Fucking hell. Now one misstep by me won’t only screw me but will have enough fallout to devastate Vaughn in more ways than I could ever imagine.

“Don’t worry, though. I won’t use it against you unless you fuck with me. Unless you intervene between Vaughn and me.” He leans in closer so I can smell the alcohol on his breath and the scent of snake oil from his slimy soul. “I play games for a living, Lockhart. You let your guard down and forgot that part. But don’t you worry—I’ll get what I need from you and what I want from her, one way or another.”

I bite back the rage that consumes me. At him for being a prick and playing the game better than anyone I’d like to admit. At me for walking into a setup I should have seen a fucking mile away. For sitting here like a shell-shocked bastard as he walks away instead of punching his goddamn lights out.

Now what, Ryk?

She came to your office. She finally confessed what happened. And then she begged you not to confront him. Not to push his limits, because who knows how an irrational fuck like him would take it.

And of course she was right.

Nothing’s changed now other than that you did exactly what she feared: you stoked the fire, so now it’s burning even brighter for the pyromaniac to sit back and play with until everything burns down around us.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ryker

“Stuart.” It’s how I greet my private investigator when he answers my call.

“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t a simple request to see how my day is going?” Stuart asks with a chuckle.