Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 71949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I seethe.
“Still, I can see you’re not truly frightened, so I won’t attempt to scare you. That seems moot at this point anyway because I don’t need your fear. I only need to control you.” He steps closer and taps the vial against the phone. “We both have something to trade.”
“Untie me,” I say. I’m trying to buy seconds to think, but the rope digs into the inside of my wrists. My pulse drums in my ears.
He crouches so his face is level with mine. “Listen to me, Bellamy. I can make your life very small. I can make your brother Falcon wish he’d never drawn breath. He has enemies on the inside, and I know all of them. And your little brother? Eagle? I’ve got even more on him.” The words are quiet but heavy. “But I would rather have you useful. I would rather have a man like you on his knees when I call.”
Something cold roots itself inside me. This is blackmail, plain and simple. He’s forcing me into a debt.
“You think I don’t know how to get to the Bellamys?” he murmurs. “You think I haven’t watched how you all hold virtue like a shield? Give me a little push—just one thing—and watch how quickly your old man will trade integrity for stability. You’re like all men. You’ll fold when the fire is hot enough.”
The way he says it—like it’s always been a simple experiment—makes my skin crawl. He’s right. Power bends people. I’ve seen it. I’ve been on the outside watching my family pretend not to see what’s under their boots. But to be the tool? To be the lever? The idea repels me.
He continues, “Funny how easy it is to get a Bellamy to turn his back on his morals with just a little leverage.”
Anger slides up my spine. “What do you want?” I demand.
He grins, and for a second that grin looks almost harmless. “One call. One favor. You’ll do it when I say. You won’t question. You won’t hesitate. You will obey. In exchange, I destroy the vial. I erase any link between you and my home. I will keep my mouth shut and let you walk. No charges. No prison.”
“You think I’ll be your puppet?” I say, tasting bile. “You think I’ll do your laundry and call you my master?”
He shrugs. “I think you’re a man who hates being boxed into the choice between letting men like me run free and becoming the man you swore you wouldn’t. This way, you get to keep your hands clean—on paper at least. And I get my leverage.”
I try to pull once more against the ropes. I must be naïve or reckless or both, but I always believed in right and wrong. Black and white. This negotiation is a new color. One I can’t stomach.
“Is the favor violent?” I ask.
He leans back. “I don’t want you to hurt people. Not unless absolutely necessary. You said you won’t become your father. Fine.” He taps the vial. “No one will get hurt, Hawk. Not if you keep your promise. But you do as I say when I call.”
A small part of my brain calculates. Options. Prison. Exposure. Falcon. Eagle. A dozen broken things. The thought of Falcon sitting in a cell because of me is a hot coal. The thought of Eagle dead in an alley is another. And the most important of all.
Daniela.
Reyes is a predator with a long list of sins. Letting him go feels like betrayal of the victims. Making this bargain stains me.
“If I do this,” I say finally, “it’s on the condition that the favor doesn’t involve hurting people. I need your fucking word on that point, Reyes.”
“Agreed,” he says finally. “No one gets hurt.” He eyes me, slow and appraising. “But it has to be immediate. You do it when I call. No hesitation. No questions. I don’t care if you’re in the middle of your damned honeymoon. You get on a plane and take care of business.”
I take the phone with hands that don’t quite feel like mine. It’s warm, like a living thing. The vial glints in the bulb’s light and then Reyes snaps it shut and tucks it into his pocket. He loosens one of the ropes enough so that I’ll be able to free myself.
“You have my word,” I say.
My word—my oath—settles over me like a suffocating plastic bag.
I don’t like that I said it.
I don’t like that I meant it.
Reyes stands, straightens his shirt, and smiles. “Good,” he says. “Now get out of my house, Bellamy. And when the phone rings, you take the fucking call.”
12
DANIELA
I find nothing.
A chill ripples through me, crawling under my skin until I have to rub my arms to chase it off.
But I can’t stop. Not now.
The idea of Belinda sneaking out of Chef Charleston’s house in the middle of the night to meet a stranger makes my stomach twist. After everything she’s been through. After everything we promised her this home would be. Safe. Stable. Loving.