by Shayne Ford
His men halt and then pull away. He drags me to a side exit door and takes me to the back rooms. He unlocks a door and shoves me into his office.
He lets go of me.
“I’m listening... Make it short. I don’t have time for you.”
“I heard the news on TV this evening. My dad said you had contacted him before the City Council’s session, asking for his vote.”
He shrugs.
“So? He voted against it and as it turned out, I didn’t need his vote.”
“What did you say to him, James?”
He narrows his eyes, his gaze scorching me.
“What do you want from me, Rain?”
“It was more than asking him, isn’t it?”
His eyes bore into mine, defiant.
He says nothing.
“Is this what I was for you? Some sort of leverage?” The room feels darker and colder, like his eyes. “Is this what you’ve been doing? Collecting information on people and then using it at your convenience when you needed a favor, a little nudge here and there, a proposal to get passed, financing to get approved or a permit to be released? Is this what Red’s is?” I ask, pointing at the mirror wall and the crowd inside.
A mask of stone sets on his face.
“Did you use me?” I ask softly, a cascade of tears breaking in my voice. “All those women you took at the Dark House were not only beautiful. Their fathers are or were influential people. Many of them left town or broke up with their men after you took them there,” I say, whimpering.
He doesn’t say anything for a few moments as if he ponders over something.
“Talk to me, James!”
His jaw clenches, his eyes throwing flames.
“You want the truth, Rain?”
“Yes. I want the fucking truth!”
He walks around the desk, unlocks a drawer, fumbles through a few boxes, and pulls out a memory stick.
He plops it in my hand.
“Here, this is the fucking truth.”
“What’s this?”
“Your dad, your sister, your brother-in-law. Take it home, watch it and do whatever the hell you want with it if you’re so vested in truth.”
My mouth drops open.
“I needed your dad’s vote. It was a desperate situation, and he was my last chance. He didn’t budge, and you know what I think? He looked like someone who had nothing to lose, and the only time men do that is when they’d rather see everything crumble around them and free themselves of a life they can no longer stand. He didn’t give a damn that your mom would find out. When he said no to me, I was convinced I was going to lose the whole damn thing. He said he'll vote against my project and he'll turn other people against me to make sure I don’t get enough votes. He wasn’t an option from the get-go. I didn’t want to approach him. And you know why? Because I didn’t want to destroy your family, and then I realized I couldn't ruin something that’s already in shambles. I can merely shine a light on it. All the information that I have on everybody else, I didn’t use it once. I didn’t have to. People did me a lot of favors because they figured out I might have something on them but using it was always the last resort. I wined and dined and sold the shit out of every business idea I had, and yes I do have information on pretty much everyone in town. Call it marketing research for all I care. The women we fucked at the Dark House came to us. We never coaxed anyone. We merely picked the ones we liked. It was clean, consenting sex. We had enough shit on their dads, we didn’t need their tribulations. The reason they left and changed their lives was because they had a fucking epiphany which I hope you’ll have one day too.”
I look at him thunderstruck.
“You were not part of anything, Rain. You’re only a girl I had the misfortunate to run into in front of my club, a girl I thought was different.”He locks the drawer. “My dad was fucking right. When mom left us, he didn’t need a Powerpoint slide to understand how the rest of his life would be, or how the rest of the women are. He got it, and he taught me, but I fucking forgot it when I met you.”
He straightens his back and points to the door.
“Now, get the hell out. Go, enjoy your pauper, idyllic life in Manhattan’s gutter, fucking stupid kid!”
“James?”
“Get the fuck out!” he thunders, and I slip out the door, run through the club and slip outside, dragging with me a long sobbing breath.
* * *
To Be Continued
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End of JAMES, A Night of the Kings Novel
Also by Shayne Ford
NIGHT OF THE KINGS SERIES
(A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance)
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JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #1)
DARK JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #2)
TAMING JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #3)
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GOLDEN HEIR SERIES
(A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance)
* * *
SHADE (Golden Heir Series #1)
* * *
STEEL SERIES (A Bad Boy Rock Star Romance)
* * *
Layla’s Story
River Steel (Steel Series #1)
Loving River (Steel Series #2)
* * *
River’s Story (Companion Books to Layla’s Books)
RIVER (Steel Series #3)
River’s Heart (Steel Series #4)
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WILD HEART SERIES.
(BAD BOYS Menage Bisexual Romance)
* * *
TWO MEN. ONE WOMAN. THREE LOVERS.
* * *
JAGGER (Wild Heart Series #1)
LOVING JAGGER (Wild Heart Series #2)
LOVING BRAXTON (Wild Heart Series #3)
WILD NIGHTS (Wild Heart Series #4)
FINDING HOME (Wild Heart Series #5)
About the Author
Shayne Ford writes New Adult, Erotic Romance novels. 18+ audience only. The male cast includes Rock Stars, Billionaires, Bad Boys, Alphas with a heart, and the sweet, strong man you may find next door. The stories are emotional and deliciously hot. Sometimes they're unconventional, and sometimes they are a bit dark.
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