“It is,” I contradict her and walk off.
I feel her stomp off, in the exact same manner she approached me with. I go back to the bar, Eli and Brianna watching me intently.
“I don’t know whether to get your death warrant to sign or give you a round of applause, Chica,” Brianna teases as I walk over with my head held high.
“Get me another Viper’s Bite,” I demand, ignoring her comment, as I slump down onto my barstool beside Brianna. We’ve still got thirty minutes before we’ll even think about opening, and I need to work this tension away.
“Joely!” My name pierces the air. I feel each syllable of my name punctuated the quiet room and all eyes are immediately on me.
It’s barely been two minutes since I sat down. I look up only to see Clara staring at me. I have never – and I mean never – seen her this angry. I have pushed her and forced her into corners she would never have been in had she never tracked me down, but apparently something has happened so bad she has bent and broken.
Her pace across the room is matched with each thump of her heels against the room as she stomps heavily. She’s clutching a black book with gold detailing, and I have no idea what she’s about to show me. All I know is clients sign it when they leave, declaring their name and the girls they’re interested in most.
“You lie to me one more time I will see to you being thrown so far into hell you’ll be begging for death.” I can hear she’s trying to hold back on allowing her aggression to rip right through her, but she’s failing miserably.
“I don’t know what you’re insinuating, Clara!” I declare, unable to recognize what this is over.
“I’m not insinuating anything, you delinquent!” Clara spits at me as if the thoughts tumbling out are venomous. “Jace Mason even signed the client book last night. I have the proof.” Her face reddens. “From the man himself!”
She hands me the book on the page, and I can’t help myself. I just grin and begin to giggle.
In Jace’s screw, he’s stated very clearly what his intentions are:
‘The Boss,
Sometimes the hunted become the hunters. I’ll be seeing you soon with a surprise, Delvine. Jace Mason – your soon to be worst nightmare.
P.S. Thanks for allowing me to dance with my wife. She saw straight through the guise.
P.P.S . She’ll always be my Viper Girl.’
My sudden comical response only further angers Clara and I know I should have retained my humor, but it’s written there, in blood red ink the intent Jace has. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but I can only assume it will be sooner than I think. Otherwise, Jace wouldn’t have allowed me to be in the firing line quite so publicly, quite so soon.
“Take her to my office!”
I’m not given a moment’s notice as Sam grabs me, and I’m dragged to the lion’s den.
Chapter Twenty-One
The biting of the riding crop never becomes familiar. It burns, tortures and leaves a soul deep wound.
I didn’t scream out until the fifth time and that’s only because Clara allowed Sam to have a shot at whipping me. He carried far more force than Clara, and my arms buckled beneath me. Now I’m on my sixth slap of the leather, and my back feels like it’s on fire. I’m being punished for my husband’s actions, but I would never give up a moment with him. I can take this, and that’s the one thing Clara has trouble acknowledging. My will is far stronger than her abuse.
The knock on the door prevents me receiving the seventh lash, and I exhale.
“What?” Clara belts out, taking a step away from me.
“You’ve got two visitors.” Shads enters the room with apprehension, even with my back to the door, his usually hard tone wavers some. “They aren’t leaving until they’ve seen yourself and Joely.”
I look up in time to see Clara roll her eyes, lift the end of the riding crop to play with it and sigh. “Fine, let them in. They can get firsthand experience of what a wayward woman she is.”
“They won’t like that,” Shads notes dryly, still unmoved from the door.
“And I don’t pay you to make assumptions, Shads,” Clara waves him off and the room fills with silence for a moment until Clara crouches down. She grabs my face. “We are so far from over. I’m even tempted to send that man of yours a little warning of what sort of bother he’s gotten you into.” Clara then stands up, and I hear her falter on her own breathing. “Or not,” she murmurs. “Mr. Mason,” Clara’s voice cracks through into my broken soul. “You’re not welcome in my club. It’s best you leave before I had you forcibly removed.”
Clara steps in beside my cowering mess of a body. The slightly bloodied riding crop sits between us, almost like a reminder that I’m not to move. I keep my head bowed, my eyes streaming with tears. I want to be hopeful, but I can’t. I don’t know what Jace has brought to the table, but if I know Clara, she’ll have ways to defeat him and keep me here for even longer than before.
I don’t want to feel my hopes dashed.
Jace hasn’t spoken, no one has, but Clara clicks her fingers, Sam stepping in. He’s now on my other side. I’m framed by the devil and her advocate, and I’m vulnerably facing away from them all. My back on show, the welts hissing with the ventilated air whooshing around Clara’s office.
“I’d appreciate he gets away from my wife, because I’m not leaving until you’ve heard me out and we’ve reached a reasonable agreement,” Jace speaks with fierce clarity. He’s harsh with his pronunciations, and his tone is riddled with fury. “And I’m not leaving unless Joely comes with me.”
Clara cackles at that. It’s full blown hysteria, and I can hear Sam grunting on what seems to be a humorous comment they’ve taken from Jace’s demand.
“You’re one stupid man, Mr. Mason,” Clara comments, her words now spoken back with a stern manner. “You know Joely and I have an agreement. She’s mine for the foreseeable future ,and you get to live.”
“Believe me, Delvine, you wouldn’t want to touch a hair on my head.” Jace is full of confidence right now, and all I want is to run to him when he’s in all his glory. “I’d appreciate it if you’d step away from my wife and allow her to face me.”
“Very well,” Clara concedes and steps away, shooting Sam a look.
I go to move on my own, but Sam grabs me by my hair and forces me standing. I grunt against his hold, feeling the roots of my hair scream in pain. When I’m spun, I’m met with my husband and my father, both looking at Sam as if they’re going to kill him. I’m pretty sure my heart has stopped entirely in this moment. They’re both here in sleek suits – Jace’s is gray with a light blue shirt under it, a skinny tie with it. My father in a charcoal-colored suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie. They’re here for business and won’t leave until it’s over. They’re just enraged by my current mistreatment.
“You didn’t say gently,” Clara comments, clearly recognizing their expressions. “Put her down, Sam, so these amateurs can get on with their business here.”
Sam does so, throwing me to the ground. I break my fall by landing on my hands, and I push myself up to sit up. I’m agitated now, and I’m nearing my breaking point with Sam. I don’t know about Jace, but the last few days have had me raging and soon I will go for Clara’s jugular if anything bad happens here.
“You’ll regret doing that,” Jace remarks with leveling aggression. He’s finding it harder to open his clenched jaw, and if I can hear it, I hope Sam does too. “We still have unfinished business. Call it my repayment for kidnapping me and ever laying a finger on my wife.”
“She enjoyed it,” Sam opposes him, his voice drizzles with his heartlessness, the callousness hits every note and syllable. “Didn’t you, Joely?”
“Fuck you,” I swear up at him. “You deserve everything you get.”
“Well, while it’s nice having this little fighting talk going on,” Clara interposes me, stepping, once more, beside me. “What is it you are really here for, Mr. Mason? Because I’m pretty
damn sure it’s not to atagonize my staff.”
“I’m here to cut you a deal,” Jace mentions, taking a step forward.
“And why on earth would I want to make a deal with you?” Clara asks him quizzically. She’s trying to prevent herself from laughing. “What have you got that’s of any interest to me.”
Jace’s face fills with elation at being asked, a cunning smirk twisting upon his gorgeous lips. “Where do we start?” he begins and reaches into the inside of his blazer. He pulls out multiple sheets of folded A4 size paper. He opens it and aims his attention upon Clara. “First off, I must praise your ability to hide everything that happens with the girls in your club.”
“What can I say?” Clara asks him, offering a nonchalant shrug. “Their privacy is a valuable aspect to me.” Remaining cool, Clara goes and sits on the desk, setting the riding crop down.
Jace sniggers. “Shame you’ve put at least four doctors jobs at risk for getting them to write up mock reports as to what really happened with girls who get hurt in your care. My wife’s was the most shocking,” Jace remarks unimpressed. "When I have to read the real medical report of the damage that bastard did to her, I realized I couldn't allow you continue on with this. I couldn't allow you to just keep getting these girls hurt and think it’s okay. It isn't! You're sick and twisted, and it's time someone makes a stand against this."
He’s snapped and I look at him. I had tried to not gaze at him or my father for fear of what I’d see, but Jace is a gauntlet of emotions. The most evident is his rage; he’s practically shaking with it. He’s enamored with fury, ignited with hatred for what he’s found.
“I knew back when I snuck into Joely’s hospital room what you had said to the doctors, and it was noted she was in a car crash. How they fell for that when her injuries weren’t consistent I will never know.”
“It’s called money,” Clara sneers gleefully. “You can get whatever results you so want when you flash a few hundred dollar bills.”
“I’ve learned that recently,” Jace agrees. I have no idea where he’s going with his, but Clara isn’t in a hurry to back away from her superiority. “So here’s the deal,” Jace takes a step forward, offering Clara the paperwork. “You get these, I have copies don’t you worry, and, in return, I get Joely’s contract.” Jace puts his hand up to stop Clara as she goes to retort. “Along with it, I’ll get those four doctors, who know exactly what you do, to forget about their testimonies against you and your treatment of your Viper Girls.”
“How do I know you’re not bluffing?” Clara rebukes Jace’s stake of claims against her. “How do I know you’re not lying to me just so you can have your precious wife away from me and the club?”
“Because I would take great delight in opening all your closets and allowing the police to have a field day uncovering the true nature of The Viper Rooms,” Jace announces, hoping to quake fear in Clara. “I mean there are counts of abuse, fraud, prostitution, and that’s just to name a few.” Folding his arms over his chest, Jace steadies his glare in Clara’s direction. “Now I know I can’t save all the girls out there, but I can save the most important one first.”
“And if I decline?” Clara questions, meeting Jace’s level of power.
Jace laughs at her. “We have a plan B.”
“In that case,” Clara’s face illuminates with a bright smile. “I’m not accepting this deal. She’s still mine.”
“Suit yourself.” Jace gets his iPhone out, gives me a quick look and then unlocks the phone only to dial a number. He holds the phone to his ear and after two quick rings he speaks, “Yeah, it’s time,” Jace speaks down a phone. He says no more, but the room goes deathly silent. “You’ll like my final deal breaker.”
For once, the man smiling at Clara is a stranger. It appears I wasn’t the only one to find a fresher fight within all the chaos of a few short weeks. Jace appears to be mentally stronger, ready to save me how he’s always wished he could and stop allowing Clara having her way. There’s a menacing glow around him, and it scares me a little to see this. The Viper Rooms has broken many, but Jace is the scariest one of all.
Clara begins to tap her foot against the hard floor of her office with impatience. However, the moment she catches sight of Jace’s secret game player, she stops and I look up to see her jaw slack in shock. I turn to see who’s driven The Boss to speechless, but I don’t recognize him. The man who walks in is gray-haired, aging, but still powerful in a well ironed suit. He steps in with poise and gives me one look before giving Clara a disdainful glance. He runs his eyes up and down, taking her all in.
“Hello, Clara,” he speaks. Just by the manner he speaks with, I can tell he’s from an affluent lifestyle. If his clothes hadn’t screamed, his manner definitely does. “I think we need to talk.”
“About what?” Clara practically squeaks. “I don’t understand why you’ve involved him in this, Mr. Mason.”
“Plan B,” Jace leers to Clara, looking very satisfied.
There’s one chaste moment between us. He looks at me, gives me a wink, and I know that I won’t be sleeping in my apartment tonight. I’ll be with Jace. There isn’t anything to question it in Jace’s mind, and I need to accept the same mentality.
“I’ve drawn up those divorce paper,” he speaks, and the room gets a hell of a lot colder under the animosity in his words. “It’s taken me twenty-one years, but I finally found my get out clause.”
My head snaps up to look at Clara at that admission. Hang on, one minute! Clara’s still married?! Since when? My mind is boggled by this sudden new influx of information. Clara Delvine is 1notorious for her sham of a marriage which led her to be one of the most successful women in New York. She worked from the bottom up, now I know how she got her endless amounts of money – her husband.
I can tell there’s more juicy details to be found, but that’s clearly irrelevant.
“You don’t want to leave me, Daniel,” Clara chides, her nerves taking over. “Not after all we’ve been through.”
“I think I paid penance long enough,” Daniel scorns Clara, his face full of putrid derision. “You’ve kept me cornered in this marriage and all the while I was the man who sat aside and paid for you to have your fun. Not anymore. We had our issues, but ultimately you were what made our marriage a sham.”
“You stopped loving me,” Clara voices her claim. It’s the same as she told us when we all entered the club. It’s how she made herself seem like such a victim. It’s how she familiarized with us, and it’s now all a lie.
“Because you stopped well before I ever did,” he answered coldly. “I can’t allow you to rule my life anymore. You’re passed saving.”
“Don’t leave me,” Clara begs him, and her pleading hits me hard. It’s pathetic coming from the woman who has such power. “Please, Daniel, I need you. I really do. I’ll do anything, but please don’t leave me.”
The tension in the room is becoming vastly uncomfortable. We all seem to notice there is more to the dissolution of their marriage than either will freely admit and, if I’m honest, I don’t want to know all the gory details. What happens behind closed doors is their business, but a human need allows my curiosity to root for every detailed word of what’s got two people in a warped, loveless marriage.
“Anything?” Daniel asks her inquisitively, and she bobs her head vigorously. “Give Mr. Mason his wife’s contract and cut all ties with her and give up you tirade of ever having her back here.” He watches Clara struggle with the deal. “It’s her contract or you sign the divorce paper and I will be looking for repayment of all the money I loaned you and you’re exploited to the world for what you really are.” He slips the divorce papers away, proving how willing he is to keep their marriage and then slides his hands into his suit pant pockets. “The decision is solely yours. Is one girl really worth the risk of losing everything?”
Clara’s mouth twists, unable to accept either bargain. Either way she’s losing a great deal. On the one hand her emp
ire and monetary worth is ready to be taken from her, and on the other, she loses a girl and with it pride.
Either is detrimental damage to the Clara Delvine image.
“We don’t have all night, Clara,” Daniel pushes her, trying to coerce her to an overall decision. “Opening time is in five minutes. The choice is yours.”
“Fine!” Clara exclaims miserably. “Get her out of my sight before I change my mind,” Clara declares defeat; turning her back and going to her own side of the desk. She reaches into a drawer, searches through it and pulls out a file. She comes back, brandishing it before it throwing it at Jace. “Now!”
“Count it done,” Jace agrees and doesn’t offer Clara chance to back down. “You come near Joely again, and I’ll make sure your little side business is blown so far out in the open, no corner of the world will hide you.”
As he finalizes his summation, my shoulders drop. The weight of my contract taken from me, and I’m left feeling incredibly weak. I feel Jace drop his jacket over my shoulders and then he scoops me up into his arms. As he turns with me cradled against him safely, I see my father standing just to the side holding my contract, looking at ease. My time here is finally over. That’s the deal. I’m finally free.
As I’m carried out, my freedom is short-lived, as my soul takes into account all that I’m being taken away from. I’m free, but so many aren’t. There’s no fairness in that. It’s harder to ignore when I see Brianna’s face as Jace turns to carry me up the narrow staircase. She looks so broken being left behind again. My heart aches, but there’s nothing I can do. My actions are empty right now, but this isn’t the end. Far from it.
I can’t carry on believing that Clara will be free to reign down whatever hellish reality she wishes.
This isn’t how it ends. It can’t be. Even if for now I can believe it is.
“You saved me,” I whisper to Jace, my first words spoken to him.
The Runaway Viper (Viper #2) Page 24
