“No, that’s it for now.”
She stepped forward, her palm outstretched with the flash drive on it. When she was close enough, I pushed myself to my feet. I realized how small she was then. Even in her heels, I loomed over her. “Think about it, princess. This is your last chance to ask for something else.” Like my tongue on her clit.
Her gaze flickered to mine and held. “I don’t need anything else.”
“Okay.” I took the disk from her warm palm. “Glad to hear it. I guess we’re in bed together.”
She stunned me with a brilliant smile before she hit me where it hurt. “I don’t think you’re that lucky.” And then she turned on her heel, sashaying out, the red soles of her shoes mocking me as she clicked away. I’d just been outplayed by a player. And I couldn’t even be mad about it.
Ben
I waited until the day was over and let myself into East’s flat without even thinking about it. He didn’t usually bring women back to the penthouse. Anyone who was temporary he took to a room downstairs. He often told them that he was spoiling them with room service and all that jazz, but mostly, he just didn’t want them in his place. He looked up from his laptop. “You never knock, do you?”
“What’s the point?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Bridge was held up in his meeting.”
“Tell me you have good news.”
I held up the flash drive. “I have good news.”
East jumped up. “Thank fucking Christ. What did you have to give her?” He smiled at me lasciviously. “Did you show her Big Ben? Is that why she gave this to us?”
“Shut it. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t offer. But she wasn’t interested. Boyfriend and all that.”
“Ugh, what does it feel like to have a deflated ego?”
I tossed the drive at him, and he caught it one-handed. “Nothing deflated about my ego. It’s perfectly intact, just like always.”
He rolled his eyes then. “So, what did you have to give her?”
I poured a scotch and eased back on my usual spot, staring at the muted game of football on the telly. “I gave her a job.”
He laughed. “Seriously? You really did give her a job?”
“Yeah. And she’s qualified for it too. I don’t know why she’s been working as an admin.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
I winced. “There’s something else.”
He lifted a brow. “What?”
“She wants me to do some things for her.”
He grinned then. “See, I knew you’d get to the good part eventually. Tell me more.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I don’t know what these things are, but she assured me it would be nothing illegal or immoral.”
“Wait, she got you to agree to do something and you don’t know what it is?”
“I had to agree, or we wouldn’t have that.” I inclined my head toward his palm. “I did what I had to do.”
He grinned. “Well, if you’d shagged her, I would also be okay with that. You know, taking one for the team.”
Bridge opened the door a minute later. “Hey, losers. Ah, the prodigal son. Tell me you got it.”
I lifted my arms wide and said, “Have I ever failed you? Who’s your daddy?”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t lead with that question. I hate my father.”
I sighed. “Good point.”
East held up the drive. “We’ve got it. I’ll start the decryption tonight.”
Bridge laughed. “Well, golden boy delivers. What did you have to do to get it?”
I shrugged. “You know… Why do you have to ask such questions? The point is I got it. Just like I said I would.”
Bridge just turned his attention to East. “He shagged her, huh?”
East shook his head. “He claims he didn’t. But considering how well fit she is, I’m surprised. Watch. Give it a week. He’ll be begging her to shag.”
“Dream on.” I took a sip of my scotch. “I beg to no one.”
Bridge and East just exchanged glances, and then Bridge laughed. “How much?”
East sized me up with a long glance. “A hundred grand. I say before all of this is over, he’ll beg her and shag her.”
Bridge whistled low. “That’s your opening salvo? Okay, I’ll bite. I know my mate. She’s pussy. He can get that anywhere.”
I nodded. “Yes, I can get that anywhere. Olivia Ashong isn’t anything special.” Even as I said the words, something within the very core of my cells rebelled against them, shying away from that statement and wanting to expel it from my body. But I wasn’t saying a damn thing. Neither one of them needed to know. Mostly because they’d give me shit for the rest of my life, and I wasn’t in the mood for that.
“So, what’s the plan?” Bridge asked.
East nodded at his laptop. “Now we wait. We decrypt this and find out what information we have. It’s two months until the next voting meeting, one month until the next members’ meeting where Van Linsted will likely start calling in all his chips, so we have to be ready. We’ll reach out a hand to every member we can get on our side. He’ll be doing the same. We need to figure out who’s got the most weight and how to sway them. Emma is counting on us.”
Just those words, ‘Emma is counting on us,’ reminded us who else had counted on us and who we’d failed. We wouldn’t fail again. We owed that much and more to Toby.
Ben
“Toby. Toby!” Cold hands ripped me from my friend as I kicked and fought. I awoke from my recurring nightmare with sweat coating my skin and my breath coming in sharp, rugged pants. I glanced around, expecting to see my new brothers holding me back from the scene of Toby’s death, but they weren’t. I was in my room in my massive bed. The view of London open to me on three sides. I was safe.
Unlike Toby.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, scratching at the stubble on my jaw. “Fuck.”
I threw off the covers and then stripped the bed. I had soaked the sheets. Quickly, I dropped them on the hamper before grabbing a fresh set from the closet and remaking the bed. I dragged my ass into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. I stripped out of my boxers and climbed in, not caring that I was basically searing my skin. As I scrubbed off the sweat and tried to shake the vestiges of the dream that clung to me like slime, it didn’t matter how much soap I used. There was a smudge of dirt on my soul that I couldn’t get at.
I had failed him. We all had. And now it was time to fix it. Emma was right. We were the ones in the position to do something about it.
After I turned off the water, I grabbed my towel and quickly ran it through my hair and over my body. I grabbed a pair of boxers and a T-shirt. I knew there was no way I’d get back to sleep. I checked the time and groaned. It was only 1:30. If it was closer to five, it would make sense to get up and go on my run, get some exercise, and start the day early, but this was ridiculous.
I climbed back in bed and grabbed my laptop.