“With my money.”
He nodded. “With your money and your mouth shut.”
Tap-tap-tap. Sin stepped into the shadows of the dark bathroom, pulled out his phone, and started recording.
The door opened. “Hello, Ms. Rider.” Crow entered and shut the door behind him.
“Always a pleasure, Mr. Rocket.”
He sat on the futon and Midnight started dancing to the music coming from the ceiling speakers. She turned away and, while wiggling her ass, she unhooked her bra and dropped it on the floor.
“Oh, baby, I love your tits,” Crow said, as she turned to face him. “Shake ‘em in my face.”
Leaning toward him, she did as instructed. Then, she unzipped his pants and fished out his dick. From the shadows, Sinclair shook his head. That bonehead move just cost him his job.
Midnight stroked his dick before taking him in her mouth. “Fuck, yeah, you feel good, baby,” Crow murmured.
And that’s when Sin stepped out of the shadows, his phone recording the X-rated scene.
Crow let out a yelp. “Christ, Develin, what the fuck are you doing in here?”
Midnight pulled off him and yanked off his mask. While she collected her bra, Crow jumped up and shoved his dick back into his pants.
“That’s my question for you, Mr. Chief of Staff. I doubt you’re here at POTUS’s direction.”
“Oh, Lord,” Midnight murmured while dressing.
“Get the fuck out,” Crow said between clenched teeth. “What kind of pervert are you?”
Sin shook his head. “I have no respect for a guy who cheats on his spouse. No respect at all. And you’re married, aren’t you, Crow?”
Crow swallowed hard.
“I heard your daughter is applying to four Ivy League law schools. It would be a damn shame if word got out about this. You would lose your prestigious job at sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Dropping back onto the futon, Crow’s shoulders slumped. “I’m so screwed.”
Sin handed Midnight the folded bill. Before she left, she said, “Don’t contact me again, Mr. Rocket.”
Once the door closed, Sin stood in the middle of the room and stared down at him. “At the beginning of the year, you propositioned Mallory Conid, the newly appointed Press Secretary. When she refused you, you spent months hounding the hell out of her. Then, you fired her.”
“I…uh, I, well—”
“You’re going to re-hire Ms. Conid. Tomorrow. And then, you’re going to resign.”
“I can’t fucking belie—”
“…because you want to spend more time with your family,” Sin continued. “If you don’t, I’m going to release this video of you. I’m confident that hummer you were getting will set the Internet on fire. The President won’t be too pleased…and neither will your family.”
Crow pushed off the chair and squared his shoulders. “You’ve got some nerve, Develin. You play dirty. You’re no better than me.”
Sin chuffed out a laugh. “I do play dirty, Allen. Isn’t that how we win in this cutthroat town? But I don’t sexually harass women, whether they work for me or not. No always means no. And I’m not married. If I were married, I sure as fuck wouldn’t screw anyone who wasn’t my wife.”
“Oh, God,” Crow whispered.
“Now, do we have an understanding?”
“Yes,” Crow whispered, nodding his head in agreement.
Before leaving, Sin said, “You may hate me, but you only have yourself and your dick to blame.”
12
The River
As Evangeline drove to Henninger Security, she couldn’t stop thinking about Sin. Sex at the club had relaxed her, but nothing compared to taking him inside her. Nothing did it for her like loving him with her entire being.
Their physical connection had always been intoxicating, but last night had been different. Just thinking about him sent heat flushing her chest, rising up to her neck and cheeks. She cracked open the window. “Whew, that man is something else.”
Alone in the car, she didn’t have to play like the sex hadn’t blown her mind. Pressing her chilly fingers against her warm chest, she couldn’t deny her true feelings.
By the time she parked at Henninger Security, her nipples ached and her insides throbbed. After draining her water bottle, she sighed. “What am I going to do with you, Sinclair Develin?” A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with him.
She texted Tucker. “Can someone let me in?”
“On my way,” he replied.
She shoved her handbag behind the driver’s seat before making her way toward the entrance. A line had already formed and she acknowledged the early birds with a smile. Tucker let her in and told his guests the facility would open in twenty.
Once a year, Tucker hosted a daylong open house. It was his way of thanking current students and customers, along with drumming up business for the new year. The free event—sandwiched between Christmas and New Year’s Eve—was open to the public, which meant all hands on deck.
In minutes, the place would be swarming. He’d scheduled over a dozen classes that included everything from gun safety to personal defense to the latest in-home security and surveillance. Tucker had even waived the shooting range fees for the day. When Evangeline was placed on A.L., she agreed to spend the day there teaching the women’s self-defense course.
“Looks like your classes are filled,” Tucker said as they ambled over to the check-in counter.
“Along with every other class,” said Julie, his office manager.
“We’re doing things a little differently this year,” Tucker explained to Evangeline. “When you’re finished teaching each class, bring us the interested students. We’ll sign them up.”
“And take their deposit,” Julie added.
“Got it,” Evangeline replied.
“We’re expecting a few hundred, so it’ll be mayhem.” Pausing, Tucker shuffled back and forth. “You wanna grab a drink after?”
“No can do,” she replied. “Another time.”
He walked behind the reception counter. “Maverick and Carly came in earlier for target practice. Maverick said you’ve been hanging with Sin.”
She shrugged. That was as much info as he was going to get from her.
“He’s a great guy…but he’s not a one woman man,” Tucker said. “His style is more like ‘the more the merrier’.”
She shot him a cool smile. “Thanks for the heads-up.” Enough said. “What room am I teaching in?”
“The usual,” he replied. “I’ll swing by for the demo portion.”
“Sounds good.” She walked away wondering what Sin had told his brother about her.
But she refused to get swept away in the moment. She was a realist, not a dreamer. There was nothing wrong with a brief fling while she was in town, and she had no long-term expectations where Sinclair was concerned. When she was cleared of any wrongdoing, she’d resume her job, eventually returning to New Jersey. And Sin would continue on as master of the universe.