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He was young, e I’ his own co it side by side and then I co bad

“Stop, son Just stop,” his dad said, gripping his arhtly

“Dad, you can’t let him do this,” he said, fiercely, hat looked like tears in his eyes

“It’s okay, son It’s okay,” he said, rubbing his son’s hair A s their interaction My mother’s last words to me, practically sliced into my chest Thoer at me

“Youto be on top forever, Thorne”

His dad escorted him out and I went back to my office The Boardroom Bastard It was a ot a taste of what it was like to be on the losing side of a deal No one to bail thehts set on them No one escaped my wrath

As I stared out over the city, I was thinking how the thrill of conquering had waned in the last few years The satisfaction I’d gotten fro soft Too coed on slower than I’d ever experienced after the ain

My phone rang, and an unknown number appeared on my screen I answered

“A collect call froht now I had s to worry about Like whether or not Rachel would show Half of ht would be the end of it and there’d be nothing else to discuss She could run back to Rhys with nothing

The other half of et a taste of those lips I’d touched yesterday and to see what she was hiding under all those layers

I got to the club a little before eight I let the security at the door know she’d be couests only occasionally and with a full background check, but I’d greased the wheels a bit Knowing the owner had its advantages I et a white mask Theseen in a place like Ace’s

I sat in ular drink down in front ofthe scotch’s smooth burn settle me as I leaned back in my booth, ready for the shoas onroom opened into the club and Rachel stood, frozen in the doorway Her head on a swivel, she took her first tentative steps into the room

She took in everything in the roo that ran the length of the back wall I could see her rapid breathing from there as she clutched her hands in front of her, like they were protecting her fro eyes

They weren’t

Certainly, not mine