C7, PT. 2

“He threatened to show my blackmail to Grayson, William Davies, and other valuable contacts I had acquired if I didn’t sign the divorce papers,” he said without inflection. “That wouldn’t have dissuaded everyone from doing business with me, but it would make things more difficult and affect future deals.”

Her pulse tripped. He was sharing. She couldn’t fucking believe it. She tried to stay focused, as excitement and victory made her want to bounce in her seat and clap her hands. “And what did you ask for in return?”

“That he stop interfering in my business outside the U.S.”

She cocked her head. “In Colorado, you said he kept at it until the day he died.”

“Yes. He continued to trip me up here and there, though not as much as he had in the beginning. He kept me on my toes and if he could finesse someone out from under me, he would, though I saw that as him saving me time. I don’t want anyone around me who can be bought or influenced by outside parties.”

She mulled that over as she smoothed her fingers over his hopelessly wrinkled shirt. “In the interim, you built a case against my family to blackmail them in case…” She searched his eyes as her mind muddled through a maze of motivations and possibilities. “In case Dad passed your blackmail onto them so you’d be at a stalemate?”

His eyes flared before they narrowed with sudden hunger.

“I take it back,” he rumbled as he tugged her to the edge of the seat.

“What?” She braced her hands on his chest, but that didn’t stop him from taking her mouth in a deep kiss.

“If you wanted to, you could run circles around your sisters,” he said, voice vibrating with relish.

Far from being angry, he seemed delighted that she correctly deduced why he investigated her family.

“But…” She gave herself a shake and scooted back on the seat. “Why haven’t you used your findings against them?” She held up a hand. “Not that I want you to, but you have enough evidence to make Rami dance like a puppet on a string. He was worried about an article being published. What you have here is an open-and-shut case. And Ariana and Colette will do anything to protect their reputation.”

The fact that Roth had quietly collected evidence over the years and had yet to cash in on his hard work demonstrated amazing restraint. He didn’t have to become the majority shareholder of Hennessy & Co or spend millions to convince her family and society that they married for love rather than business. Why had he taken the time to attend dinner at the Davies in London, posed for wedding photos, and released news of their recent nuptials to the press? It was unnecessary. With the contents of these folders, the members of her family would have done anything he ordered. So, why hadn’t he chosen the most expedient, efficient way to get her family to do what he wanted?

“I don’t play rough unless I have to. I prefer their cooperation. It makes things easier.”

She tensed. “Cooperation for what?”

“You know.”

“Your revenge on my dad’s partners? You think you can take them on by yourself?” When he didn’t respond, her eyes narrowed. “You think my family’s going to help you?”

“I don’t need their help. I just need them to stay out of the way and not oppose me.”

She threw her hands up. “You’re insane! These people could be friends or peers they’ve known for years.”

“I told you, there’s no such thing as friends in the business world. Just acquaintances that come and go.” He chucked her playfully under the chin. “The only thing you can count on is family.”

“Which is why you married me.” He was unbelievably diabolical.

“The gatekeepers have gone unchallenged for generations. They knock down any who oppose them. I know that best, don’t I?”

“You could lose everything you’ve worked so hard for.”

“The fact that you’re with me shows me that Fate’s on my side.” He kissed her temple. “Don’t worry about it.”

That was impossible. She may be connected to the upper echelon and had the education and money to play in that exclusive pool, but she had firsthand knowledge of how vicious and unscrupulous these people were. She didn’t want to be within a ten-mile radius of their games, yet Roth was eagerly wading into infested, hostile waters with little to no backup. But he was right. He had his fair share of misfortunes, but his work ethic and iron will meant Fate would always look kindly upon him.

She rapped her fingers on Colette’s folder. “Do you have a file like this on me?”

“Yes.”

“What’s in it?”

“Everything I could collect from your birth to your present.”

“You could have asked me.”

“I could.”

His tone didn’t hold an ounce of regret.

She bit her lip before she asked, “Did you orchestrate that meet up in Philadelphia? The first time we went for coffee?”

“Yes.”

Her lashes swept down to conceal the disappointment that clouded her eyes. A part of her had already known it was pushing coincidence too far. She was too old to believe in fairy tales, but she’d harbored a small kernel of hope, which just died.

“I had to see whether the chemistry I felt the night we met was still there. If there was nothing, I wouldn’t have pursued you. It would have ended there. We were meant to be, princess.”

She stared at the horrible scratches on his arm, and didn’t have to look in a mirror to know she wore various marks on her neck from his hands and mouth. Were they meant to be? If she had the ability to show that impressionable college girl an image of them now, would she have accepted his invitation to dinner the following day? Hell no. She would have run in the opposite direction and called Ford again in hopes of forging a true relationship instead of a formal one based on business.

She wore his ring, legally bore his name, and they had an ironclad prenup to protect their assets, but there were no legal documents binding her to their true contract—marrying him, so her sisters could retain control of Hennessy & Co and restore the company to its former glory. He was playing a high stakes game of revenge, extortion, and blackmail that she wanted no part of. She could still get out of this before it was too late. But, where would she run? Her sanctuary was Tuxedo Park, but it was far too close to the city. Why could she imagine Roth showing up there several times a week, somehow bypassing security and her locks, and fucking her brains out?

Roth was a ticking bomb. Violent, secretive… Being with him was like standing on the bow of a ship during a storm. There was the thrill of adventure, fear of the unknown, and the very real danger of being swept overboard as waves crashed into them. Was she strong enough to hold her own against him? The only reason she’d been able to handle him in her youth was because he held back the force of his personality. Now, he wasn’t. He would drain her until she had nothing left…

“You still think you can walk away, that you have a choice.”

She raised her gaze and locked eyes with the monster.

“You don’t,” he informed her with the same casualness that he would use to comment on the weather.

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Confessions. Please do not share or distribute.

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