I glanced over my shoulder and spotted the glittering diamonds lying amongst the jagged white shards.
“We don’t have time. Alastair’s almost here,” I hissed.
My stepfather’s angry footsteps grew louder. In less than a minute, he would catch us, and we could kiss our freedom goodbye unless he was in a forgiving mood.
Bile rose in my throat at the prospect of being at that creep’s mercy.
Max was greedy, but he wasn’t an idiot. He took my advice and abandoned his quest for the necklace.
I spotted a glimpse of Alastair’s thinning blond hair and furious face right as we flew through the back door, but I didn’t stop running until Max and I passed through the forest bordering the property and reached the side road where we’d parked our getaway car.
It was only then that I noticed the blood staining Max’s sleeve.
“They tracked me down using the blood I left behind from nicking myself on that stupid vase.” Bitterness crept into Max’s voice. “A few fucking bloodstains, and I lost years of my life. The judge happened to be a good friend of Alastair’s, so he handed down a heavy fucking sentence. Of course, you were long gone by the time the police came. There was no evidence you were involved—they couldn’t catch your face on the security cameras—and Alastair didn’t want to drag the case out when he already had me as the fall guy. Bad publicity, you see. So you got away scot-free.”
I hated the twinge of guilt in my gut. We’d both been in the wrong, and he was the only one who paid for it.
I understood why he was angry, but I also didn’t regret running when I had the chance.
I’d only fallen into the con life because of Max. I’d needed money, and it’d been impossible for me to get a job in town after people found out my own mother kicked me out. She never told anyone why she did so, and the rumors ran wild—everything from me selling drugs to me getting knocked up and losing the baby because of my supposed coke habit. Either way, no one wanted to touch me with a ten-foot pole.
Luckily, I had enough cash saved up to tide me over until I met Max two weeks after being kicked out. I’d been sucked in by his looks, charm, and flashy car, and it hadn’t been long before he roped me into running cons with him in Columbus.
But our ski weekend had shattered his spell, and I’d only stayed with him until I had the resources to leave Ohio for good. My acceptance to Thayer and Alastair’s cash gave me what I needed, and I snuck away the night after we broke into my stepfather’s mansion.
I hopped on a midnight bus to Columbus, bought the next flight to D.C., and never looked back.
“You might think I’m upset.” Present Max smoothed a hand over his hair. “I’m not. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect over the years. Become a better person. I’ve learned how to let bygones be bygones. That being said…”
Here it was.
I curled my hands into fists and braced myself for what he had to say next.
“You owe me. I took the fall for you.”
“What do you want, Max?” I didn’t point out that he had, in fact, committed a crime and took the fall for himself. There was no point. “I’m sorry you got caught. Truly. But I can’t give you those seven years back.”
“No,” he said, the picture of reason. “But you can do me a favor. It’s only fair.”
Needles of dread pricked at me. “What kind of favor?”
“It wouldn’t be any fun if I told you now, would it?” Max smiled. “You’ll see. I’ll let you know when the time is right.”
“I’m not having sex with you.” The mere idea turned my stomach.
“Oh, no.” His laugh bounced around the hallway and scraped against my skin like nails on chalkboard. “After how well-used you must be after all these years? No, thanks.”
Heat rushed to my face, and I resisted the urge to stab him in the balls with one of my stiletto heels.
“Although you have always been enthusiastic in the sack, so you have that going for you.” My stomach hollowed when he pulled out his phone. “I even have evidence.”
He pressed a button, and my stomach churned when past me’s moans filled the air.
“Right there,” onscreen me gasped, sounding disgustingly sincere even though I’d hated every second of what I’d been doing. “That feels so good.”
“Yeah, you like that?” The man’s rough voice sent a wave of nausea crashing through me. “I knew you were a fucking slut the moment I saw you.”
The video was grainy, but it was clear enough to see both our faces and his cock as he pumped in and out of me. I’d barely known the guy, but Max had convinced me to sleep with him and capture it on camera.
I’d been such a fucking idiot.
“Turn it off.” I couldn’t stand the sound of my fake moans. Each one drilled into my brain and dragged me back to the dark days when I’d craved approval so much I would’ve done anything for it, including have sex with a man twice my age just so I could steal from him.
“But we haven’t gotten to the good part yet.” Max’s smile widened. “I love it when you let him fuck you in—”
“Turn it off!” Cold sweat drenched my skin. “I’ll do your fucking favor.”
The video finally, blessedly stopped.
“Good. I knew you were smart.” Max pocketed his phone. I wasn’t dumb enough to think stealing it would do anything except piss him off. He must have backups of the video stashed somewhere. “After all, you don’t want to lose your job at Silver & Klein, do you? A fancy law firm like that probably wouldn’t react well to one of their employees having a sex tape floating around online.”
The bile churned harder. “How do you know about that? How did you even find me and get my number?”
Max shrugged. “It’s not hard to track you down when pictures of you with a queen are splashed all over the internet, especially with the royal wedding is coming up. Once I discovered your new name, it took only a simple Google search to turn up what I needed. Jules Ambrose, member of the Thayer Law Review. Jules Ambrose, recipient a full-ride scholarship to Thayer Law.” His smile turned bitter. “You’re living a good life, J. As for your number…well, those things aren’t exactly classified. Paid some cash to an online service and voila. Done.”
Fuck. I’d never considered the consequences of having my connection with Bridget be so publicized. But I never expected Max would look for me after all these years. I’d feared it, but I hadn’t expected it.
“And Hyacinth? How’d you know I would be here?”
Breathe, Jules. Breathe.
Max rolled his eyes. “I’m here to have fun, J. Plus I have…business in D.C. Not everything is about you. Running into you was a lucky coincidence, though I’d planned to text you again eventually. I was just…busy these past few weeks.”
His casual annoyance was more sinister than any outright threats or violence, though he’d always disdained physical violence. It was too plebeian for him; he preferred mind games and manipulation, as evidenced by our current conversation.
I could only imagine what kind of “business” he was up to, though. I would bet my new apartment it was something illegal.
“And when do you plan on asking for this favor?” If I had to do it, I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
“Whenever I want. It could be a few days from now. Weeks. Months.” Max offered a loose shrug. “Guess you’ll have to keep a close eye on your phone. Don’t want to miss a text from me or poof, you might wake up one day to find your video online.”
My stomach hollowed. The idea of Max’s threat hanging over my head for an indeterminate length of time made me want to hurl.
“If I do it, you’ll erase the tape,” I said.
It was worth a shot.
His expression hardened. “I’ll erase the tape if and when I want to erase it.” He brushed a strand of hair out of my eye, the action grotesquely tender considering the circumstances. “You don’t have any leverage, babe. You’ve built this fancy life of yours on a foundation of lies, and you’re just as helpless now as you were when you were seventeen.” He trailed his hand down my neck and caressed my shoulder. A swarm of invisible spiders crawled over my skin. “You will do—”
A familiar voice cut in, deep and edged with hardness. “Am I interrupting something?