Reveal (Wicked Ways #2)(28)

“I believe you have something that is mine, Vaughn.” His smile is akin to a great white shark’s—deceptive in every way.

“And I asked you to leave.” I glance over at the security detail, wondering what it is he knows here and hating that yet another person is aware of my real identity.

“The pictures, please.”

“Now why would I do that?”

Carter’s chuckle is obnoxious and arrogant, and it stops abruptly. “Because they are my business.”

“Just like you being here and me asking you to leave is my business.”

He takes a step toward me, and I hide the hitch in my breath. “We both know I like to play dirty . . . maybe it’s best not to test just how low I’ll go to get what I need . . . that is, unless you like it when I go down low.” He makes no attempt to hide his blatant stare at the V of my thighs as his tongue licks out to wet his bottom lip before he looks back up.

My skin crawls, and my thoughts veer to Ryker and his explanation about what happened in the pool house—how adamant Carter was about having something on me.

“I don’t think you’re appreciating how much restraint I’m exercising right now,” he murmurs.

“Touch me and I’ll call the cops.” I arch a brow, my words defiant, while my insides are shaking.

“It’s a pretty precarious position you’re in, Vaughn. Waiting to adopt. In debt up to your ears. Using illegal means to try to pay it off. Nothing with you is what it seems.” He leans in and despite my threat twirls a finger around a lock of my hair. His way to show me he’s not scared by my warning. When he pulls forcefully on the strands, I have to bite back a yelp. “Can you imagine what would and could happen to you if all of that got out?”

I grit my teeth and steel myself when he leans in, so I can feel his breath feather over my cheek. He stares at me, and I fix my gaze on the tree over his shoulder.

“That would be a shame, wouldn’t it? All this work for nothing? All this risk and fear for naught? I’d think long and hard about not doing as I say, or else poor little Lucy might just become a permanent ward of the state.”

His words hit me so deep down, I can all but feel it in my bones. But I straighten my shoulders and clear my throat.

“Do you think threatening me is going to prevent me from releasing what I have on you in kind?”

“The pictures?” He laughs. “I’ll take my chances.”

“You wish I only had the pictures,” I counter, hating that he’s unfazed by my threat.

He stares at me, debating whether or not I’m bluffing. “You don’t have shit on me.”

“I’ll take my chances, then. It’s a hard fall when you’re as high as you are.” I return the same smug smile he’s giving me.

“You’re way out of your league. You might want to be careful.”

“It’s not exactly smart to threaten me.” My words hold conviction while I combat the nerves reverberating through me.

“Oh, I don’t make threats. That’s the best part about being in such a powerful and high position. Everyone knows I don’t threaten . . . I act. And I have every single resource at my fingertips just waiting for me to use.”

“I have resources too. Like people who must hate you so much that they drop information in my lap.”

“You’re playing with fire, Vee.” He tugs on the lock of my hair again and makes a show of breathing in my perfume, followed by a guttural groan. “That’s your first mistake.”

“So then I should release this call log to the public, then?” The question is out, my fear suddenly real enough to mention the one thing I have on him other than the pictures, even though I have zero clue how this list of phone numbers and times is damaging.

But his stuttered reaction—his narrowed eyes, his body tensing so I can step back from him, his head jerking ever so slightly—tells me he’s worried. His slip might only be for a second before he recovers, but I still see it. I still know that whatever this list of phone numbers and times and dates is means something to him.

And that in turn makes it more than valuable to me.

“Go right ahead,” he says with a shrug, but there’s something that darkens in his eyes that completely unnerves me. “I’m a representative of the people. All of my calls are available to the public.”

“Good to know, but I don’t buy it, Carter.” I shake my head with a slight smile on my lips as I try to read his hardened expression through the shadows.

“Feel free to make the mistake and fuck with me.”

We stand a foot apart. The chills that chase over my skin have nothing to do with the cool night air and everything to do with the sudden shift from demanding to downright disconcerting.

“Vaughn? Everything okay out there?” Joey calls from the front porch into the darkness, and I all but jump out of my shoes.

“Yes.” I clear my throat as my heart races, and I take a step to the left out from behind the corner of the garage where Carter and I are standing. “I’m fine.”

Despite the distance, I can see the startle of his head when he notices the silhouette of the limo on the curb. “He’s still here?” he asks, confusing me.

“Yes,” I answer, not sure what in the hell he’s talking about, but the last thing I need is Joey to see Carter and the questions that would follow. “I’ll be in in a minute.”