That wasn’t weakness. It was bravery. If anything, I was using him. Not the other way around. I allowed him to think of me as subservient, my gaze falling back to my knees. He took his c**k into his hand and began to stroke himself. “Take down your hair, then lay your head on my lap.” I did as I was told in an Oscar-worthy performance. He wanted to break women? I’d give him sad and broken. Then I’d break him. “Is this what you expected, little w***e? Or did you think I was joking?” “You’re giving me exactly what I wanted, Sir. Thank you.” “And when I shoot my c*m in your hair, you’ll still thank me? Or will you run home crying like a spoiled little brat who got her feelings hurt?” I sensed his control had grown as ragged and thin as his voice. His hand thumped my head with each savage stroke, his breaths shallow and gasping. He was getting close. “I want everything you have to give me because I deserve all of it. I’m so dirty and worthless.” “Ahh, f**k, yes.” I could feel the spots of warm ejaculate seep through my hair to my scalp. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he then used his hand to rub it in, petting me like a dog. f**k, I would have to scrub to get that s**t out. I didn’t think he could see my eyes, but I held back the epic eye roll I wanted to make, just in case. Talk about worthless—a man with such a pathetic self-image that he has to belittle women to get off. “Well, Lina. This has been a pleasant surprise.” I sat up and did my best impression of a doe-eyed anime girl as I peered up at him. “Thank you, Sir. I’m so honored to have pleased you.” “Hmm … yes, I think this might work. Find yourself better makeup— something I can smear.” “Yes, Sir.” His chest expanded on a ragged breath. “All this time, you were right under my nose, and I had no idea.” He caressed my jaw. “If I didn’t have to be in Chicago in the morning, I’d take you home with me. But maybe it’s best to ease into things.” He pressed the intercom button. “You can take us to Lina’s place, Adam.” I started to rise back into my seat only to have his hand clasp my shoulder. “Oh no, you don’t. Dirty sluts with c*m in their hair don’t get to sit in seats. You stay right where you are.” I smiled and nodded appreciatively while my thoughts flayed open his gut and scattered his innards across the leather seats. How’s that for dirty, you worthless son of a b***h? Not for the first time in my life, I wondered what it might feel like to kill a man. If I was ever going to find out, Lawrence would be well deserving. It was something to keep in mind. OceanofPDF.com CHAPTER 13 ORAN From the minute I started looking into Lawrence Wellington, I set up cameras outside his Upper East Side mansion to monitor who came and went from his home. I had a cyber team tracking his online activities and placed a GPS tracker on his car. That man didn’t take a s**t without me knowing about it. I knew right away that he’d taken Lina to a charity dinner. The event sponsors had posted photos to social media throughout the evening, so even if I hadn’t tracked her cell phone as well, it wouldn’t have taken me long to figure out she was his plus-one. I hated that she’d gone anywhere with him. I even considered crashing the damn event. But the real test of my patience came when the evening ended, and I watched his car on my location map cruise the length of 54th Street, then back down 53rd , only to circle back to 54th and repeat. They spent a full ten minutes driving aimlessly before finally stopping at Lina’s building. It was the longest goddamn ten minutes of my existence. I couldn’t stop thinking about what might be happening in that car. It was enough to drive me insane. I slammed my laptop shut and grabbed my keys. Enough was enough. I couldn’t undo the last half hour, but I could make sure it never happened again. On my way out, I texted to arrange a meet-up with an old friend, though we might not be friends after he heard what I wanted. He owed me big, and I was calling in that favor in an even bigger way. Casper was mostly legit. He’d been on the force for twenty years and was one of the few who wasn’t on the take from one organization or another. He was married to my nana’s niece’s cousin, so we were related in the way that all good Irish Catholics were related. That was why he’d come to me when he needed help—we were family but far enough removed that ties were thin. Two years ago, Casper’s daughter was assaulted by a boy she’d been dating. Casper made sure the girl filed charges, but like any halfway decent father, he felt like the kid needed a bit more punishment than the law allowed. I was happy to help. Now, it was his turn. “I knew I’d get that text one day,” Casper said as I approached him outside an all-night diner. “I just hoped it wouldn’t be midnight in the dead of winter. I suppose it’s too much to hope for that we’re going in for a hot cup of coffee.” “You’d be right. Come on, let’s take a walk.” “f**k me,” he muttered under his breath, making me smile. “You’re getting old if the weather’s starting to bother you that bad.” Casper was closing in on fifty. His real name was Bryan Fahey, but his extreme pallor and less-than-athletic physique had earned him the nickname Casper when he was a kid. The name had stuck. “I was getting old ten years ago,” he grumbled. “I’ve arrived. And being out in the cold makes me grumpy as f**k, so why don’t you tell me what I’m doin’ out here.” “Fair enough.” I outlined my plan, including his role. As I explained, his gait slowed until he finally came to a stop. “You’re asking too much, Oran.” All humor was lost—his voice now as harsh as the December night air. “It’s too risky.” “It’s not. This doesn’t have to go beyond you and me.” “This is my f*****g life we’re talking about here.” He got in my face like he meant to intimidate me. I had his coat clenched in my fists and his back to a wall in two seconds flat. “You forget who you’re talking to, Fahey.” “I didn’t forget s**t,” he shot back at me. “What you’re planning wouldn’t just ruin my reputation—I could end up in prison, and my family would lose my pension. You’re asking me to risk their entire livelihood.” “It’s already at risk. If word got around about what happened to that kid…”