Page 24 of Brutal Bond

Pulling back from our kiss but keeping my lip between his teeth, he stares at me for a moment before speaking. “I intend to see you again, little rose.”

I don’t think I could say no if I tried.

Heading inside, my legs feel unsteady, like they belong to a newborn deer. I step into the elevator, already missing the feel of his lips on mine, and my fingers linger over my swollen lips.

Opening the apartment door, the look on Nikki’s face shatters my high. I’ve known her far too long; something isn’t right. She looks downright broken.

“Nik?” I quickly cross the room to her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry,” she sobs. “I never should’ve convinced you to go to that party. It’s not your scene. And now…”

“And now, what?”

She proceeds to give me the play-by-play of her date last night, which turned out to be a cop. A disgusting, dirty cop who is now blackmailing her for sex to prevent a video of that first night with Edmund from being leaked to everyone in her life.

“My family can’t find out…” she exhales.

“And mine can?” I shriek. She’s had hours to come to terms with this situation. I’ve had minutes, and my emotions are all over the place. “I want to see it.”

“Trust me, it’s bad.”

“I said, I want to see it.”

She pulls out her phone and sends a message through an app.

I talked to Harper.

Blackmailing Asshole

What did she say?

She wants to see the video.

Give me your cell phone number.

She sends her number, and a moment later she receives a single text of a video clip. Taking the phone from her, I press play. I watch for a minute before tossing the phone in her lap and burying my face in my hands.

“Whatever he wants,” I mumble as I shake my head. “Until I figure out how to make this go away.”

She said she’ll do whatever you want.

I’m going to need to hear it from her.

Mere seconds later, a FaceTime call pops on the screen. Nikki hands me the phone, and I open to find a very normal-looking middle-aged man. Holding back tears—and the urge to scream at him—I give him the statement he needs, “Like Nikki said, that video can’t get out. I’ll give you everything she offered.”

“What kind of confirmation are you going to give on that?” His words cause bile to rise in my throat.

“Well, I can’t exactly suck you off over the phone now, can I?” I snark.

“I’m going to need something,” he continues to press. “I need you to take a little initiative like your friend, Nikki, and tell me a bit about what is happening in this video.”

“I’m getting fucking railed while eating out my roommate.” I close my eyes as I exhale the salty words. “Is that what you want to hear?”

“I’m going to need more, Harper.” He’s relentless, and as much as it disgusts me, I know what he wants.

“Nikki, he wants more.”

“Prop the phone on the table,” she instructs me as she pulls off her tank top, exposing her breasts. “I’ll help you give him what he wants.”

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