Page 105 of Chandelier Sin
“May the best man win.”
Eve clenched her jaw in quiet frustration.
“Our deal at Pendulum closed,” I reasoned.
“No one signed it.”
I grimaced. “You shredded our document?”
“It appears lost.”
“Our lawyers have a copy.”
He pushed up from his chair. Our meeting was over.
“Winning is an acquired taste you haven’t experienced, Atticus.”
Saying more, mentioning the reason we wanted the place gutted helped no one. We didn’t need the money. We needed to do the right thing.Ineeded to do the right thing. Prove I had what it took to save the lives of the vulnerable.
“Tell Lance I know it was him,” I said.
“You can tell him yourself,” said Roper. “He’s been given full membership at Pendulum. Jewel Delany, our senior member, voted him in.”
“Access to the sixth floor?” I watched him.
“What floor is that?”
“Jewel?” I scoffed. She had questionable ethics.
“She’s our greatest asset.”
“Lance forming an alliance with her should concern you.”
“I don’t need advice, Atticus. I need your unfailing loyalty.”
“Expel Lance and I’ll consider your offer.”
He laughed. “That’s what he told me.”
“What did you offer him?”
“That’s private.”
Roper intended for his enemies to weaken each other before he made a move, while he watched from the shadows waiting to strike the survivor.
“It’s a generous offer,” he said. “You may not own Pendulum, but you will be one of us.”
One of us.
An alliance would be the only way to survive this.
I’d have to give up my principles. Burn my values. Betray my friends and blow up my life.
I smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”
Eve lowered her gaze, refusing to look at me, disappointment shimmying from her.
I looked away from her, fearing Roper might detect my desire for his wife.
