Page 111 of Chandelier Sin
“You and I have something in common.”
“What?”
“We both hate Lance.”
“Everyone hates Lance. That’s not a revelation.”
“If he gets that Board seat no one will be safe.”
“From personal experience, I can tell you that no one is safe now.”
“I can help you defeat him.”
“Remember that time you sent me a text saying you’d help me at Pendulum. It was a trap.”
“I’m keeping my promise.” I waved at the camera. “I don’t want to talk like this.”
“That’s unfortunate. Let’s hear it.”
“First, I need you to release me from our arrangement.”
“Arrangement?”
“At the cottage, when you told me you—”
“I own you?”
“Yes.”
“I do own you, Eve.”
“How?”
“While at Pendulum, you will obey me in every conceivable way.”
“A dangerous game.”
“With a game there’s a winner and a loser. I can’t foresee anyone coming out of this unscathed.”
He’d had me strip like I was one of his lust-filled subs. “This is unacceptable. Treating me like one of your—”
“I’ll dictate whether you’ll have the honor of being called a sub.” He went quiet and then said, “Say, yes, sir.”
“I won’t.”
Waiting for him to reprimand me, I glanced around the bedroom at its bachelor pad décor.
“Still there?” I asked, peering at the clock.
The opera music went off.
Silence.
“Atticus?” I listened, my heart racing, flesh tingling with uncertainty.
I let out a pent-up breath.
Don’t leave me like this.
