Page 49 of Darkness Tempt Me
As soon as Hunter leaves the room, following after Peyton, Daniel peers over at me. The man has me on high alert today. He’s up to something. He doesn’t even glance at the contract before he pushes it aside. “You know, my son had a thing for blonds, and that pretty assistant of yours is just his type.”
I grit my teeth. The caveman inside of me is angry at whatever the hell Daniel is implying. I remind myself that Drake is dead. I also don’t miss Daniel’s use of the past tense.
“Well, then,” I chuckle. “I’m glad I was able to lock Peyton down. I don’t think I’m much competition compared to Drake,” I lie.
Feeling unnerved by the old man’s stare, I tug the contract back toward me and start reciting what I’m offering. It’s just a distraction, but I need Hunter to hurry up and clone Daniel’s phone. I have a bad feeling about this whole meeting. Fiveminutes later, Hunter quietly slips in, placing the phone on the other end of the table.
“Sorry about that, you two. I have an emergency across town. Did either of you have any questions?”
Daniel stands. “No questions, but I’m going to take this contract home with me for my lawyer to look at. Would that be okay, Mavik?”
“Sure, but please reach out to me within forty-eight hours. Until then, I’ll look forward to hearing from you.” I hold my hand out to Daniel, and he shakes it.
As soon as the asshole is gone, I turn toward Hunter. He holds up a finger and pulls out a device, needing to do a sweep for any recording devices. After a few minutes, everything comes out clear.
“Fuck,” Hunter says. “That man gives me the fucking creeps. I’m glad he never laid a hand on me when I was younger. I’m not sure I would have survived.”
Just then, a security alert pings on my phone, alerting me to a break-in. I pull up the camera feed. Daniel Sinclair is in my penthouse.
“Well, well, well. You aren’t where you were supposed to be,” Hunter says as he peers over my shoulder.
“Do me a favor, Hunt. Check the cloned device and scan its texts and emails. I wanna make sure there’s no paper trail saying he’s at my place.”
Hunter nods, pulling out his laptop. “Already on it. You gonna go up there and take care of the situation?”
I nod, already feeling the telltale thrum of excitement coursing through my veins. He’s the last one on my list. I’mthisfucking close. “Once I get the all clear from you, I’ll stop him before he leaves. But I want to see what he’s looking for first.”
“He’s probably looking for his son, to be honest.”
I shake my head. “He’s not going to find anything. I’m going to take my time with this one. I might even keep him alive for an extra day or two.”
Hunter grins. “Sounds like fun. Want some company?”
I grin back. “Sure.”
Ten minutes later, Hunter and I walk into my penthouse together. Daniel doesn’t even hear us until I laugh. “Well, now, Mr. Sinclair. I’m going to have to say, breaking and entering automatically voids my proposal.”
Hunter ducks out of sight before Daniel whips around. Daniel pulls out a gun and aims it my way. “Where the fuck is my son, asshole?”
I hold up my hands so he can see I’m unarmed. Fuck, I didn’t expect Danny boy to have a weapon on him. I’m glad I texted Peyton, telling him not to come into the penthouse until the coast is clear. It would kill me knowing I’d placed him in harm’s way.
I make a wide circle around him, and I’m kind of surprised the old geezer doesn’t tell me to stop moving. Once Daniel is fully turned around, I start talking, giving Hunter the signal to move in.
“I know where you can find your son,” I say, my hands still in the air.
Hunter quietly sneaks up on Daniel, effectively disarming the old man before he even realizes what’s going on. One moment, Daniel thinks he’s in control, and the next, Hunter is aiming the gun at Daniel’s head.
I grin. “Oh, Daniel. Now I know why you never wanted to meet up with me all these years. That was too damn easy.”
“Fuck you,” Daniel spits. “Where’s my son?”
I shove him forward, silently leading him toward my playroom. “Oh, Drakey-Pooh? I bet all those greedy little fish have already devoured his remains.”
Daniel halts. “I don’t believe you.” Hunter shoves him forward as I open the door.
“I can show you the video,” I taunt. “I bet you’ll love the part where I removed his filthy eyes from his head.”
Daniel sways, looking like he’s going to be sick. Then he glances around the room we entered. “What the fuck is this place?” He asks.
