Page 81 of Emperor of Corruption
She comes up for air and drags her palms up his thighs; he uses his free hand to fist her hair and wrench her head back. “No touching. The only part of you permitted to come in contact with any part of me is your lips, and with my cock. Do your job or I’ll find someone else to pay.”
“Hookers, Carter? Really?” I ask, upper lip curling. “Have you already scared the entire female population of NYC away? Now you have to resort to paying for it?” I tap my chin thoughtfully. “Or are youthatbad of a fuck, and rumors have begun making their rounds?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Carter says, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m simply trying to avoid lawsuits or scandals.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Hookers are not a good way to avoid scandal.”
“They’re escorts, and they’re more than willing.” He shoots a devilish smirk to the girl who’s nipple he’s still playing with. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” she moans, arching her back.
“You want one?” Carter asks me.
I pause to consider it, raking my gaze over the barely-clothed women. A few weeks ago, I’d have gone for it—it’d spare me thebooty-call or the workout for my right hand to get my needs met. Now, however…
The women have the wrong hair, wrong eyes, and wrong body. The only person I want on my lap or kneeling at my feet is a petite, brown-haired and blue-grey-eyed beauty with a heart-shaped ass and perfect, perky little tits.
“No, thank you,” I say. “I presume this is more than just a social call. Shall we move somewhere more private to discuss business?”
Carter waves a dismissive hand. “They’re under iron-clad NDA’s. If they talk, they’ve signed contracts that give me permission to put them in a prison of my choosing for the rest of their lives.”
“That doesn’t sound legal.”
“It’s legallybinding, and the sentence will be carried out long before they step a toe in court—if I’m forced to exercise any punishments.”
I lean back with a sigh. “Do you plan on getting to the point any time soon, or should I settle in for more of this useless banter?”
“I’ll get to the point.” Carter leans forward. “Silas Cornell.”
My jaw tenses. He’s been quiet since I sent him a copy of Lyra’s sex tape—a veryshortsnippet, just enough to get him off my back without giving him thereallyinteresting bits. “What has he been up to?” I growl.
“He’s been sniffing around youandme. It seems hereallydoesn’t like you, and he’s figured that since we’re close, taking me down alongside yourself would be a nice benefit. Apparently, he’s forgotten he has skin in our game, as well.” Carter’s face falls into a blank mask. “If you don’t get him in line, he’ll be more useful to me dead than alive.”
My lips thin. Silas’s death would be no skin off my back—in fact, I’d very much enjoy watching him be slowly tortured to death—but he’s part of The Eyes. If he dies, I’ll be the first suspect, which might causeunneeded tension. I have a strong position in the organization and I have plenty of respect from even the most senior members, but I’m not infallible. I’m still held to the same code as everyone else; members are strictly off-limits for killing.
The only exception to the rule is when a member tries to kill or expose another—then, The Eyes usually gives permission for the aggrieved party to kill the aggressor.
That’s not to say that no member ever puts out a hit on another, but it has to be done with extreme discretion, and the understanding that The Eyes take theeye for an eyecommandment very seriously, and veryliterally. If anyone were to suspect I killed Silas Cornell, my head would be on the chopping block next. I’d rather not forfeit my lifenow, when I’ve finally gotten everything I want.
Well, maybe noteverything,but more than I ever thought I’d have, and certainly more than I deserve.
“Killing him will cause problems for me,” I tell Carter bluntly. “Don’t do it.”
I don’t know what the fuck Silas is playing at, but I certainly intend to find out, and put a stop to it. Maybe he’s tired after years of me playing with his life and his money—maybe he just doesn’t like me. Our rivalry has had its moments of fondness, and we’ve even helped each other out on occasion, but at the end of the day, Silas sees me as the dirt on his shoe—as the kid from the wrong side of the tracks who took his business from him.
I see him as a nepo baby who had an empire handed to him but couldn’t hold onto it because his greed got the best of him. If he were smart, he’d have adopted my business practices to truly compete with me, but he still wants to mark up goods at obscene costs and screw the poor people of the world out of money they don’t even have in thefirst place. I’ve found a far more effective way of emptying people’s pockets.
Carter yawns. “I don’t give a shit about something causing problems to you. I give a shit if things cause problems forme. And, when things cause problems for me, I prefer to kill them and be done with it.”
I meet Carter’s eyes, letting him see the severity in my gaze. “Killing Silas will cause more problems than you’re capable of cleaning up, and it’ll tie my hands behind my back, preventing me from helping you.”
Carter smirks. “Aw, protective of me? I had no idea you were falling in love with me. Just don’t start chasing me around with roses.”
“I’m protective of the money your company makes me.” Castell Luxury Group accounts for a significant chunk of my yearly income. Not as much as Helixon Biopharma, but nothing to turn my nose up at, either. “What is Silas looking into, anyways?”
“No fucking clue,” Carter says. “He hired two guys to follow me, and a third to break into my computer. When I caught ‘em and made them sing like fucking canaries, they coughed up that you were also being looked into. Silas isn’t having you followed, but he is employing people to break into your accounts.”
So Silas is breaking rules of The Eyes, as well. Members are generally required to leave other members to their devices. Something small, like me tanking Silas’s stocks, could be overlooked. But him hiring a hacker to break into my tech? That’s an escalation.
