Page 38 of Reveal

His words hit me so deep down, I can all but feel it in my bones. But I straighten my shoulders and clear my throat.

“Do you think threatening me is going to prevent me from releasing what I have on you in kind?”

“The pictures?” He laughs. “I’ll take my chances.”

“You wish I only had the pictures,” I counter, hating that he’s unfazed by my threat.

He stares at me, debating whether or not I’m bluffing. “You don’t have shit on me.”

“I’ll take my chances, then. It’s a hard fall when you’re as high as you are.” I return the same smug smile he’s giving me.

“You’re way out of your league. You might want to be careful.”

“It’s not exactly smart to threaten me.” My words hold conviction while I combat the nerves reverberating through me.

“Oh, I don’t make threats. That’s the best part about being in such a powerful and high position. Everyone knows I don’t threaten . . . I act. And I have every single resource at my fingertips just waiting for me to use.”

“I have resources too. Like people who must hate you so much that they drop information in my lap.”

“You’re playing with fire, Vee.” He tugs on the lock of my hair again and makes a show of breathing in my perfume, followed by a guttural groan. “That’s your first mistake.”

“So then I should release this call log to the public, then?” The question is out, my fear suddenly real enough to mention the one thing I have on him other than the pictures, even though I have zero clue how this list of phone numbers and times is damaging.

But his stuttered reaction—his narrowed eyes, his body tensing so I can step back from him, his head jerking ever so slightly—tells me he’s worried. His slip might only be for a second before he recovers, but I still see it. I still know that whatever this list of phone numbers and times and dates is means something to him.

And that in turn makes it more than valuable to me.

“Go right ahead,” he says with a shrug, but there’s something that darkens in his eyes that completely unnerves me. “I’m a representative of the people. All of my calls are available to the public.”

“Good to know, but I don’t buy it, Carter.” I shake my head with a slight smile on my lips as I try to read his hardened expression through the shadows.

“Feel free to make the mistake and fuck with me.”

We stand a foot apart. The chills that chase over my skin have nothing to do with the cool night air and everything to do with the sudden shift from demanding to downright disconcerting.

“Vaughn? Everything okay out there?” Joey calls from the front porch into the darkness, and I all but jump out of my shoes.

“Yes.” I clear my throat as my heart races, and I take a step to the left out from behind the corner of the garage where Carter and I are standing. “I’m fine.”

Despite the distance, I can see the startle of his head when he notices the silhouette of the limo on the curb. “He’s still here?” he asks, confusing me.

“Yes,” I answer, not sure what in the hell he’s talking about, but the last thing I need is Joey to see Carter and the questions that would follow. “I’ll be in in a minute.”

Joey takes a step onto the porch and holds a hand over his brow as if it’ll allow him to see better in the darkness to where we’re standing. I know he can’t see much, and for that I’m grateful. “Okay, if you’re sure.”

“Yes.” I’m more curt this time, not wanting him to walk any closer. But as much as I want him to shut the door, being alone with Carter unnerves me. Sure, his security detail is here, but I’m more than certain that my best interests aren’t his concern.

Joey stands there a few more seconds in indecision and then goes back inside. Once the door shuts, Carter steps into me. I try to step back, but in the process of trying to get Joey out of here, I unknowingly positioned myself so that the wall is at my back, and I have nowhere to retreat in order to put space between us.

“You are a little whore, aren’t you? First Ryker. Now Joey. Who else is there, Vee?” I yelp when he steps again so that our chests brush against each other’s and the stucco of the wall bites against my back. Despite the chill in the air, there is sweat beading on his temple and a wild excitement in his eyes that alarms me almost as much as his hands sliding up my arms.

“Get your hands off me.”

“Why? You want the feel of them on your skin to be left a surprise?” His chuckle is ominous at best and predatory at worst. “Don’t worry. I’ll ruin you for every single man you fuck after me.”

Something has changed in the last few moments from before Joey came outside to after. There has been some kind of shift in Carter. Almost as if he was knocked off stride and has now found his footing.

To say I’m alarmed by it is the understatement of the year.