“You’re right. Of course, go. I’ll work on this tomorrow morning.”
“Make no mistake about it,” Rhyson says gently. “So will I. If there was more we could do tonight to get him out, you know I would do it.”
I nod and walk with him into the hallway outside of the room we’ve occupied the last few hours, crawling up walls and shaking trees to make headway.
“Rhyson, what if I told you I think Grip being here has some- thing to do with me?” I ask softly, finally voicing the noxious thought that has been scratching the inside of my head the last few hours.
“You mean Parker?” Rhyson slides a glance my way and nods. “It occurred to me.”
I stop, grabbing his elbow to stop him, too. “So you do think this is my fault?”
“No, not your fault.” Rhyson squeezes my hand. “But I wouldn’t put it past Parker to be involved somehow. This was all too orchestrated. It smacks of foul play. If Parker is involved, I bet some high-ranking judge is in his pocket.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Bristol, promise me you won’t contact Parker.” Rhyson looks down at me sternly. “We knew he was dangerous, but now we know the lengths he’ll go to. Or at least we think he’ll go to. We’ll work on this together tomorrow.”
All the pieces start coming together in my head while I’m driving home. Once I know for sure that Parker is behind this, I’ll feel better. He never does anything unless there’s a gain. A measurable gain. I know what, or who he wants to gain. For the first time I feel some control. Steel enters my spine. I can fix this. I don’t know what I’ll have to do to fix it, and I honestly don’t care as long as I can get Grip’s name cleared and him out of this ridiculous situation.
I should be surprised to find the same black SUV that met me on the tarmac after Dubai in my driveway, but I’m not. Clairmont steps from the driver’s side and crosses around to open the rear door for me. I don’t look at or otherwise acknowledge him, but climb in, taking the seat across from Parker.
“You twisted motherfucker.” I keep my voice even and calm despite the violent emotions howling inside of me. My fingers spasm with the base compulsion to claw his throat out.
“Bristol.” Parker’s blue eyes gleam with dark smugness. “Now is that any way to greet the man who holds the key to setting your lover free?”
“How soon can you get him out?”
“It took me very little time to break it. I can fix it just as quickly, with your cooperation, of course. And you should call your brother’s lawyers off. They’re wasting their time, though I must admit I am enjoying blocking them at every turn. I have the right judges so deep in my pocket they lick my ass.”
“Who are you?” I lean forward, searching his face for an answer, looking for the monster hiding behind the polished mask. “What is wrong with you? Ruining an innocent man’s life for what? Me? To marry me, a woman who doesn’t love you?”
“Why would I care if you love me or not?” The razor edge of Parker’s laugh slices through my nerves. “But a marriage offer isn’t on the table anymore. How could it be now that the whole world knows you’ve soiled yourself with that thug?”
I watch him with no expression, waiting for his terms. It doesn’t matter what they are. I’ll do them to clear Grip’s name. Parker may not realize it, but he has me exactly where he wants me. He can bend me, position me, do whatever the hell he wants with me. He’s fou
nd my weakest point, and I’ll say ‘uncle’ before he even asks.
“Just tell me what you want and stop playing games.”
“Oh, but the games are the fun part.” His lust pollutes the air. It’s thick, a heavy fume filling my nostrils, gagging me. “And you know what I want, Bristol.”
“Sex.”
My steady eyes and matter of fact tone don’t betray my insurgent heart, bawling at the thought of anyone but Grip inside of me.
“Well, of course. That’s a given.” Parker smiles at me like I’m a slow child. “You could have been my queen, but now you have to bow to me."
He drops the smile and nods to the spot in front of him. "I said now, Bristol. On your knees.”
Teeth locked painfully and eyes hot with tears I will not give him the satisfaction of shedding, I drop to my knees and face him. He reaches out, pushing down one shoulder of my dress and then the other, until my breasts lay bare except for the gold chain dangling between them. My nipples go hard in the cool air, and I hope he’ll take it for desire. A man like Parker needs to feel wanted, and my heart may have no limits where Grip’s concerned, but my body does. And it refuses to want Parker.
He licks his lips, eyes brimming with greed, and cups my breast, squeezing with no mercy. I swallow a cry of pain, knowing it would only feed his appetite for my suffering.
“This body was made for me,” he says huskily. His eyes lift to mine, hard as blue crystals. “Mine, and you humiliated me in front of the whole world, flaunting your sordid affair with him.”
“There’s nothing sordid about my relationship with Grip.”
I stiffen when his hand slides down my torso, slipping past the material puddled at my hips and into my panties. His fingers play between my legs, but I remain obstinately dry. There is nothing about this, about him that excites me. I’m disgusted I ever shared my body with this man. Even as a naïve girl still in high school I should have recognized him as a monster.