Billion Dollar Bad Boy (Big City Billionaires #1) (20 page)

Santile?
That was the cop who'd driven me home the night Silver and I had...
Don't think about that. Or him.

“We're still looking over video and talking to witnesses,” Santile said, sounding more severe than he had when he'd helped me. “But the issue comes with the way the robbery happened. We know it occurred sometime around two in the morning. We know no one entered the Goldman Bank, or left it. It seems to have happened entirely through the computer system itself.”

Gripping the wheel, I steered my car into the breakdown lane. Passing drivers honked at me, but I ignored them.
Silver. He did it again.

The voices on the radio went sketchy, breaking up. I twisted the knob, but it didn't help, the radio waves were junk. I was regretting my shit-can car when the first speaker came back. “That was Officer Santile. If you have any information about the crime, please call their hotline. The number is one-eight-eight...”

I dropped my forehead against my knuckles.
Why did he do it? It's like my mom said, isn't he already rich?
Was this a game to him, what would make him risk getting caught?

They said no one entered or left. Last time, he used a little device he had the teller plug in at the bank.
He must have gotten better over the years, he didn't even
need
to show up in person to perform the hack this time.

Sitting tall, I arched my neck and looked at my ceiling.
This has nothing to do with me.
Even thinking that, guilt still knotted in my stomach. It had become my familiar friend these days.

Pulling out into traffic, I finished the drive to the post office in deep thought.

When I entered the tiny building, Kerie waved at me from behind the counter. I returned the gesture, my mail-key jingling in my lock. Cracking the door, I reached in to grab the few envelopes... and stopped.

There was a letter waiting for me.

First came shock, then came fury.
I told him to leave me alone!
Grabbing the paper, I read the perfectly curling ink. It said only one thing,
Pet.

Trembling, I ripped it open.

Pet,

You told me to leave you alone. I think you know that I can't.

I'm going to do everything I can to get you back in my grip, I need to touch you so badly, I—

Crushing the letter, I threw it on the ground and fucking
screamed.

Why was he still reaching out to me? He was insane—he had to be. Wasn't it clear after seeing me with Detective Roose that talking to me was stupid? It was the riskiest thing he could do, especially after I'd warned him off, and
still
he was doing it!

“Hey!” Kerie said, breaking into my thoughts. “Are you okay?”

Freezing, I looked around without moving my head. Everyone was watching me, their unease plain as day. For once, I didn't care. Let them stare, I was tired of holding my emotions inside.

He's putting himself in danger just to talk to me.

Through the frustration, there was a twang of remorse... and longing.

Kerie waved his hands gently, his voice hushed. “Calm down, you're freaking everyone out. What happened?”

“Nothing,” I said, rolling my shoulders. I bent down to scoop up the letter, but Kerie beat me to it. “Wait!”

Ignoring me, he unfolded the mess, eyes scanning the page. “Oh, jeez,” he sputtered. Flicking me a quick look, he read more. “Uh, wow. This is from that guy, huh?”

Burning down to my feet, I snatched it back from him. “Pretend you didn't read that.”

Understanding glimmered in his eyes. “You're pissed at him, aren't you?”

“Was it obvious?” Sighing, I fluffed my hair. “Sorry, that came out mean. I'm just... I didn't expect him to write to me again.”

“Oh. That's probably why he paid me extra to give you this.”

Stunned, I looked down at the small black satchel Kerie held. I couldn't make myself reach out and touch it. “Why did he give you that?”

Pointedly, he nodded at the crushed letter. “I'm guessing he figured you'd react like that and didn't want whatever this is to get ruined.”

Silver was too smart for his own damn good.

But not smart enough to leave me alone.

Shaking, I opened and closed my hands at my sides. My instinct said to take the gift and see what it was. The alarmingly sharp part of my mind said to walk away and stand firm. Silver was trying to buy me back.

I wouldn't let him.

“Hey!” he shouted, chasing after me as I stormed out to my car. “Where are you going?”

“He's determined to get me to talk to him.” Climbing into the driver's seat, I revved the engine. “I'll give him what he wants.”

Kerie inched forward, then back again. I wouldn't have run him over, but he was acting like I might. “What the hell happened between you two?”

I spared him a single glance. “Everything.”

And it was the truth.

When he moved out of my way, I burned rubber in my wake.

Alexis

A
business card and Silver's jacket were my only companions in the car. I'd stopped at my place just long enough to grab them.

Touching the jacket had been a shocker. His essence was all over it, and the weight reminded me too much of how his hands felt on my shoulders.

Parking my car, I went to pick up the jacket... and I stopped.

Am I really doing this?

In the mirror, I saw the circles under my eyes. Kicking Silver out of my life had been a futile effort. I couldn't sleep because he was a constant in my dreams. Waking with the memory of his touch was torture.

Running away had always been the answer to my problems. Except it had never solved anything. It had taken me years to realize that.

The only way to end this is to face him.

With great control, I scooped his jacket up and climbed out into the purple light of the evening. Lifting my eyes, I stared at the building. It was blackened stone, modern-style windows running down the front like buttons on a suit. It had a buzz that just screamed
money.

Money and sex.

Pushing my hand against the door, I walked into Pure Pleasure Incorporated.

The waiting room was glossy white, a series of small, round chairs set to one side. There was a water cooler as well as an impressive little machine that seemed to make single cups of coffee or tea. One man was mixing a drink as I watched.

I knew instantly that this wasn't a place people just walked into. Pure Pleasure didn't sell their products here, they
made
them here.

I probably look like a tourist.
But tourists didn't have the singular intensity in their eyes like I did.

The statuesque and painfully gorgeous red-head behind the front desk waved at me. “Can I help you?” she asked.

Stepping forward, my eyes tracked along the nearby hallway. Was he down there? “I'm looking for...” I nearly spilled the name
Silver.
“Keswick. Is he here?”

“Mr. Silverwell?” she asked, her pouty lips scrunching tight. She flicked her eyes down to the jacket I was holding. Did she recognize it? Then, she gave his location away by peeking over her shoulder. “Um, let me just make a call and see if—”

I was already marching down the hallway.

“Hey!” she shouted, following behind me. “Wait! You can't just go down there!”

Watch me.
Clenching my hands, I moved faster. I was done not understanding his motives.

I was going to get answers.

And I was getting them
now.

Rounding the corner, I entered a new room. It was big and wide, a long staircase crawling up the other side. Computers filled several counters, people hunched and typing away. Some were drawing on gigantic screens, and one look had me blushing.

Dildos are obvious from any distance.

Everything was a whirl of faces and colors, a low murmur of music and voices. This was no sweatshop, people were smiling and joking from their chairs as they worked.

“Excuse me, Miss!”

Ignoring her, I spun on my heel, head swinging.
Where is he?
He had to be here, I was sure. So why didn't I see him?

“You need to...!” She reached for me; I darted away, infuriating her further and not caring one bit. I didn't feel like myself, I'd slid out of my own skin somewhere along the way. The old me, the shivering and traumatized me, was on the sidewalk outside.

His face was turned away, speaking to someone who was hunched over their laptop.

But I knew him with miles between us.

Silver lifted his eyes, catching me from the corner of one. I watched with amazement as his sure smile shattered. I saw it drip lower and lower, almost sliding from his jawline.

The person sitting next to him perked up, sensing Silver's sudden change in mood. The other man twisted his chair, looking between us curiously.

Pet,
Silver mouthed, but no sound came out. It should have felt so fucking
good
to see him shocked. But standing there under his powerful stare, I began drifting.

Hold on,
I told myself. My internal voice was hollow.
Focus, get angry! He ruined everything you were! You need to hate him!

In my chest, something clutched my heart and squeezed.

Neither of us had moved. His toes pointed at me, his hands—hands that had always been unexpectedly soft—clenching at his hips. He was coiled all the way to his eyebrows, and even so, frozen to the ground.

I could feel every breath he took, my own body swelling simultaneously.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, danger flashing through his tone.

“I'm sorry, sir.” My red-headed pursuer came around, her phone lifted calculatingly. “I tried to stop her, but she just ran back here! I'll call the police.”

“Wait,” he said, motioning for her to stop. “It's fine.”

I felt a twinge of delight at how her mouth flapped. “Sir?”

Silver hadn't stopped watching me. I was rooted to the spot, digging for any fragment of the strength I'd stormed in with.
Remember who he is.
Cutting into my own palms with my nails, I steeled myself. “We need to talk.”

He eyed me closely. I could feel his pupils trying to slip into my head and understand why I was here. “My office,” he said, gesturing at the stairs. Then he turned enough to talk to the man at the computer. “Florian, send that data to me and I'll finish looking it over.”

“Alright,” the blonde stranger said. He squinted at me again, like he could grasp what was going on if he looked hard enough.

The woman from the front desk stood there another minute. I think she kept expecting Silver to change his mind and tell her to call security after all.

Of course, he didn't.

The office was gorgeous, high ceilings, tall windows, and a black couch that glistened in the corner. Silver shut the door behind us; the lock clanked through the air pointedly. “How did you find me?” he snapped.

“I thought you'd be happy,” I said, not hiding my sarcasm. “You wanted to see me, here I am.”

“You know I didn't mean like this.” Running a palm over his hair, he stayed by the door. The tension in his face made me realize that as big as this office was, there was little space between us.

“Your business card,” I said, shaking his jacket. “It was in the pocket,
Keswick
.” I spit his real name out, then threw the garment onto the floor by his desk.

Silver's shoulders slid down. “Of course.” He relaxed enough to prop himself on the wall, one knee bent—oddly casual. “I'm guessing you didn't come here just to return that.”

“Of course not!” Filling my chest, I threw my arms down. “I told you to leave me alone, but you still keep trying to reach me! More letters, more fucking
gifts?
I never wanted to see your face ever again, Silver!”
Lies.
“But I'm here, so talk. Tell me why you're risking your safety by contacting me—
me,
who you know has been talking to the detective who wants to put you in prison!”

His mouth became a thin line. It was his only reaction.

I said, “I need to understand. I can't handle knowing you're out here, waiting for me... thinking of me... until I know why you came back in the first place.”

His next movements were too fast, his body rushing forward until he had me backed against the polished desk. “You don't understand yet, do you, Pet?”

“Don't call me Pet.” It was a frail demand, so I narrowed my eyes. Fuck, he was too close. His heat was washing over me, and with the sharp edge of the desk behind me, I was trapped. “
Hostage
is better, isn't it?”

I meant to piss him off. Amazingly, a slow smirk spread over his lips. “I'll call you that if you want. My hostage, I fucking love that. It means you're
mine.
”

Hot ripples made my lower belly squeeze.
No, don't let him get to you.
This man was a demon crafted from sexual desire. I had to be strong, I needed to understand what was going on. “I remember everything, you know. That means I remember how you nearly killed me.”

His eyebrows scrunched.

I didn't let him speak, my lips curling back as my anger returned. “You put a gun to my fucking head. I thought I was going to
die,
Silver! I was ready to go out into the world and live my life and you stole that
away from me!”

My muscles bunched, I shoved forward and pushed him off of me. The baffled light that entered his eyes was glorious. I'd never felt so powerful, so... so
right.

“I was never going to pull the trigger—”

“How could I know that? Why does that even matter?”

“You weren't in real danger, Pet, I—”

“I said don't call me that!” I jabbed a finger at him. “Because of you, my whole life went off the rails!” Infused by fury, I pushed him back further.

Hard fingers coiled in my hair. My world spun, his force spinning me so that I bounced against the door. I felt the hinges rattle along with my teeth. It didn't hurt, but it left me stunned.