by Lia Ellison
I only shrugged.
“I’ll find a way to convince you to give me a chance,” he said with all the confidence in the world, and I had no idea what to say to that.
My plan was clearly working, but I’d have to speed things up a bit. Because if I kept this up, I didn’t know how I was going to get him out of my head and out of my life.
My lips spread into a smile as I handed him my empty glass. “Bring me one more and I might think about it.”
Dating Ryker Cavano.
Not in my wildest dreams had I thought something like that might happen. But my revenge would be sweeter if he truly fell for me, wouldn’t it?
Chapter 19
“I THINK I KNOW HOW I’m going to get into his office,” I said to Nia while she was busy working on her laptop.
“Huh?” She lifted her head, giving me a puzzled look. “What did you say?”
“I came up with a plan. Ryker trusts me now, and he wants to convince me to start dating him, so I think I know how I can get into his office.” A smile built up on my lips. “But I need your help. Do you have a bug that won’t be detected easily and that I can plant somewhere he might not remember to look?”
“I do, but you’d have to be really, really careful. Won’t you make him suspicious if you ask to go to his office?” She frowned. “I get that you think he’d do just about anything so you’d give him a chance, but that doesn’t mean he won’t question it if you do something odd.”
“It won’t be suspicious. Trust me. Actually, I think I know how to make it look like it was all his idea.”
“Really? Well, that’s great.” She got to her feet as she set her laptop aside, and then she made her way toward one of the cabinets. After she spent a few minutes rummaging through it, she pulled out a small box.
“Is that it?” I asked when she offered me the box.
She nodded. “Yep, the bug is inside. No one will be able to tell who made it, and while it’s possible that someone will try to trace its signal, I will be notified about it, and I’ll cut the connection before any of Ryker’s men can find us. He won’t figure it out, unless you end up being the only one in his office, so he’ll easily put two and two together.”
“Let’s hope not.” I opened the box. A tiny round black device was inside. It resembled an actual bug. “And all I have to do is put it somewhere he won’t find it?”
“Yeah. But it has to be as close as possible to him. If you attach it across the room, it might be harder to hear what he’s saying.”
“Right.” I eyed the device, then closed the box. “Can I carry it in my pocket? I can’t bring this whole box with me. Ryker will be there with me, so I’ll have to be quick and I’ll have to make sure he can’t tell what I’m doing. Hopefully, there won’t be any cameras inside his office, but if there are, I’ll have to be careful about them too.”
“Yeah. Just don’t press on it too hard or sit down on it. It’s not fragile, but it’s small and it works better if it’s not squeezed, okay?”
I bobbed my head. “I guess I need to put it somewhere under his desk.”
“That would be ideal, yeah.”
“I’m going to try that. What about my escape plan? Is everything ready?”
“Yeah. I have plane tickets and a fake passport for you.”
“What are the odds that his men spot the bug? I mean, what if they find it and pretend they didn’t so they’d catch me? Do you think we’d be able to figure that out?”
“Um, I don’t know. I didn’t exactly use this for a situation like that, but my friends have, and they think no one will spot it unless they know what they’re looking for. If no one suspicious goes to Ryker’s office, his men might not even check his office. But are you sure you want to proceed with your plan?”
“Yeah. We’ve already talked about how dangerous it all is, but I’m sure.”
“No, not about that. Are you sure you want to do this now?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because of Ryker, duh.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s obvious that he likes you and that you like him too.” She lifted her finger before I could say anything. “I know he’s done some really terrible things to you, but maybe he’s changed. Maybe if he knew who you are, he’d be sorry. An apology wouldn’t quite cut it. I get that. But maybe he can try to make it up to you?”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Ryker hasn’t changed. He’s still the same guy. He’s just a good actor. When he wants something, he’s willing to do anything to get it, even if it goes against his nature. If I become his girlfriend, he might revert to his true self.”
“Okay, but what if there’s a tiny chance that he’s really changed?”
“No, forget it. Ryker is a criminal, and I can’t just ignore everything he’s done to me because he’s acting nice now.”
“All right. It’s your life. Just don’t do anything you might regret later, because there’s no going back from this.”
“I know.” I stared down at the box with the bug.
What if Nia was right and Ryker really was a different man now? But if that was true, then he would’ve stopped his reign of blood. He wouldn’t be building an empire and growing his business on corpses, threats, and drugs.
Of course, we’d both changed in some ways after high school. We were adults now, and Ryker was still the leader of the Scarlet Cobras. No, I doubted he’d changed all that much. Maybe he was more careful and calculating now than he’d been then, but he definitely deserved whatever was coming for him.
There was no way for me to love or be happy with a man who was willing to destroy other people’s lives for his own gain. Hell, I wasn’t a good person either. Good people didn’t crave revenge the way I did, but I didn’t care. Still, I’d never be like him.
“Lexi?” Nia said. “I don’t like the dark look on your face. What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing. Just Ryker. If he was actually capable of love, he wouldn’t still be leading the Scarlet Cobras.”
“Maybe.”
“So you’d date a gang leader?”
“If it’s true love and I’m not in danger with him, then hell yeah.” She grinned. “Especially if I can hack his enemies for him. Do you forget that I was in juvie for a reason?”
“But you haven’t killed anyone, and I’m sure Ryker has.”
Her face went serious. “Yeah, you’re right. Don’t mind me. I’m just coming up with a love story in my head that has nothing to do with reality. It’s just so easy to forget who he really is when he’s acting like that. I swear he seems innocent. It’s not like I know him, but what you described doesn’t fit with the man I saw at that yacht.”
“He does look innocent, yeah.” I groaned. “Sometimes, I forget who he is too. He’s really good at that.”
“Are you sure you have the right Ryker?” The corners of her lips twitched up. “Maybe he has a twin brother who stepped into his place when the actual Ryker died?”
“I wish.”
“No, seriously. Maybe I should look into it. Who knows? It might be possible.”
“Ha ha. You’d be wasting your time.”
“I waste my time on a lot of things.” She shrugged.
I held the box with the bug tightly in my hand. “I have to go now. I need to get ready for my session with Ryker.”
“And I’ll be ready so I can set up the bug once it’s in place. All you have to do is text me and I’ll activate it. Then you’ll be able to hear everything he does in his office. Well, almost everything.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t know how things were going to end, but I had to try.
I owed it to Avery.
Chapter 20
“WOW.” RYKER’S MOUTH was hanging open when he saw me. I flashed him a wide smile as I shrugged out of my coat.
“Who’s been a naughty boy?” I asked, adjusting my fake glasses as I waved the cane in my other hand.
Ry
ker’s gaze was still glued to my tight red shirt with a deep neckline and my black skirt that came just above my knee. His erection was already straining against his pants. Now all I had to do was convince him to take me to his office.
“I thought we might have some fun tonight. Something different,” I said. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, totally.” He couldn’t tear his gaze off me.
“Good. Then let’s go.” I started in the direction of the room where we’d had our last session.
“Wait. I think I have a better idea,” he said.
“Oh?” I feigned innocence.
“I know a better place where we can make things more realistic. Come with me.” He opened another door for me, and I stepped into a large, dim hallway.
I couldn’t spot any cameras, but maybe it was just too dark for that. Or maybe he was taking me exactly where I wanted him to take me. Hell, even if we didn’t end up going to his office, there was still a chance he’d take me to some part of the house where he actually spent more of his time and maybe discussed his business too.
“Here,” he said after we stopped in front of a black door. After he pressed his hand to the glass panel on the wall, he looked into it.
“That’s a lot of protection,” I said as the door beeped open.
“It’s probably overkill,” he said. “But it’s better to be safe than sorry. A lot of my competitors would love to get their hands on some of my projects. I do some work for the government too, so you can imagine that such projects need to stay secret until it’s time to reveal them.”
The government? Yeah, right. As if anyone from the government would willingly hire a criminal. Or maybe they would. If they were criminals themselves. A lot of politicians seemed shady anyway.
When he opened the door for me, I fought the urge to grin. His office.
It wasn’t as large as I’d expected, but it was big enough. A sturdy desk was in the middle, and there was a laptop and a lot of papers on it. There was a shelf with lots of folders and files, and some souvenirs and photos. Ryker quickly pushed some of the papers off his desk and into one of the drawers.
“This is nice,” I said as I ran my finger over the desk, looking around for cameras.
There were too many things in here for me to be able to tell if a camera was hidden somewhere, so I’d have to be very careful. The bug in the pocket of my skirt felt like a heavy rock, but I was sure that I was just imagining it.
“You can take a seat here.” Ryker pointed at his comfortable-looking leather chair.
I sat down—damn, it was really soft—and placed my cane on the desk as Ryker moved toward the door. It was too soon to plant the bug, especially when he was looking at me with so much eagerness that I couldn’t focus on anything other than him.
“Ryker Cavano,” I said. “Back in my office so soon. What have you done now?” I gave him my most serious look as I clasped my hands in front of me.
He bit down on his lip as he strolled forward, his hands in the pockets of his pants. Damn, he was hot, especially when he tried to look all innocent. I pressed my legs tightly together.
“I’m sorry, Miss Lexi,” he said. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“Get your hands out of your pockets, young man!” I leaned back in my chair. “I won’t tolerate your disrespect, or you disrupting your classes and terrorizing your teachers.”
He pulled his hands out and gave me a look through his eyelashes. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m going to punish you.” I got to my feet, picking up the cane. “Drop your pants and underwear and bend over the desk.”
“Please don’t. I promise it won’t happen again.” He gave me such a convincing pleading look that I was impressed.
“Nuh-uh. You’re not getting out of your punishment. Now do as I say or you’ll get double.”
His eyes were on me as he yanked his pants and underwear down, and then he bent over the desk. A shudder of delight shot through me, and I pushed his dress shirt up so it wouldn’t get in the way.
“I want you to count them,” I said before the first stroke landed across his ass, leaving a red weal.
“One, Miss,” he said.
The cane swished through the air again, and my arousal was only getting stronger as more welts covered his ass.
After a particularly hard thwack of the cane across his already sore flesh, he jumped up, but he managed to stay in position and not lose the count.
“Does it hurt?” I asked as I lowered my hand to his burning cheeks.
“Yes, Miss.”
“That’s good. Maybe you’ll finally learn your lesson.” My hand lingered on his skin, and without thinking, I let my fingers slip between his legs.
He let out a small gasp as I cupped him, stroking him. He didn’t tell me to stop, just pushed himself toward my hand. I trailed my fingers up and down his shaft once again before letting go of him.
I brought the cane down on his ass again, making him groan. The weals were all starting to melt together, so I had to create some new ones.
“You forgot to count them. Now I have to start all over again,” I said as I tapped the cane against his tender flesh.
His sharp intake of breath made me chuckle.
The swish of the cane through the air and the sound it made when it collided with his skin made my insides tingle, and my panties were wetter than ever.
When I finally lowered the cane onto the desk, Ryker was trying to catch his breath. My gaze focused on his lips. Would it be so bad if I let things progress further?
Don’t forget why you’re here.
Right. I couldn’t afford to get distracted. I still hadn’t planted the bug.
“Get up,” I ordered, and Ryker winced as he pushed himself up. “Go stand in that corner over there. Hands on your head.”
He gave me a look that told me corner time wasn’t something that he was fond of.
“What are you waiting for?” I placed my hand on my hip. “Do you want another spanking?”
The corners of his lips curved up into a smile, but he finally obeyed.
I sat down in his chair, leaning forward as I slipped my hand into my pocket. My fingers closed around the bug, and then I planted it under his desk, just in the corner where I thought no one would easily see it.
Done. It was all done.
But then my eyes lifted to Ryker. A shot of desire surged through me at the sight of his red ass, his pants and underwear around his ankles, his hands on his head. I leaned back, slipping my fingers under my skirt and into my soaking wet panties.
Maybe this was the last time I had a session with Ryker and I wanted to enjoy as much of it as I could. He must’ve realized what I was doing because he shifted, trying to glance at me.
“Don’t even think about it,” I snapped as I slid my finger into my slickness. As a moan found its way out of my throat, I kept my gaze on Ryker, who could only imagine what I was doing.
Chapter 21
I ROLLED OVER ON THE bed and stared at my phone, but there was only silence. As soon as Nia had activated the bug, she’d set everything up so I could listen in on Ryker whenever I wanted.
The only problem was that there wasn’t much to hear. Either Ryker wasn’t in his office very often or he didn’t talk to anyone. I was already losing hope that he’d ever say anything incriminating.
Or maybe I’d done something wrong and damaged the bug. Maybe that was why I couldn’t hear anything. I didn’t think Ryker’s men had found it or detected it. But if I’d really messed something up, I doubted I’d get into Ryker’s office anytime soon without making it look suspicious.
Ryker.
I did my best to push him out of my mind and not think about our little session in his office. One part of me wanted to repeat it and maybe do something more.
“Boss,” someone said, and I jumped, looking wildly around me. It took me a moment to realize the voice was coming from my phone.
The bug.
&nb
sp; It was working after all. I snatched the phone, staring at it intently as if that was somehow going to help me hear better. Too bad I couldn’t have planted a camera. It would’ve been so much better to be able to see who was talking. I assumed the guy who’d spoken was one of Ryker’s men.
“What is it?” Ryker asked.
“Sanchez is here. He wants to speak with you.”
“Sanchez? All right. Let him in.”
“Yes, boss.”
Who the hell was Sanchez and how did he or she know where Ryker lived? I doubted Ryker was handing out his address to all of his associates and other criminals. Or maybe where he lived wasn’t such a secret.
His mansion was a fort anyway. It would be hard for anyone to get inside, and I suspected Ryker had ways of getting out of there as quickly as possible without anyone catching him.
“Is it true?” a male voice boomed a few minutes later. Was that Sanchez?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ryker said, sounding bored.
“Did you strike a deal with the Colombians?”
“So what if I did? It’s none of your business.”
“Of course it’s my business! We’re partners.”
“Our partnership won’t be affected in any way. I can guarantee you that. Unless there’s something you failed to tell me.” There was a threatening note in Ryker’s voice, and I didn’t think he was overly happy with Sanchez.
“I’ve never lied to you.” Sanchez didn’t seem to notice any of it, but maybe he didn’t know Ryker as well as I did.
“Then there’s nothing for us to discuss.”
“The Colombians stole my fucking shipment!” Sanchez yelled. “Your fucking shipment! I replaced it in good faith, and now you turn around and strike a deal with them.”
“How can you be sure it was them? It could’ve been anyone. You have a lot of enemies.”
“I’m sure! I told you that.” Sanchez must’ve slammed his fist against the desk because it sounded as if a bomb had exploded.
My heart skipped a beat, and I wondered if the bug had fallen to the floor.