“Mr. Jackson.” Abigail came running into my office in a panic. “Josef Weber is downstairs—should I have security throw him out?”

Fuck.

“No. Is Reynard here?” I stood up behind my desk.

“He’s not.” She shook her head back and forth. “I guess he’s going to be late today.”

What else is new.

“Okay, send Mr. Weber in once he’s upstairs.” I sat back down and sighed.

Ignoring Josef Weber wasn’t going to work. I should have known that. It wasn’t the first time had come to see me, but I knew his tone would be different than it was the last time he showed up at Jackson Investments. He was oozing with confidence then—let me know that he was going to keep sending proposals until the company belonged to him. He didn’t think we would fight back—probably because I hadn’t lifted a finger to try since he started making his moves against the company. Instead of lifting a finger, I poked the bear. A very angry bear that I was going to have to confront on my own since Reynard was probably too busy playing with his toy to come into the office at a decent hour.

“Jackson—what the fuck!” He stormed into my office and Abigail barely got the door closed before his wrath came at me. “We had an agreement!”

“We had no agreement.” I looked up at him and tried to remain calm—it wouldn’t help if we were both shouting.

“Yes, we did.” He narrowed his eyes and snarled at me. “Wyatt and I had an understanding.”

Wyatt? I don’t remember Wyatt mentioning any sort of—agreement.

“It must not have been a very good agreement—nor one that was in our favor if you started taking our clients before his body was cold.” I balled my fists but kept my anger in check.

“You don’t even understand the hell you just unleashed.” He shook his head back and forth. “I’m here to make you one final offer—a lot less than the last proposal I sent. Either you take it right now, or I’ll break my promise to Wyatt—and you won’t like what happens.”

“That sounds like a threat.” I leaned back in my chair. “Are you sure you even have enough clients left to make a move against me—I hear the Los Angeles market is becoming less than favorable for Weber Acquisitions.”

“I don’t need clients to make a move against you.” A smile slowly spread across his face. “I just need one thing—one thing that I’ve had since the beginning.”

“What’s that?” I tilted my head to the side.

“Sign the proposal I send over, or else you’re going to find out.” He walked over and pressed his knuckles to my desk, getting so close that I could have snapped his head off without trying.

“Sounds like an empty threat—if you won’t even tell me what it is.” I folded my arms across my chest—mostly to control myself and not lash out like I wanted. “Desperation doesn’t look good on you.”

“You arrogant prick.” He pushed back and snarled. “Fine, have it your way. When you watch your empire crumble, I want you to remember this moment—the moment I offered you a way out.”

“I think you’re the one that needs to take the way out—the one right behind you.” I motioned, barely able to control my anger.

“The next time you see me, you’ll be looking at me from this side of that desk—if I don’t have the whole fucking building demolished.” He grunted and exited my office with the same fury as he entered.

Josef Weber generally isn’t the kind of guy to make idle threats. I need to figure out what the fuck has him so confident.

“Where the fuck have you been?” I barged into Reynard’s house as soon as he opened the door. “I’ve been calling you all morning.”

“Sorry, I’ve been—preoccupied.” He chuckled and took a step back. “What’s going on?”

“Josef Weber.” I turned to face him when he closed the door. “That’s what’s going on. He came to see me.”

“Did he bow his head in submission?” Reynard walked over and took a seat on his couch.

“No! He threatened me.” I shook my head back and forth. “We missed something—there’s no way he’s bluffing.”

“Maybe bluffs are all he has left.” Reynard shrugged. “We’ve decimated his business at this point. Even if it stretched us a little thin, we’ve got the capital to cover it.”

“Something doesn’t feel right—it’s in my gut.” I shook my head angrily. “I just don’t think we’ve got the full picture. He mentioned an arrangement with Wyatt—did you know anything about that?”

“No.” Reynard blinked in surprise. “I know Wyatt dealt with Josef Weber regularly in Chicago, but there was no arrangement that I’m aware of.”

“I think we need to look closer at the Chicago branch. Abigail is pulling the data right now.” I growled under my breath.

“Let me go dig through that shit. You look like you need a drink anyway.” Reynard stood to his feet. “Stay here—enjoy yourself—maybe play with my toy?”

I didn’t really have any interest in the girl in the cage, but I definitely needed a drink. I fixed one while Reynard got ready to go into the office. I was so angry that I wasn’t sure I would find anything helpful in a stack of papers—I wasn’t sure Reynard could find anything either, but he was the one that started the mess with Josef Weber, so he could be the one to fix it—fuck if I knew what he could be getting at with his threat. I definitely didn’t think it was a bluff—that was for damn sure.

“Alright, I’ll call you if I find anything.” Reynard walked back into the living room and slid on his jacket.

“Okay.” I sat down on the couch and sighed.

Once Reynard left, I looked around the living room. It was hard to believe Reynard’s house was the same one I grew up in. It was almost gutted by his renovations. I moved out as soon as I could, but Reynard stayed—stayed until our father died, and then he erased every bit of the man who raised us. I couldn’t blame Reynard for that. Our father was a vicious man, and Reynard got the worst of it. Dad never stopped blaming Reynard for our mother’s death, even though Reynard wasn’t directly responsible—unless being born was a crime.

Maybe I should have done more—maybe he wouldn’t have become the kind of guy to put a woman in a cage if I hadn’t been so consumed with learning the business when he was surviving our father’s rage.

I walked over to the screen that showed Lizzy in her cage. It had been so long since a woman had graced my bed that the sight of her naked body made my cock take notice—especially since I knew I could have her. Reynard rarely shared his toys, and even when he offered, I never took him up on it. Something about Josef Weber’s visit though—the emotions I fought to control—they were making the beast want to come out and play. I looked at the stack of papers next to the monitor. Reynard had been through them so many times that they were starting to wrinkle.

All of these promises. She’ll have to make good on all of them before he lets her go—if he does. I really don’t know what will happen when the last one is finally fulfilled.

I picked up the stack and started shuffling through them. I was surprised by some of the fantasies the guys had cooked up. I considered myself dominant, but they had creative imaginations. Towards the middle of the stack, I found one that caught my eye. I read through the chat logs from Lizzy’s discussion with a guy named Paul and found myself mesmerized for a moment. He might as well have been typing out some of my darkest thoughts—things that turned me on—things that I had rarely shared, even with the submissive women who shared my bed. I stared at the piece of paper for a moment, then looked at the screen.

I could have this—with her. She’s going to have to do it eventually anyway, and I’m not sure Reynard will enjoy this nearly as much as I would.

My cock throbbed in my pants. I never thought I would consider using Lizzy as my toy. The beast was just pushing at my seams. It wanted her the same way Reynard did. It demanded her—and I wasn’t sure I could fight the desire. I turned off the camera on her cage. I wasn’t going to let Reynard see me play with his toy, even if he had enough time to look while he was at the office. The reality was—she was as much mine as she was his. We both took her—she signed a contract that included me, even if I wasn’t originally planning to take part in what he was doing to make her fulfill her promises.

I guess I can give into my darkness—just once. I’m not sure I would ever go this far with someone else, even if they wanted it.

I walked down the hall to Reynard’s playroom—ironically enough, it was the room that was once our father’s bedroom. I knew Reynard didn’t choose that room by happenstance. If our father’s ghost still roamed the earth, then he was doomed to watch others suffer at Reynard’s hands. I found what I was looking for and walked to the room where Lizzy was caged. The turmoil surged inside me as I clutched the piece of paper with her promise in my hand.

I guess I’m no better than Reynard. Not today at least.