“What…you…” My ability to form a coherent sentence died an undignified death as I stared at my ex-boyfriend.
He was here. In D.C. Standing less than two feet away and wearing an alarmingly calm expression.
“Surprise.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. His pants were more faded than he typically liked, his shirt more wrinkled. His face had lost the fullness of youth and taken on a gaunter shape.
Other than that, he was the same Max.
Handsome, charming, manipulative as hell.
Some people were capable of change, but Max was as set in his ways as concrete. If he was here, he wanted something from me, and he wouldn’t leave until he got it.
“Jules Miller, speechless. Never thought I’d see the day.” His chuckle set off a dozen alarm bells in my mind. “Or should I say, Jules Ambrose? Nice name change, though I’m surprised you didn’t change it all the way.”
My muscles turned rigid.
“It was a legal name change.” I’d changed it after I moved to Maryland, and given I’d only been eighteen at the time with no mortgage, no credit cards, and no debts, it didn’t take long to erase Jules Miller and replace her with Jules Ambrose.
Perhaps I should’ve changed my first name too, but I loved the name Jules, and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of my old identity completely.
“One of the few legal things you did,” Max joked, but the words lacked humor.
The club’s energy, so exhilarating minutes ago, morphed into something more sinister, like it was one discordant beat away from exploding into chaos. Walls of sound and body heat pressed against me, trapping me in an invisible cage.
Max was one of the few people who knew about my past. One tiny push, and he could topple my world like it was a Jenga tower.
“You’re supposed to be…” Once again, I grasped for words that never came.
“In Ohio?” Max’s smile hardened. “Yeah. We have a lot to talk about.” He flicked a glance around us, but everyone was too busy battling for the bartender’s attention to pay us much mind. Nevertheless, he angled his head toward a dark corner of the club. “Over there.”
I followed him to a quiet hallway near the back exit. It was only steps away from the main club, but it was so dark and hushed it might as well be another world.
I tucked my phone back into my purse, Josh temporarily forgotten, and wiped my palms against my dress.
If I were smart, I would run and never look back, but Max had already tracked me down. Running would only delay the inevitable.
“I’m hurt you didn’t answer my texts,” Max said, never losing his affable expression. “With our history, I expected at least a reply.”
“I have nothing to say to you.” I kept my voice as even as possible despite the shake in my hand. “How did you even find me? How did you get my number?”
He tsked. “Those aren’t the right questions. Ask me why I haven’t reached out until now. Ask where I’ve been the past seven years.” When I didn’t, his face darkened. “Ask me.”
A sick feeling rose in my stomach. “Where have you been the past seven years?”
“Jail, Jules.” His smile didn’t reach the cold, flat plains of his eyes. “I was in jail for what you did. I only got out a few months ago.”
“That’s not possible.” Disbelief constricted my throat. “We got away.”
“You got away. You ran off to Maryland and created a perfect little life for yourself with the money we stole.” A shadow of a snarl rose on Max’s mouth before his expression smoothed again. “You left with no warning and left me to deal with the mess you made.”
I bit back a stinging retort. I didn’t want to provoke him until I figured out what he wanted, but while it was true I’d run off without leaving him so much as a note, we’d hatched the idea to steal from Alastair together. Max was the one who got greedy and deviated from the plan.
“They’ll be back soon.” I glanced around my stepfather’s office, my anxiety a tight knot in my chest. “We have to go now.”
We already had what we came for. Fifty thousand dollars in cash, which Alastair kept in his “secret” safe. He thought no one knew about it, but I’d made a point of exploring every nook and cranny of the mansion when I lived here. That included any places where Alastair may have stashed his secrets. I even figured out his safe combination—0495, the month and year he founded his textile company.
Cracking his safe wasn’t rocket science, and fifty grand wasn’t a secret, but it was a helluva lot of money, even after Max and I split it in half.
That was, if we stayed out of jail. We’d yet to get caught after seven months of pulling jobs in Columbus, but lingering here was just asking for trouble.
“Hold on. I…almost…got it.” Max grunted as he pried open the custom-made lock of the small metal box attached to the safe’s interior. It served as a second layer of security for Alastair’s most prized item: an antique diamond necklace he’d won at an auction several years ago after bidding over a hundred thousand dollars for it.
I already regretted telling Max about the necklace. I should’ve known fifty grand wouldn’t be enough for him. Nothing was enough for him. He always wanted more money, more clout. More, more, more, even if it got him into trouble.
“Leave it,” I hissed. “We can’t even pawn it without leading the authorities right to us. We have to—”
The bright beam of headlights filled the windows and threw a spotlight on our frozen forms. It was followed by the slam of a car door and Alastair’s deep, distinctive voice.
He and my mom went to dinner in the city every Friday, but they usually didn’t return home until ten. It was only nine-thirty.
“Shit!” Panic climbed up my throat. “Leave the fucking necklace, Max. We need to go!”
“I’m almost done. This baby will have us set for years.” Max wrenched the lock off with a triumphant smile and snatched the diamonds out. “Got it!”
I didn’t bother responding. I was already halfway out the door, adrenaline propelling me down the hall and toward the back exit. The duffel bag of cash banged against my hip with each step.
However, I skidded to a stop when I heard the front door open, causing Max to nearly crash into me.
“That was a terrible restaurant, Alastair.” My mom sniffed. “The duck was cold, and the wine was awful. We need to choose a better option next week.”
My fingers tightened around my bag strap at the sound of Adeline’s voice.
I hadn’t spoken to her since she kicked me out a year ago, right after my seventeenth birthday. Despite the awful way we’d parted, her familiar dulcet tones caused tears to sting my eyes.
My stepfather murmured something I couldn’t hear.
They were close. Too close. Just a wall separated the foyer from the hallway, and Max and I had to pass through the open arch connecting the two spaces to reach the exit. If my mom or Alastair turned into the hall instead of walking straight toward the living room, we were screwed.
My mom continued complaining about the restaurant, but her voice gradually faded.
They’d gone to the living room.
Instead of relief, old hurt crowded my chest. I was her only daughter, yet she’d chosen her new husband over me and never looked for me once after she threw me out for something he did.
Adeline had never been the warmest or most empathetic mother, but the callousness of her actions stung harder than I thought possible. No matter how harsh her words, it was supposed to be me and her at the end of the day.
Turned out, it was her and money. Or her and her ego. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was, I wasn’t and had never been first in her eyes.
“What are you doing?” Max passed me. “Let’s go!”
I shook myself out of my trance and followed him. Now wasn’t the time to engage in self-pity. It was only a matter of time before Alastair discovered his money and prized jewels were missing, and we wanted to be long gone by then.
My stomach flipped when the exit came into sight. We were going to make it. Just a few more steps—
Crash!
My eyes widened in horror when Max bumped into a side table in his haste. The porcelain vase sitting on it toppled to the floor and shattered with enough force to wake the dead.
He stumbled and landed on the broken pieces with a curse.
“What was that?” Alastair shouted, his voice carrying through the house. “Who’s there?”
“Fuck!” I grabbed Max’s hand and dragged him up and down the hall. “We have to get out of here!”
He resisted. “The necklace!”
I glanced over my shoulder and spotted the glittering diamonds lying amongst the jagged white shards.
“We don’t have time. Alastair’s almost here,” I hissed.
My stepfather’s angry footsteps grew louder. In less than a minute, he would catch us, and we could kiss our freedom goodbye unless he was in a forgiving mood.
Bile rose in my throat at the prospect of being at that creep’s mercy.
Max was greedy, but he wasn’t an idiot. He took my advice and abandoned his quest for the necklace.
I spotted a glimpse of Alastair’s thinning blond hair and furious face right as we flew through the back door, but I didn’t stop running until Max and I passed through the forest bordering the property and reached the side road where we’d parked our getaway car.
It was only then that I noticed the blood staining Max’s sleeve.
“They tracked me down using the blood I left behind from nicking myself on that stupid vase.” Bitterness crept into Max’s voice. “A few fucking bloodstains, and I lost years of my life. The judge happened to be a good friend of Alastair’s, so he handed down a heavy fucking sentence. Of course, you were long gone by the time the police came. There was no evidence you were involved—they couldn’t catch your face on the security cameras—and Alastair didn’t want to drag the case out when he already had me as the fall guy. Bad publicity, you see. So you got away scot-free.”
I hated the twinge of guilt in my gut. We’d both been in the wrong, and he was the only one who paid for it.
I understood why he was angry, but I also didn’t regret running when I had the chance.
I’d only fallen into the con life because of Max. I’d needed money, and it’d been impossible for me to get a job in town after people found out my own mother kicked me out. She never told anyone why she did so, and the rumors ran wild—everything from me selling drugs to me getting knocked up and losing the baby because of my supposed coke habit. Either way, no one wanted to touch me with a ten-foot pole.
Luckily, I had enough cash saved up to tide me over until I met Max two weeks after being kicked out. I’d been sucked in by his looks, charm, and flashy car, and it hadn’t been long before he roped me into running cons with him in Columbus.
But our ski weekend had shattered his spell, and I’d only stayed with him until I had the resources to leave Ohio for good. My acceptance to Thayer and Alastair’s cash gave me what I needed, and I snuck away the night after we broke into my stepfather’s mansion.
I hopped on a midnight bus to Columbus, bought the next flight to D.C., and never looked back.
“You might think I’m upset.” Present Max smoothed a hand over his hair. “I’m not. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect over the years. Become a better person. I’ve learned how to let bygones be bygones. That being said…”
Here it was.
I curled my hands into fists and braced myself for what he had to say next.
“You owe me. I took the fall for you.”
“What do you want, Max?” I didn’t point out that he had, in fact, committed a crime and took the fall for himself. There was no point. “I’m sorry you got caught. Truly. But I can’t give you those seven years back.”
“No,” he said, the picture of reason. “But you can do me a favor. It’s only fair.”
Needles of dread pricked at me. “What kind of favor?”
“It wouldn’t be any fun if I told you now, would it?” Max smiled. “You’ll see. I’ll let you know when the time is right.”
“I’m not having sex with you.” The mere idea turned my stomach.
“Oh, no.” His laugh bounced around the hallway and scraped against my skin like nails on chalkboard. “After how well-used you must be after all these years? No, thanks.”
Heat rushed to my face, and I resisted the urge to stab him in the balls with one of my stiletto heels.
“Although you have always been enthusiastic in the sack, so you have that going for you.” My stomach hollowed when he pulled out his phone. “I even have evidence.”
He pressed a button, and my stomach churned when past me’s moans filled the air.
“Right there,” onscreen me gasped, sounding disgustingly sincere even though I’d hated every second of what I’d been doing. “That feels so good.”
“Yeah, you like that?” The man’s rough voice sent a wave of nausea crashing through me. “I knew you were a fucking slut the moment I saw you.”
The video was grainy, but it was clear enough to see both our faces and his cock as he pumped in and out of me. I’d barely known the guy, but Max had convinced me to sleep with him and capture it on camera.
I’d been such a fucking idiot.
“Turn it off.” I couldn’t stand the sound of my fake moans. Each one drilled into my brain and dragged me back to the dark days when I’d craved approval so much I would’ve done anything for it, including have sex with a man twice my age just so I could steal from him.
“But we haven’t gotten to the good part yet.” Max’s smile widened. “I love it when you let him fuck you in—”
“Turn it off!” Cold sweat drenched my skin. “I’ll do your fucking favor.”
The video finally, blessedly stopped.
“Good. I knew you were smart.” Max pocketed his phone. I wasn’t dumb enough to think stealing it would do anything except piss him off. He must have backups of the video stashed somewhere. “After all, you don’t want to lose your job at Silver & Klein, do you? A fancy law firm like that probably wouldn’t react well to one of their employees having a sex tape floating around online.”
The bile churned harder. “How do you know about that? How did you even find me and get my number?”
Max shrugged. “It’s not hard to track you down when pictures of you with a queen are splashed all over the internet, especially with the royal wedding is coming up. Once I discovered your new name, it took only a simple Google search to turn up what I needed. Jules Ambrose, member of the Thayer Law Review. Jules Ambrose, recipient a full-ride scholarship to Thayer Law.” His smile turned bitter. “You’re living a good life, J. As for your number…well, those things aren’t exactly classified. Paid some cash to an online service and voila. Done.”
Fuck. I’d never considered the consequences of having my connection with Bridget be so publicized. But I never expected Max would look for me after all these years. I’d feared it, but I hadn’t expected it.
“And Hyacinth? How’d you know I would be here?”
Breathe, Jules. Breathe.
Max rolled his eyes. “I’m here to have fun, J. Plus I have…business in D.C. Not everything is about you. Running into you was a lucky coincidence, though I’d planned to text you again eventually. I was just…busy these past few weeks.”
His casual annoyance was more sinister than any outright threats or violence, though he’d always disdained physical violence. It was too plebeian for him; he preferred mind games and manipulation, as evidenced by our current conversation.
I could only imagine what kind of “business” he was up to, though. I would bet my new apartment it was something illegal.
“And when do you plan on asking for this favor?” If I had to do it, I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
“Whenever I want. It could be a few days from now. Weeks. Months.” Max offered a loose shrug. “Guess you’ll have to keep a close eye on your phone. Don’t want to miss a text from me or poof, you might wake up one day to find your video online.”
My stomach hollowed. The idea of Max’s threat hanging over my head for an indeterminate length of time made me want to hurl.
“If I do it, you’ll erase the tape,” I said.
It was worth a shot.
His expression hardened. “I’ll erase the tape if and when I want to erase it.” He brushed a strand of hair out of my eye, the action grotesquely tender considering the circumstances. “You don’t have any leverage, babe. You’ve built this fancy life of yours on a foundation of lies, and you’re just as helpless now as you were when you were seventeen.” He trailed his hand down my neck and caressed my shoulder. A swarm of invisible spiders crawled over my skin. “You will do—”
A familiar voice cut in, deep and edged with hardness. “Am I interrupting something?”
