Chapter Five
J ewel peered ahead. “You parked all the way down here?”
“New shade of lipstick?” I smirked. “Blood-red suits you.”
“You’re looking better, Greyson. Last time we met your brain melted.”
She had a remarkable talent for provoking others with her venomous cruelty.
Sad, but I was used to it.
The evening air carried a quiet charm, the kind that softened even the sharpest edges. It would be a nice walk if it wasn’t for the shrewish company.
“I heard you have a new architectural wonder you’re revealing this week,” she said. “Can’t wait to see it.”
Her threat was clear—she’d ruin the evening if she could.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“You’re back at Pendulum.”
Technically, I was walking away from it. “I’m a member.”
“Yes, but last time things didn’t go well.”
I arched a brow, curious. “Matter of perspective.”
She had been relieved of a consignment of trafficked women, thanks to us rescuing them.
She’d lost, inspiring her bitterness. We’d confirmed what she was capable of, and now she just needed to fuck off and die.
She nudged a little closer, strolling next to me like we were old friends. “I heard you threw Amelia out of the club.”
“No idea what you’re talking about.”
“You may have been masked but I know it was you.”
“Allegedly.”
That made her smirk. “We’ve known each other long enough to sense each other’s moves.”
“I don’t make moves. I do life.”
“And what a tedious life it is.”
Jewel’s cruelty could burrow under one’s skin.
I glanced her way. “We know it was you who ordered Lance Merrill’s murder.”
“Have no idea what you mean.”
“You had him strangled.”
She shrugged. “I noticed you didn’t intercede.”
Interrupting a ceremony would be suicide. I’d have died alongside him. We all knew that because it was a rule put in place by Aemon Roper. The guy didn’t care—just went around wielding his evil.
But karma had caught up with him and I hoped the same fate awaited her.
“Someone invited Lance to the sixth floor, any idea who?” she asked.
I shrugged, with no intention of giving away it was Stella Adair, Jake’s girlfriend. She had enticed Lance to his death—after he’d abused her in a Pendulum dungeon.
None of us mourned for Lance.
“What do you have in store for us, then?” I said, gut twisting.
“I want you alive, Greyson, so you have to endure what’s coming.”
“What is that perfume you’re wearing?” I asked. “Didn’t know delusion had a scent. It’s surprisingly…bold.”
She chuckled, unaffected.
Her perfume was cloying, an overbearing cloud transporting me back to a memory when I had mistakenly wandered into a room she was hosting, where the air was thick with desperation, and she was enjoying her brand of pain. No innocence in her games—only manipulation, control, and the twisted pleasure she took in bending others to her will.
I’d stopped her brutal play on a male sub, and she’d held a grudge ever since.
“If any of us are harmed…” My quiet threat was clear.
“You believe I need to lay a finger on any of you to destroy everything you’ve masterfully crafted in your lives? It all hangs in the balance. Jake’s venerated football career, Atticus’ reputation at Cedars as a distinguished surgeon, and your ability to get hired again as an architect.”
“Threats come easily for you, don’t they?”
“All it takes is one headline. A planted story so vile the public won’t stop to ask if it’s true. Reputations and careers will collapse overnight. Once the vultures descend, there’s no telling how many lives will be ruined—or lost.”
“You have a reputation, too.”
She peered toward the ocean and breathed in the fresh air. “I love the sea.”
“You should wear it.”
She gave me a tight little smile. “You’re on fire tonight.”
“The ocean wears a mask of calm, but beneath its surface, it cradles a thousand storms. Remember that.”
“Sounds like that Oxford education went well.”
I cringed inwardly. She knew I’d studied abroad, which proved she’d been digging.
“Touch Amelia again,” I said. “And I’ll kill you.”
“Now there’s a delicious threat.” She paused and then added, “Let’s discuss your fourth partner.”
I studied her expression to see if she was bluffing.
She couldn’t know it was Cole.
And here was me walking towards his fucking car. The one I’d arrogantly borrowed to get here.
Shit.
I’d have to get a taxi. Retrieve his BMW later.
“Your fourth partner has more to lose than anyone, Greyson. Otherwise, wouldn’t he allow his identity to be known?”
“What fourth partner?”
That made her smile, and it was one of those ruthless smirks that showed her vindictiveness.
My gut twisted. Did she already know who it was or was she just fishing for answers?
“Cole Tea’s shareholders will run screaming for the exits when they see the golden child is buying a sex club. The stock will tank so fast it’ll make headlines of its own.”
He used to own Chrysalis and Enthrall, so she really was out of the loop.
Looking away, I considered how best to deny Cole had anything to do with our impending deal to own Pendulum. We’d given Cameron our word that no one would know he was part of this takeover. I racked my brain to figure out how she could have discovered Cameron was part of the deal. A secret partner was meant to remain just that.
We all wanted to cleanse that club and flush out the evil. But this woman was in our fucking way.
“You’re wrong, Jewel, and embarrassingly off.”
This was probably a wild guess of hers.
Slowly and deliberately, I turned to face her.
My tone was smooth as glass. “Your intel is flawed. I have no idea where you get your stories, but they’re wrong. As wrong as your fucking morals. If you’re willing to get in the ring with me, prepare to be knocked out cold. You’re a criminal. You’ll end up exactly where people like you belong, rotting in a cell. Or worse, bait for the company you keep.”
“I don’t think so.” Her gaze was cold and calculating. “Powerful men love to play hard with the beauties I provide. They’ll do everything they can to keep their supply coming.”
“We stopped that.”
“Did you, though?”
My stare cut through her bravado. “Take a good look at me. I’m the man who leaves you with nothing but regrets. Remember that.”
“That’s right, Greyson, you’re the man who plays both sides. You once took a seat beside Roper, as a guest in the High Chamber, and observed the horrors he offered up.”
I looked away.
Her tone was triumphant. “I won’t tell them you visited the sixth floor. Just be compliant.”
I’d asked to be part of the ceremony once . When Atticus had unwittingly gone up there, I had to make sure he got out.
Jewel could use this against me.
“They don’t need to know,” she said. “In exchange, you will walk away from the deal at Pendulum. And then you will walk away from your friends. Let me have them. I’ll let you remain a member of Pendulum, if you’re a good boy.”
“Fuck off.”
She smirked. “How apropos. I’m heading back now for a fuck. Join me. This sexual tension has me all riled up.”
“Your debauchery won’t continue unchecked,” I replied, my tone laced with venom.
“Come back inside and play, or your friends will know all about your connection to Pendulum.”
“I don’t care for bribes, or blackmail.”
“You’ll lose everything.”
I glanced back toward the club. “You ruined it.”
“Pendulum exists because of men like you. Don’t forget that.”
“You’ve twisted the truth.”
“Pleasure is a delicacy best savored slowly.”
“With a hint of revenge?”
“Perversion. You just don’t have the stomach for dark delicacies, Greyson.”
“You believe the world will just look away?”
“Of course.”
Because it always does.
It was the brave few who made the difference; their names lost to history, but their hearts lived on in the good they did…we did.
“Tell me…” I leaned in, eyes gleaming with intrigue. “How long do you think you can keep the ghosts at bay? Places like this never forget. And they never forgive.”
“So dramatic, Greyson.” She curled her finger and caressed my cheek. “You’re the grand architect of Pendulum. The one who created the blueprints to the High Chamber.”
I never intended for anyone to get hurt , I thought bitterly.
She pouted. “After the night you saw Lance murdered, you never came back up. You don’t even have the stomach to enjoy what you designed.”
I had crafted a space with soaring ceilings, graceful arches, every detail a testament to beauty, and she’d twisted my vision into the grotesque.
I drew in a sharp breath. Beneath the surface she was right. I had played my part, inserted my vision when I had handed over the blueprints.
“Scared, Greyson?”
“I’m the one you’ll never see coming.”
She flashed me an impatient look. “You’ll let me do whatever I want to you because I own your future.”
“Not true.”
“You’re a man lost in his own illusions, too caught up in crafting masterpieces to ever see the truth. You sculpted beauty in there, while turning a blind eye to what was really happening. And by the time you woke up to reality, it was too late.”
Was that a barb aimed at Amelia?
Jewel was the embodiment of darkness itself, a malevolent elegance that relished the chaos left in her wake.
“Leave the others out of it,” I said. “Haven’t you done enough?”
“Not quite enough. I’ve outbid you.”
I paused to make sense of what she was saying. “You never wanted Pendulum.”
“Because it was Aemon’s. Now, I intend to make it mine.”
“Our deal is done.”
“It’s not over yet. And you, Greyson Grantchester, blew your chance.”
“How?”
“You became distracted with Amelia.”
“Did you make your bid tonight?”
“I did, while you were saving that girl.”
Had there been a meeting tonight that I could have stopped if I hadn’t been busy playing superhero?
“Love is the crack in every man’s armor,” she said. “It’s the weakness you let in—and that’s exactly why you will fail.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong.”
“When you’re ready for that interview my news network, Pulse360, let me know.”
“I’m a private man, you know that.”
“So secretive.”
“No one has more secrets than you, Hadley.”
She arched a thin brow. “We found no school records for you, Greyson.”
“I was home-schooled. Not that it’s any of your business.”
My stomach twisted at the thought that she might discover my long-buried secret. After so much had been done to hide the truth.
“Why such interest in me all of a sudden?” I studied her face.
“You’re a bachelor to watch.”
“Maybe you should turn that fascination on a public figure who craves the spotlight.”
“You’re one of the most talented architects in the world, Greyson. What was it The Times called you? ‘A visionary shaping tomorrow’s skylines.’”
“They interviewed everyone except me,” I said. “The article was sparse.”
“If you don’t play along with the press, they have no choice but to dig deeper.”
“What’s sad is that you believe that.”
“I know what I know.”
“I’m watching you as well, Jewel.”
She let out a sigh. “Have a good night, Greyson.”
Jewel walked over to the curb and signaled for her car to pick her up.
She climbed in and I watched Satan’s bride drive away.
I knew the moment would come when I would have to tell Atticus and Jake and, of course, Cameron, about my part at Pendulum, but it was supposed to be on my terms, not hers.
Now, cornered by fate, I had no choice but to unveil a truth that might leave me lonelier than ever.
There were just too many secrets to juggle, and the one I had to protect tonight was the owner of that BMW.
I crossed the road and walked toward the beach.
When I reached the lifeguard tower, I tried the door. Inside, the air was thick with salt and the scent of sunscreen, the room cluttered with weathered chairs and safety manuals. A mannequin, its mouth agape, lay on the ground waiting for someone to save it.
“Don’t look at me, buddy,” I mused. “Can’t even save myself.”
From this view, the sand stretched out toward the crashing waves, their hypnotic rhythm competing with the squawking of seagulls, shattering the quiet.
Not a bad place to spend the night. Me, and the helpless mannequin, two hollow figures empty of souls.