Chapter 45
THREATS & BAIT
“Sir?” Cannon holds the phone up before me.
“She still threatens me? The balls on that woman. I told her we’d release that vid from the house party if she dares to do anything.
” I look past him at where they have the frankenstruct on his knees with the thick steel handcuffs locked onto his wrists at his back and being pulled higher and higher, with a chain that’s attached to the ceiling. “He’s still sedated?”
I point as he leaves the ground and his face contorts with pain. The chain jerks violently, his legs kick, and there is an audible crack. The gasp he makes seems pitifully quiet considering what that crack must mean.
“Yes, sir. That would break the shoulders of most men. I gather it’s dislocated his, at least.”
“Yes. Now to see what he can heal. However! Back to this woman. She seems in love with this thing. Those threats of hers. Do you think she would carry out those? The backlash to being exposed having kinky sex before multiple people would horrify most women.”
“I think she might. It’s possible.” Cannon turns to observe the frankenstruct. “If she did, even if it’s not enough to result in an inquiry, or similar, it does open a can of worms. Others will come sniffing.”
“Chasing after the research, you mean?” I stroll nearer, past the cryo coffins.
“Yes. I advise you to escalate this up the chain before she does anything.”
“She’s coming here, she says. Tomorrow. Again, I almost admire her balls.
” I circle this Kail, wondering how a woman could love this.
Sex, sure. But love? “Let her come. I welcome the challenge. Enough with the advice about escalating, Cannon. Enough. I said, no lectures.” Do I need to actually demote him?
“Capturing this.” I nod at our victim. “Requires a glass of something. Order it for me. Please.”
“Certainly, sir.” Disgust radiates from Cannon as he moves to obey.
I’ve come to love the smell of Cannon being disgusted in the morning. It’s like napalmed bodies only better. “Send it to my office. I’ll watch this from there.”
It’s easier to snort something in my office. My body is already abuzz, and I can taste it all hitting my nose and bloodstream.
“Don’t pull him apart until I give the okay, guys!”
“Yes, sir.” McClaren waves. “I wasn’t aiming to for a week anyway. He is fascinating.”
The man is almost licking his lips over this.
I’m still smiling when I enter my office and head for the drawer where I keep the good stuff.
On the glass table in the center of the room, a bottle of champagne sits in an ice bucket with a goblet chilling beside it.
Nothing better than drugs and success. We are on the way.
By the second glass and with the first line of coke up my nose, I lie back to watch the scene downstairs on the overhead screen. McClaren thinks this will advance research by four months. We could be making our own in two.
I grin at the possibilities. Two, fucking months! The power that will come from having these things obeying me, and from being the sole owner of this knowledge.
And if Hailey Tarrant dares show her face here, I will stuff my cock in her so far she’ll be taking it at both ends at once. And then I will have her put on ice…after I have her killed somewhere less…conspicuous and have her thrown in the sea to wash off any residue.
It’s like laundering money, really. “Laundering women?” I chuckle at the word play and almost inhale champagne, then have to brush it off my shirt. “Fuck!”
I swallow another sip of the Bollinger and eye the bottle. Two thousand a bottle for this? Worth it.