KillerClown4u: Yes. But, while we’re on the topic. You have mine, Sweetling. You have my consent to do whatever you want to me, whenever you want.
FoxBabe20: That feels…powerful. And like an honor. Why would you give that to me so soon? We’ve never even met. I don’t even know your name.
KillerClown4u is offline.
August 21st
KillerClown4u: I have to go out of town for a few days for work. Won’t have service. Be a good girl for me.
FoxBabe20: Really? How long?
KillerClown4u is offline.
August 26th
KillerClown4u: “I remained too much in my head, I ended up losing my mind.”
KillerClown4u: “I was never insane, except for on occasions when my heart was touched.”
KillerClown4u: “And so being young and dipped in folly, I fell in love with melancholy.”
KillerClown4u: “And all I loved, I loved alone.”
KillerClown4u: “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”
KillerClown4u: One for every night that I was away. Goodnight, Little Fox.
KillerClown4u is offline.
Chapter Nine
September
“Areyoufuckingkiddingme?” My hand snaps out, sending the piles of well-organized paperwork on my desk, skittering across the floor. “Motherfucker!”
My office door slams open, and a wide-eyed and frantic Addison runs in with Jackson Lowell, another partner at the firm, hot on her heels. “What the hell, Ray?” she cries out, stopping short as she takes in the state of my office.
My hands flatten on my desk, and I drop my head, suddenly feeling the weight of the world resting on my ill-equipped shoulders.Fuck, I can’t do this anymore.My eyes burn with shame and embarrassment, but it’s quickly replaced with a deep, painful heartache. My ass hits my chair just as I lose the battle with the first wave of tears. A hand cups my shoulder, but I barely feel it. I’m sure Addy and Jackson are worried, yet I can’t find it in me to care.
“Seriously, Rayvn, what happened?” Addy murmurs, her usually booming voice much softer than I think I’ve ever heard it. I can’t look at her or speak, so instead, I blindly turn my laptop toward her, showing her the email I just received.
A heavy silence fills the space, followed by soft footsteps that I assume mean Jackson’s joined her. A minute later, Addison sucks in a sharp breath, and Jack lets out a string of curses. “Motherfucker,” Addy hisses.
Nodding, I peel my hazy eyes open and look up at her. “My thoughts exactly.”
“They can’t do this. He can’t just throw his power around like that,” she snaps, shoving an accusing finger at my laptop. I nod again and then shrug as I lean back in my chair. A tissue dangles in front of my face, and I tilt my neck back finding Jackson standing behind me, a soft smile on his handsome face. I snatch the tissue and blot my wet cheeks with a murmuredthanks.
“He already did it, though, Addy,” I sigh heavily. “Sutton may not be acting Chief of Police right now, but he still has connections in high places.”
Jackson leans against the edge of my desk and looks down at me. I loathe the look of pity that crosses his face, but I push down the annoyance, knowing it’s coming from a good place. Despite his perpetual ass-kissing, he is a good man and an excellent attorney. We’re friends, for the most part, and I know he’s just as worried about this failing shit show of a case as I am.
“Not to mention his family background,” he adds. Addy scoffs and begins to pace in frustration. As irritating as the reminder is, Jack’s not wrong. “What? Vincent Sutton has been the Chief for ten years. Before that, his father was, as was his grandfather. The Suttons practically own Denver at this point. They’re so fucking connected, they practically own the state. They come from old money. They’re richer than God and as powerful as the Devil. That’s why—”
He breaks off, but I already know what he was going to say. “That’s why the firm wanted me to drop Tinsley’s case.” Jack has the good decency to cringe at my words but jerks a nod in agreement. I don’t have the energy or mental capacity for a bitchy comeback, so I just sink deeper into my chair. “I understand the firm’s reluctance with this case, I’m not an idiot, but I couldn’t just leave her alone in this. She needed someone to fight for her when the world was so hellbent on keeping her silent.”
“Ray,” Addy sighs. I shake my head, not willing to hear her ‘you can’t save everyone’speech again.
Pushing out of my seat, I step away, putting distance between the three of us. “No, Addison. This isn’t about me saving Tinsley Snow. This isn’t some misguided hero complex. She’s had a hard life. She has no one and nothing, and that sick son of a bitch saw it. Heknewshe was alone in the world, and like the predator he is, he took advantage of her and then threw her out on her ass to pick up the pieces alone. Except, now she isn’t alone. In a few short months, she’ll be a single twenty-year-old mom. Can you imagine how terrified she is?”