Chapter 246: Back As A Puppet

David’s POV

I stood frozen in the middle of my office, staring at the door Holly had just fled through. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. My cock was still throbbing, furious at being denied, and my hand…God, my hand still smelled like her. Sweet, warm, vanilla, a faint scent of jasmine and pure want.

I dragged both palms down my face, trying to pull myself together…trying to steady my breathing.

Did I just almost fuck Ava’s little sister on my desk?

The answer was yes. A resounding, screaming yes.

And worse…way worse…what if I’d already done it? What if Holly was indeed Candy? Those nights in the dark, the mask, the anonymity…what if that body I’d lost myself in weeks ago belonged to the same girl who’d just been writhing under my mouth ten seconds ago?

Panic clawed up my throat. If that was true, I was beyond screwed. I’d already crossed every line that existed. I’d already had her, taken her, made her scream in pleasure while I buried myself deep inside her. And now here I was, ready to do it again, knowing exactly who she was.

I’m disgusting. Utterly disgusting.

She’s barely twenty-three right? Twenty-fucking-three or even less. I’m thirty-three. That’s ten years. Ten. I could’ve been her… I don’t even want to finish that thought.

Ava would kill me if she found out. With her bare hands. And Orion? He’d help her hide the body.

And still…good heaven…still, even knowing all of that, my body was screaming at me to go after her. To drag her back in here, lock the door, and finish what we started. I wanted to bend her over that desk and fuck her until she forgot Tyler’s name, forgot everything except how good I made her feel.

I hated myself for it.

I really, truly hated myself.

The landline finally stopped ringing. Silence rushed in, heavy and accusing as I went over the thousand reasons why I should get her off my mind.

Then my cell started buzzing on the desk. Unknown number.

I glared at it like it had personally offended me. I snatched it up and barked, “Who the hell is this?”

A soft, low laugh floated through the speaker. Feminine. Sultry and dangerous in an annoying manner.

“Hello, Mason Brown.”

My blood turned to ice instantly.

“That isn’t the name your parents gave you, is it? That’s the name my own parents gave you.”

Everything stopped. My breathing. My heartbeat. The whole damn world.

It can’t be.

I staggered back until my calves hit the chair and I dropped into it. “Who the hell are you? What do you want?”

Another laugh, sultry and slow, like she had all the time in the world. “I’m sure you’re not that dumb, Mason. You already know who I am.”

My brain scrambled for purchase. Jameson. It had to be a Jameson. But Jameson’s in prison. His wife’s catatonic. They don’t have…wait.

They have a daughter?

How the fuck did I not know they had another daughter aside… I couldn’t say her name. Couldn’t bring myself to.

I swallowed hard. “Quit the games. Tell me what the hell you want. Why are you playing this dumb prank?”

She hummed, amused. “You know this is not a prank. And for what I want… I want you, Mason. I want you to finish what you started for my parents. My father’s rotting in a cell because of the Millers. My mother doesn’t even know what day it is anymore…she doesn’t remember she has a daughter. That’s what I came home to after years away. Ruins. And the only thing waiting for me? Records of your little transactions with my family. Proof that you owe us your life.”

My lungs seized. I couldn’t pull in air.

“So here’s the deal,” she went on, voice velvet over steel. “You come back. You work for us again. You help me burn the Miller family to the ground…the same way they burned mine. Or… I play the card we still hold over you. Your choice.”

I breathed out a ragged “Fuck,” raking a hand through my hair so hard it hurt. This can’t be happening.

“Take your time thinking it over,” she purred. “But don’t make me wait too long. Oh…and my name’s Rachel, by the way. I’m your new boss. And I’ll be expecting your call.”

Click. She was gone.

The phone slipped from my fingers and clattered onto the desk.

Rachel Jameson.

They had another daughter? A daughter I never knew existed. And now she had me by the throat. Again.

I thought I was done with the Jamesons. I thought I’d paid my debt, walked away, buried that whole ugly chapter. But no…they’d kept the receipt. They still owned me.

Do I go back? Be their puppet again?

If I say no… no. I can’t say no.

The dirt they have on me…the main reason they have me on a choke hold…if that gets out, it doesn’t just ruin me. It takes my whole family down. Everything my father built. Everything he made me swear to protect after he died.

I’d betray Ava again in a heartbeat if it kept that secret buried. I hate that it’s true, but it is. I promised him. Family first. Always.

But how the hell do I get close to Ava again? After what I did to her? After I betrayed them and vanished without a word? Orion would shoot me on sight. Ava would never let me within ten miles of her life.

Holly.

The name hit me like a punch.

Fuck.

Holly.

She’s the way in. Ava’s sister. The one person who could open that door without raising every alarm.

Winning Holly over wouldn’t even be hard…she’s already halfway there. Hell, ten minutes ago she was ready to spread her legs for me on my desk. She’s got feelings for me, real or not, and I can use them.

I felt sick.

Actually, physically sick.

This was low even for me. This was vile. Using a girl who looks at me like I hung the moon just to get access to her sister? So I can spy, lie, and help destroy everything Ava holds dear…again?

I’m scum. Absolute scum.

But I don’t have a choice.

I walked to the window and parted the blinds with two fingers.

There she was. At her desk just next to my office. Head bowed, fingers flying over the keyboard like she was trying to outrun what just happened. Her cheeks were still flushed. She kept tugging at her ruined blouse, trying to hold it closed where the buttons used to be.

She looked small. Vulnerable. Beautiful in that addictive way.

I’d been standing here minutes ago thinking… something. That maybe something real could—

No.

I shut that thought down hard.

What was I even going to say? That Holly and I could work? That we could date, build something? With the age gap, with Ava in the middle, with who I really am…no. It would never happen. At best, it could be sex. Raw, no-strings, mind-blowing sex.

And now even that was off the table.

Because I have to weaponize it.

I closed my eyes and exhaled, long and shaky.

I paced the office like a caged animal, restless, trapped. Part of me screaming to be a decent human being for once in my miserable life. The other part…the louder part…reminding me what’s at stake.

Duty wins.

It has to.

For my family, I’ll do whatever it takes.

Even if it means breaking Holly’s heart to get what I need.

I let the blinds snap shut.

Time to start playing the game again.