Page 6 of A Corruption Dark & Deadly

Chapter 2

There wasno way this was happening. There was no way this was real.

“You can’t do that,” Annie pointed out, but even her own voice was weak as she snatched the contract her brother – her stupid, hard-headed, prideful brother – had signed so she could read it for herself. However, she knew they were screwed. She knew Jericho had the money to cover his ass; everything was probably locked in place.

She didn’t have a home anymore. All because her brother was an idiot.

Jericho cocked his head at her, his pale green eyes boring into her with an intensity she hadn’t expected. She swallowed, unsure of how to react to his penetrating stare.

“Yes,” he said slowly. Annie wanted to avoid locking eyes with him. She wanted to avoid engaging with him in any way, but he had this ability to make her feel like she was the only person in the room when he stared at her. Like she was a sun among stars. It made her feel odd things in her bones – hesitant, cautious, but also… curious. And they had only known each other for perhaps twenty minutes. “Yes, I can. Feel free to read the contract for yourself. I’d be happy to wait.”

Annie clenched her jaw, causing it to pop. She cast a sideways glance at her brother, wanting him to know just how furiously pissed she was, if he didn’t know already.

“Is there any way for us to get it back?” she asked with a tight voice. She was looking at Bruce but she knew he wouldn’t be the one answering.

“Not as far as I’m concerned,” Jericho said. His silky voice slid down Annie’s spine. She suppressed a shudder and forced herself to look into his eyes without reacting.

“And why would you want a three-bedroom house just outside the city?” Annie asked. She saw Jericho’s two bulky bodyguards glance at each other, almost as though they didn’t expect anyone to question Jericho. Jericho did whatever he wanted; the fact that he was being questioned in the first place was unexpected and they weren’t sure how to handle it. Maybe she should learn to keep her mouth shut around Jericho. “You have a penthouse at Greene Building and a mansion in the suburbs. You don’t need my house.”

“True,” he replied. The corners of his lips were tilted up, but he wasn’t smiling. Except in his eyes. The pale green seemed to be sparkling with amusement. “I don’t need it. But when do I ever buy things I need? I want your house because your brother borrowed money from me and has yet to repay me. Instead of making him work for free, I figured I would give him the opportunity to give me something of equal value in return for my generosity.”

“It isn’t generous if you expect something in return,” Annie snarled.

“Annie,” Bruce snapped. He had never been a strict older brother, letting their parents be parents. In fact, he never raised his voice when it came to Annie. But when he did, when he snapped, she listened.

“Don’t snap at your sister,” he instructed Bruce, though he kept his eyes firmly on Annie. “She’s just concerned what’s going to happen to her. I didn’t realize you had someone living in your home when you offered it to me as compensation.”

He tilted his head at an odd angle, reminding Annie of a cat. “You have told me about her, however. I just didn’t realize…” He let his voice trail off.

There was something odd about his stare, something in those pale green eyes that was hard to discern. It was an answer to a question she hadn’t thought of, and it didn’t seem like he particularly cared one way or the other that he stared so openly at her. Not even in front of her brother.

Then again, why would he? Jericho had all the power in this relationship. He could do whatever he wanted without consequence. Annie bit the inside of her bottom lip. She wished she had the courage to say something. She wished she could be one of those girls she watched in movies and read about in books who was sassy without a care in the world and defied any challengers or annoyances with a single glare. At five foot three, slender, with blonde hair and hazel eyes, she didn’t see herself as intimidating in the slightest. The best she could do was meet his gaze with a steady one of her own, showing him that she wasn’t afraid of him even if her heart was racing. She didn’t have it in her to have a flippant attitude, especially since she wasn’t quite certain how it would affect what was going on right now.

“Well, we find ourselves in a conundrum, don’t we?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest in one fluid movement. His head was still tilted awkward but his eyes remained piercing, rooting her to her spot. “I suppose, legally, I could give you a thirty-day notice to get out.”

“I’m not leaving my parents’ place,” she told him, her eyes burning. That was one thing she refused to do. It was all she had left of them. It was their legacy. She had always thought she would settle down and raise kids in the same neighborhood as them. Now, she wanted to settle down and raise kids in the house she grew up in. She refused to let someone like Jericho take that away from her.

Instead of being angered by her outburst, Jericho gave her an amused grin, causing his eyes to sparkle. “No,” he agreed, his silky voice low but audible. “I didn’t think you would. Well, how do you suggest we resolve this?”

“I think you should just give me my house back and my brother can pay you a monthly stipend of his check until you’re paid back completely,” Annie said.

Jericho threw his head back and laughed. Annie wasn’t sure how a sound like laughter could be deemed as attractive. She didn’t know if it was the texture of the laugh, the silkiness of it, the fact that it was guttural and real, or the fact that it was contagious. A couple of his security guards in the back of the room began to smirk at one another, their arms still crossed over their chests.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” he asked, once Jericho had calmed down.

“Uh, yeah,” Annie said tentatively, nodding her head.

“The problem is, Ms. Brennan, your brother didn’t want to pay me back with his check,” he said. “I suggested that, but he insisted he lived paycheck to paycheck and couldn’t afford to do that. He suggested the house instead and I agreed.”

Annie cut a look at her brother. She had never hated anyone before, and she loved her brother with all of her heart, but in that moment, as she looked at him, she felt hatred burning through her blood stream.

“He did not,” Jericho continued, “tell me that the house had a particular inhabitant in it.”

“Oh, no?” Annie asked sarcastically, not thinking about what she was saying at the moment. Her anger had gotten the better of her and she couldn’t help but go off, even though it probably wasn’t the smartest thing for her to do. “I thought he told you all about me.”

Jericho’s lips curled up into a small smile. “You’re feisty, aren’t you?” Clearly, his question was rhetorical so she didn’t bother to answer. He took a couple of step towards her until he was directly in front of her and he leaned towards her so their faces were merely inches apart. Her heart sped up in her chest. This was what it felt like to look death in the eye and still have the ability to breathe. “Bruce has talked about you a lot. You’re his favorite person on the planet. Did you know that?”

“I’m the only family he has left,” Annie pointed out. Her voice wasn’t as strong as she wanted it to be but she prided herself on the fact that she was able to hold his gaze. Although, she didn’t think it was completely her doing. It was difficult for her to look away, like he had her under some kind of lock and key. She wondered if this was part of his power, this easy captivation of anyone he chose.