Page 17 of The Midnight Club

Ori shook her head. “No, not this time, Maceo. Don’t get me wrong. I’m so grateful that you’re helping me, but I want to keep you as my secret weapon. So far, no one knows we are together. Tyson will threaten me and tell me I’m powerless, that I have no one. I want to see his face when I drop you on him.”

Maceo nodded slowly. “Okay, I can get on board with that. Just … I worry about your safety.”

“Which is why I’ll make sure I confront him in front of people.” She kissed Maceo gently. “I will be fine.”

“Take a recording device, or keep your phone on. Record every word he says. It might turn out to be useful.”

So, when Ori walked into Tyson Janek’s office the next day, she was wearing a wire. Downstairs, Maceo and one of his private detectives sat in his car, listening. Ori marched straight to Maceo’s secretary, a thin-lipped blonde who had never liked her.

“Janine, please tell my stepfather I would like to see him.”

“Do you have an appointment?” Janine shot back spitefully. Ori gave her a wintry smile and fixed her with a stare.

“Now, Janine.” Ori’s voice was low but full of threat and Janine sighed, pushing back her chair and getting up.

“Wait here, please.”

Oh, I will.Ori gritted her teeth. Janine disappeared into Janek’s office for a moment and Ori could hear her nasal whine through the open door.

“Orianthi, come in, please.”

Oh, no.“I’d like to speak to you out here,Congressman.”

“I’m very busy, Orianthi. Please come in and stop wasting time.”

Fuck.Sighing, Ori pushed past a smirking Janine, who closed the door behind her. Ori was alone with Tyson. He didn’t look up for a second, scrawling on a pad in front of him. “Sit down, Ori.”

She stayed standing, and when he finally looked up, he smirked. “Still playing childish games, I see.”

“Where’s AJ?” Ori was clenching her fists into balls, trying not to lose her temper. Tyson leaned back in his chair.

“He’s safe. In a much better place than that two-bit facility he chose. Or did you choose it for him?”

Ori gritted her teeth. “He’s an adult, Tyson. A legal adult. And even if he weren’t….”

“… Even if he weren’t, he would still be my son, Orianthi.Myson,myblood. Do you think you have rights over my son?”

“He’s my brother.”

“Half-brother.”

“Go fuck yourself, Tyson. I’ll find him on my own.”

Tyson laughed. “Such a potty mouth on such a pretty girl. And my, you do look ravishing … perhaps you have been away? Italy, perhaps?”

Ori stopped. “What?”

Tyson’s smiled dropped, and he suddenly stood and darted toward her. He gripped her hands and yanked her toward him. Ori gave a small cry of alarm. Tyson smiled.

“I know where you’ve been, Orianthi. I know who you’ve been fucking.” He buried his face in her neck and breathed deeply. “You stink of your Italian billionaire; do you know that? Where was your concern for my son when you were spreading your legs for Maceo Bartoli?”

Tyson slipped his hand between her legs, grabbing at her crotch. His other hand snaked around her waist tightly. Ori struggled to free herself.

“Get off me, you bastard.”

Tyson laughed, running his hands up and down her body. “This was mine well before he touched it,” he growled. “It belongs to me.” He stopped suddenly and ripped open her blouse. The wire she was wearing was pinned to her bra. Snarling, he grabbed it and yanked it free. Ori felt pure terror.

Tyson grabbed his letter opener and held it to her skin. “Fucking little bitch. Think you can win against me? Let me tell you something, little girl. I can end you whenever I want, and they wouldn’t even find your body. No one would care. What would happen if I drove this into you right now? Would your bastard Italian come for me? Let him try.”