Desperate Acts by Alexandra Ivy

Author:Alexandra Ivy [Ivy, Alexandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2022-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Ryan Burke stood at his office window, watching the last of his employees drive out of the back lot. Earlier, he’d assured his receptionist that he would lock up and the nightly cleaning crew wouldn’t arrive until midnight.

It was one of the rare times he was completely alone in the isolated plant. Ryan grimaced, feeling an odd tingle of unease snake down his spine.

“Heebie-jeebies,” he muttered, repeating the words his grandma had used when she had a shiver.

He wasn’t afraid. It was just a reaction to being alone in a large, empty building, he assured himself. And a distaste for the upcoming meeting he’d arranged.

Usually, he didn’t mind throwing his weight around. Figuratively speaking. What was the point of having money and power if you couldn’t force people to do what you wanted? And if he had to break a few of them to get to this position, he didn’t have any regrets. At least he didn’t have any moral regrets. He did what he had to do. But he was beginning to have doubts about the wisdom of agreeing to work with partners when he made his deal with the devil. He knew he could keep his mouth shut, but he didn’t trust anyone else. And even with the judge dead, he couldn’t be sure his sins would remain buried in the past.

Thankfully, he was smart enough to keep the receipts. He intended to make sure no one was going to stab him in the back. Not without having their own sins revealed.

The darkness thickened as Ryan stood staring out the window. He’d been requested to schedule the meeting to occur when most of the good folks of Pike were sitting down to eat dinner. That was fine with him. It was the one time they weren’t peering out to see who was doing what and who they were doing it with. Nosy bastards.

There was the flash of headlights as a vehicle pulled into the back parking lot.

Good. Ryan wanted to be done with this so he could head home. His wife no doubt had plans to meet with friends for dinner. They rarely spent a night at home, despite the fortune he spent on their fancy brick mansion. Probably because they didn’t have anything to say to each other. In fact, they rarely glanced in each other’s direction. After twenty years of marriage, they stayed together because it was too inconvenient to split up.

Moving to the wall safe that was hidden behind a very fine watercolor of a tropical sunset, Ryan pulled out a faded manila envelope. It wasn’t thick, but the information inside was explosive. The sort of information that could destroy the city of Pike.

He walked back to his desk, pausing to tap a button on the panel that controlled the security cameras. He’d been reminded by his soon-to-arrive guest that they didn’t want any record of this meeting. Then, turning, he waited for the knock on his door.

And waited. And waited.

Ryan muttered a curse. He’d specifically said to meet in his office.

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