Devil Incarnate (Boys of Preston Prep #4) - Angel Lawson Page 0,132

are on full display.” I shoot him a hard look. “It’s a test or something, don’t even think about going for it, or you’ll get a knee to the balls.” I tip my cracker toward him. “And that makes walking down the stage awkward and painful.”

“Jesus Christ, Wilcox.”

I shrug again, but add, “Haynes is going to look good. Really good, but…”

“But what?”

“But…” I think about the chemistry comment and what I heard between Caroline and Georgia down in the Devil’s Lair. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I chalk it up to some kind of Devil loyalty. “Sometimes the girl you’re really looking for is right under your nose. Someone you’ve skipped over for some reason. Too plain. Too quiet. Too shy.”

He ejects the USB and holds it out. “You like shy girls?”

I snap the file in my fingertips. It’s still warm. “Hell no. Shy girls are the worst. I don’t have time for that shit. But I have a feeling one of the shy girls may like you.” I stand and shove the file in my pocket. “Thanks, man. Good luck on Saturday.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but I’ve already walked out the door. Good ole Oswald may be a bit of a mushy romantic, but he’s okay. Maybe not okay enough to be a Devil, but probably pretty solid for Caroline if that’s what she wants.

And if this file works, everything’s going to be right in my world, too.

I get to Underworld earlier than I have in weeks. Tara’s surprised to see me here before the sun’s even set, but she nods at the VIP area and I know Gene and his boys are already kicked back in there.

The look he gives me when I duck behind the curtain tells me he knows I’m caving. He flicks his hand at his guys. “Give us some quiet time, lads.”

“Nah,” I say, leaning against the table beside his. “I want everyone around to hear this deal.”

Gene leans back into his seat, looking unaffected. “There’s not really much to negotiate, is there?”

“This,” I take the flash drive from my pocket, “isn’t blackmail. It’s my collateral. You give me ten grand, and if I haven’t found better dirt on the Haynes’s in one month, then…” I shrug, giving the drive a toss in my hand. “It’s yours to do whatever with.” It buys me time and a nice chunk of capital to grow into something useful. I already feel itchy and restless with the potential laid out before me. This could get me out of the hole. It could get me ahead.

Gene looks thoughtful as his eyes follow the flash drive. “Fine,” he decides, and he must think I’m a total idiot for believing it could be that easy. “After you show me what’s on it.”

Shrugging, I take a seat. “Find me a laptop.”

Twenty minutes and two beers later, Dirty ducks into the VIP booth with a laptop tucked under his arm. He sets it in front of me, and then sits directly to my right, looking a touch too eager.

I give him a disdainful look. “I’m not showing you, idiot. Gene only.”

Dirty throws me a glare, but at Gene’s nod, vacates the seat. While Gene makes himself comfortable there instead, I plug in the flash drive and make sure the screen isn’t visible to anyone but the two of us.

I only let a minute of it play. It’s the moment where I bend her over the desk, slamming her chest-first into the wood. “Shut the fuck up,” I’m sneering at her, kicking at her ankles, spreading her open. My hand disappears from the frame, and I can easily remember why, dragging it down her pussy, feeling how wet she was for it. “You like it rough—I know you do. Take it like the bitch you are.”

“Fuck you,” she spits, hips squirming.

“Stay still,” I growl, lining myself up. I slam into her hard, tangling a fist in her hair and smashing her head down as I begin fucking her brutally. The screen goes blank when I close out the video, deciding that’s enough.

“Goodness gracious, Wilcox,” Gene says, tipping back his drink. He blinks at his reflection in the dark screen. “I knew it was a grudge-fuck, but that was excessive. You sure know how to woo a girl.”

When he goes to stand up, I stop him. “That’s not all.”

He sits back down, raising an eyebrow. “I think I’ve seen enough of your bare ass for one lifetime, but thanks