Squeak

Indecent Proposal

Jezebel

Sophia purred loudly from her perched position on Charles's desk while I fished the remainder of the glass from my body with tweezers. I dropped the shards onto a neat little pile on the desk.

"Sophia, I pray to the good Lord in Heaven that Papa King goes back to prison expeditiously."

"That's not very nice."

I looked up to find Papa King standing in front of me.

"Being nice never got me anywhere. Please...take a seat."

"As you wish," he replied, selecting a cognac leather chair opposite me. He propped his ankle on his knee and steeped his fingers together.

A real-life villain.

I smirked. "You're so submissive, just like your son."

His jaw visibly clenched before he relaxed. "That's a magnificent stained-glass window behind you," he threatened. "It would be a shame if something happened to it."

"I agree. Tweezers wouldn't be effective. Let's cut to the chase. I'm sure Erik will be arriving soon, and he'll have many questions regarding my injuries. I need to make my demands known, and we need to get our story straight," I said before tossing back a shot of vodka.

"For someone who never drank before, it seems you've taken a shine to liquor."

"I'm not drinking for recreational purposes. This is for you," I said, sliding a white envelope toward him. He eyed it for several seconds. "Don't worry. I didn't magically procure anthrax and stuff it into the envelope," I teased, pulling Sophia into my lap. I observed him as he reviewed the envelope's content. I was looking for a tell—anything at all to assuage my anxiety. He stuffed the index card back into the envelope and tossed it onto the desk.

"No deal. I rather take my chances."

"I'd reconsider if I were you," I pressed.

"You're not me. I can't be easily extorted."

"Extorted. Who's being extorted here? Papa King, this is a blessing. Accept it," I insisted.

He snorted. "A blessing can't be had unless there is a benefit to the recipient."

"I am blessing you with life."

"You're not God," Papa King reminded me.

The alcohol was starting to get to me. That was the only excuse for what I said next.

"No...but I'm Erik's god."

We sat in silence for nearly a minute, glaring at each other. For a split second, I thought he'd make good on his threat and toss me out of the office window. I couldn't blame him. I was playing with fire and was banking that I could outtalk and outfox a seasoned sociopath.

"I don't give a fuck that my son simps over you. I'm not giving you $500,000.00."

I sighed and scratched Sophia behind the ears.

"It would behoove you to accept my generous offer."

"Fuck you. I'll take my chances with Erik."

I nodded.

"Very well. It was nice knowing you, Papa King. Don't worry. It's 77885, right?"

Papa King threw his head back and let out a raucous laugh until he cried. "You have a lot of faith in Erik."

"And you don't have enough, and you vastly underestimate how low I'm willing to go to get what I want. Pay the money, and it'll all go away. If not, then Erik will be the least of your concern."

"What should I be concerned about? The police? Fuck them. All I'd have to do is pay them a couple of grand to look the other way. Hell, with how the world was designed to work against you, they'd do it for free. I'll take my chances."

"The police? Going to the police wasn't even a thought. You should be concerned about Hurricane Helen upstairs." My fingers wrapped around the letter opener I had hidden underneath my thigh. What I was about to do was awful and something a woman should never do. I'd repent later.

Never mind. This man is an abductor, rapist, murderer, physical and emotional abuser, and everything else evil under the sun. He deserves it.

"Listen, Jezebel. You're a very confused young woman. You had too many drinks, clumsily tripped over your own two feet, and fell through the coffee table."

I gasped and pointed at him. "Great minds think alike. That's exactly where my cover story was going. I was so embarrassed by my drunken behavior and begged you to tell Erik I went home while I sobered up in one of the guest bedrooms." He smirked.

He looks sooooooo pleased with himself. Don't celebrate too soon, Papa King.

"We're family now, right?"

"So, it seems," he sighed.

"And sometimes, as family, we tend to overshare, right?"

"Sometimes."

"Forgive me for oversharing, but I'm a virgin." The eyebrow with a tiny scar through it quirked. "Or...at least I was...until you attacked me."

His serene mask darkened. "You wouldn't," he growled.

"For $500,000.00, I would. And who would Helen and Erik believe? It would be history repeating itself. You're a demon who can't control his urges, so much so that you snatched a random woman off the streets and fucked her until she was crazy and pregnant. Lord only knows if Helen is your only victim. I highly doubt that. I'd make it believable, too—ripped panties, blood running down my thighs. I was saving myself for Erik, but I'll find some random blunt object to get the job done. It'll be painful, but I'll get over it. Thanks to you, fingermark bruises around my neck from when you attempted to choke me should show up soon. Papa King, ask yourself if your life is worth $500,000.00 because if Erik doesn't kill you, then Helen surely will, and from the look on your face, you know that." I tilted my head to the side. "Would you like to see me cry on demand?"

"Squeak?!" Erik shouted from the foyer.

"It's showtime."

Author's Note:

Just a friendly reminder that Squeak is featured on my $3.00 tier for early access chapters on Patreon. They are ten chapters ahead. You can find my LinkTree in my bio that will have my Patreon link.