Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

crawling down his arm that goes past the snowy white cuff of his dress shirt and covers both hands.
The tension that runs through him and permeates the air around him like an inmate walking the halls of
a maximum security correctional facility.
He might be dressed like a proper businessman, but he sure doesn’t look like one.
Since Jodi is so clearly uneasy with him, Arson moves past her and walks into my office. I nod
at Jodi to release her, and with a visible breath of relief, she turns and heads back to her desk.
“I believe you’ve unnerved my poor assistant,” I say good-naturedly as Arson drops onto the
chair across from my desk.
“Yeah, well, we all have our talents. Mine happens to be unnerving people.” He shifts in the
chair, then sits forward like he’s watching a fight he has a lot of money on instead of sitting in a
corporate office. “Speaking of unsettling things, I can’t believe I have to tell you a thing like this, but
having me meet you here in public? Not a great idea.”
I shrug faintly and sit back in my seat, linking my fingers over my abdomen. “I don’t need you to
do anything illegal for me. Well, too illegal,” I amend, a bit more honestly.
Arson doesn’t mind doing illegal things, so it doesn’t seem to bother him. “You know how
paranoid Nick is,” he says, shaking his head. “He’d just rather we didn’t do this somewhere so public
in case things go sideways.”
“They won’t,” I assure him.
He doesn’t seem to believe me, but he’s not too worried about it one way or the other. “He said
something about you needed help with some girl. I didn’t get into the details. We’re talking about an
adult at least, right?”
My brow furrows faintly. “Of course she’s an adult.”
Arson nods. “All right, just making sure. You never fucking know with people these days.” He
looks up at the ceiling and at the corners of the room. “You got cameras in here?”
“In the common areas outside. Not in my office.”
“Good.” He seems a little more at ease as he meets my gaze across the desk. “So, what exactly
do you need from me?”
“I’ve started seeing a woman named Hallie Meadows. I’m a little more dedicated to the idea of
us spending more time together than she is, so I need to dig up something I can use for leverage in
case I need it to keep her around.”
“A little light blackmail to keep things interesting, huh? Sounds like a solid relationship.”
My lips quirk. “Written in the stars,” I agree dryly. “But, I want what I want, so…”
Arson nods. “No problem. I’m here to provide a service, not my business what you do with it. I
can dig around, find whatever skeletons she has stuffed in her closets that you could potentially use