Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

decide to up the ante. “I blackmailed her with it to begin with. It’s how I got her to spend more time
with me. If she didn’t, I would send the other Charity packet I have to Tyler—the one where you
fucked that bartender the night before your wedding. There’s a flash drive and everything. Anyway,
she was perfectly willing to cover your ass and sacrifice her own to save your marriage. I told her I
would use that to keep you from sniffing around things that could get you killed.”
“Are you threatening me?” she asks lowly.
“Not with murder, no. I won’t kill you, but my friends might if you keep looking into things you
shouldn’t.”
Pissed off, she crosses her arms. “So, what? I’m just supposed to sit back and—”
“And be happy for your friend? Yes. I know there’s some part of you that likes controlling her. I
understand that. But that’s not your job anymore. There’s another condition.” I nod at the martini on
the table. Even amid her friend’s crisis, she had to order a drink. “I think you have a drinking
problem. I think perhaps that’s why you keep accidentally fucking men you really shouldn’t.”
“Wow,” she says, shaking her head, but avoiding my gaze.
“The truth hurts sometimes. Hallie’s with me now and I’m certainly not going to fuck you, so you
no longer pose a threat to her happiness in that regard.”
“I didn’t… It wasn’t like that. I’m not a horrible friend, it’s not like I sought to seduce her
fucking boyfriend, it just….” She growls with aggravation, pushing her fingers through her hair. “It
just fucking happened, okay? Same with the bartender. Sometimes I drink a little too much and I do
really fucking stupid shit, but don’t say it like I set out to hurt her because I would never do that.”
“I know. I believe you,” I tell her. “If I didn’t, you’d be gone. But it is a problem, and it’s no
longer just affecting your life, it has touched mine. Now it has to be fixed, or you have to be phased
out.”
She sighs heavily and rakes her fingers through her hair again. “So, what? You want me to go to
rehab or something?”
“If you think you need that much intervention. I would be happy with meetings or counseling as
long as you apply yourself and there’s improvement. I don’t have a set condition here, just whatever
works. We’ll help you as much as you need it.” I wave over the server because I’m about done here.
“Box this up for me, would you?”
The waitress nods and grabs the untouched plate off the table.
I look across the table at Charity as she walks away. “So, do we have a deal? You get help and
play nice, I let you stick around?”
“It doesn’t sound like I have a lot of room to bargain, does it?” she asks coldly.
“No, it doesn’t.” I’m much more cheerful. I’m ready to be done with all this so I can go home to
my fiancée. “I know that people seldom change, so understand that while I’m giving you this chance to