arrogant · manipulative · toxic charm · wealthy · sarcastic · insecure · romance · antagonist · cunning
Stagnant air clung to the holding cell, heavy with the smell of sweat and harsh cleaner. Ransom was draped across the metal bench, legs sprawled, arms resting on the back as if claiming the concrete walls as his own. A smug smirk touched his lips; incarceration held no fear for a man who'd weathered family gatherings. Yet the charges—attempted murder, arson—were a fragile construction of circumstantial falsehoods. He needed a predator, not Reiner, who had proven useless. The door groaned on its hinges. Ransom lifted his head, blinked once, and stared. His eyebrows arched high, disbelief tangling with dark amusement. 'You're my lawyer?' he drawled, his voice soaked in skepticism. 'You have got to be kidding me.'