“Then it should be us they are entering into discussions with, not the fucking Constantines.” He gestured to the file in front of me. “Tell me about this. What do I need to know about your relentless pursuits of that little blonde bitch?”
I shrugged at him. “I was chasing her. It got intense.”
His stare was ruthless. “I’ll get to the bottom of this, boy, and you know it. If there is anything you need to tell me, you’d better do it now.”
“I have nothing to say.” In that very moment I was sealing my demise.
“Get out of here, then,” he spat at me. “Get your head straight with whatever pussy you want to indulge in and then get the fuck back to work.”
“Fine,” I said, and got to my feet. “I’ll enjoy my fucking vacation.”
He called me back when I got to the door.
“I mean it, Lucian,” he said. “If you’ve done anything to jeopardize our family name or position in this world, I’ll kill you myself. People are talking, and they’re talking now. If you think for a second you are one step ahead of anyone, you are very sorely mistaken. They’re coming for you, and I will be too if you’ve let me down. Believe me.”
I had no doubt about that as I turned my back on him and walked away.
3
Elaine
I was petrified, wandering through the house like a ghost, praying, praying, praying that my love would come back to me before dusk. The front door was locked, just like I promised it would be. I couldn’t stop looking at it. Pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
Up and down the hallway like a woman possessed.
My mind was churning through the maybes.
Maybe people had found out about where I was. Maybe they’d found out that my note blaming the Power Brothers was just more of my lies. Maybe this whole new beautiful part of my world would last just a few tiny days before fate laughed in my face and gave me the middle finger.
I’d sworn to Lucian that I’d head back into the city if he didn’t come home. Heading back into the city would be the last thing I’d ever want to do again. Not ever.
It turns out fate wasn’t such a vindictive beast after all. Thank the lord.
My heart was a racing train when I heard the Mercedes pull up into the driveway. My fingers were shaking as I twisted the key in the lock to let him in. I almost swung the door off its hinges as I burst my way out there to meet him.
My exclamation was loud. “Lucian!”
His arms answered me when he stepped up onto the porch. They wrapped me up so tightly it was heaven, squeezing me safe.
I pulled away enough to stare up at him, eyes searching his face.
His expression was solid, like steel, but there was something in his gaze. Something that told me fate hadn’t been quite so kind after all.
He didn’t launch straight into an explanation.
“What was it?” I asked him. “Was it work?”
“No, sweetheart. It wasn’t work.”
We went through to the kitchen and he propped himself against the counter, but his stare was anything but relaxed. “The Power Brothers are entering into discussions with your family.”
I’m sure my mouth must have dropped open. “Discussions? But what the hell have they got to be talking about? My family think Elliot Ree killed me to clear my debts…”
“This is the problem,” he said. “Apparently they aren’t quite so sure that is the case anymore. It appears the Power Brothers are intent on making that clear, and everyone else is likely believing them.”
I felt a flood of panic in me, because if my family didn’t believe my note was telling the truth… if they started asking questions which led them closer to reality…
Lucian made us token coffees that neither of us had an interest in.
“My father had a file full of witness statements. People telling tales about how I was chasing you through clubs downtown. Even the security guard I kneed in the gut was fool enough to tell the world it was me who did that to him. Under usual circumstances he’d pay for that. I’d have him torn to pieces.”
“Does he believe them, your father?” I asked. “Does he think it was you who took me?”
He sipped his coffee. “He asked me if I killed you. I said no.”
I let out a breath. “Maybe they won’t find out what really happened. Who knows? Maybe my family will attack the Power Brothers before they ever realize they didn’t get to me in time. Because they would have taken me, the Power Brothers… I really did see Elliot Ree hunting me down. They would have killed me.”
He shook his head. “Your friend Tristan hasn’t spoken yet. That singer he was hooked up with hasn’t either, but if they do. When they do.” He paused. “Or when people question who the hell Terence Kingsley is, which they will do pretty damn soon. Or when they realize that Reverend Lynch has been taken from the manor. So many things, baby. It’s only a matter of time.”