“So,” Mina spoke up, deliberately raising her voice to break whatever spell Adrian was weaving around her best friend. “How long will you be in town? Cyrus neglected to tell me you were coming.”
The jab had a glint of mischief dancing in Adrian’s eyes, and she immediately regretted it. No matter how pissed she was at Cyrus, giving his brother reason to gloat didn’t sit well with her. “I’m afraid that’s my fault. I surprised Cyrus after the ceremony and badgered him into taking me to dinner.”
So, had Cyrus lied to her about working late? Or had he simply gotten waylaid by his brother? And if hehadlied, then why?
Too many questions and not nearly enough privacy for her to demand answers, so she pushed them to the back of her mind and forced a smile. Shifting closer to Cyrus, she leaned into him, silently lending him her support.
Beside her, he stiffened, almost as if he didn’t want her touching him. And judging by the slight lift of Adrian’s eyebrow, the change hadn’t gone unnoticed. Luckily, Gabby was too enthralled by her impromptu date for the evening to pay them any attention, or else she would have indulged in her favorite pastime—making a scene.
“It was nice of you to come support your brother. You still live in New York, correct?” She knew he did, because she’d done her research, but the devil was in the details.
And she was fairly certain the man sitting across from her was, indeed, the devil.
“Yes.” Adrian flashed another, more obviously amused smile. “You seem to have done your homework, Ms. Ouranos. Perhaps you have a…vested interest in my family?”
There was something rippling just beneath the surface of his words. She couldn’t pin down exactly what it was, but it had the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end all the same. Even Gabby must have picked up on it, because she sat up straighter, her gaze darting back and forth between Mina and Adrian, a slight frown tugging at her lips.
“Of course, she has—”
“I’m working on a story,” Mina interrupted, plastering on her bright reporter’s smile. “It started as a human interest piece during the Compton trial but with the added news of your brother becoming the Libra Guild master, it will need to be expanded. So, yes, I have done my homework, Mr. Banks.”
There. Now she was the one letting him know that she wasn’t someone to be fucked with. Maybe he had money, but she had the power of the Fourth Fucking Estate behind her.
Adrian’s eyebrows winged up in surprise, his attention shifting to his brother. “You agreed to this?”
Cyrus lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Mina has always been a bit of a pain in my ass. It was easier just to humor her for a while.”
Although it stung, Mina tried not to let the hurt show. They were putting on a show for his brother and her gut was telling her it was important for him not to realize they were an item.
Gabby, on the other hand, didn’t have the same intuition. At Cyrus’s flippant response, her eyes narrowed dangerously, but a swift kick to the shins had her pressing her lips together as if that were the only thing keeping her from unloading on him right there at the dinner table. And, knowing Gabby, it very well was.
Dinner itself was a tense affair, filled with sidelong glances and cryptic answers to probing questions. By the time they said their goodbyes in front of the restaurant, the tension was so thick Mina wondered that it didn’t simply suffocate them all.
“Okay, what the hell wasthatall about?” Gabby’s tone was impatient as they climbed into the back of the rideshare they’d agreed to split to avoid taking the Metro at such a late hour.
“I have no idea.”But I’m damn sure going to find out.
“Well, why were you and Cyrus acting like you barely know each other when you’ve been banging each other’s brains out for the past few days?”
“First of all, that imagery could use some work.” Ignoring Gabby’s eye roll, Mina continued on. “Second of all, I think you should stay away from Adrian. There’s something off about him.”
“Really? I think he’s sexy.” Eyes gleaming with the promise of forbidden fruit, Gabby wiggled her shoulders suggestively. “Dangerous in that yeah, maybe he’ll choke you a little when he fucks you kinda way, but he’ll also shower you with diamonds given half a chance.”
“Gabby.” Shifting in her seat, Mina grabbed her friend’s hand and squeezed. “Please promise me you won’t see him again. I just have a really bad feeling about the guy.”
When Gabby rolled her eyes, Mina gave her arm a hard tug. “I’m serious, Gabrielle. Promise me.”
“Fine, fine, I promise.” Glancing over, Gabby raked her gaze up and down Mina’s face. “He really has you that freaked out, huh?”
“Yes.”
“All right. Then I promise.”
“Good.” Mina settled back against her seat with a sigh. “That’s one Banks brother sorted. Now I just have to figure out what to do about the other.”
“Well, you better think fast.” Nodding towards the window, Gabby pointed at the figure standing in front of Mina’s apartment building. Sure enough, there was Cyrus, waiting for her under the harsh glow of a streetlamp.
ChapterFifteen