30. Blake

CHAPTER 30

Blake

I ’ve been waiting for Lexa to call me back for over a week, too bad her timing is terrible. Even so, I don’t dare to let the unknown number she’s calling from go to voicemail. We need to talk.

“I’m not moving in with you, Blake, that’s final.” For such a little pixie, she sure is stubborn, unmovable as a mountain when she wants to be.

I grind my teeth together, but hold my tongue. We don’t need a repeat of the last time she called and hung up. “Fine. But I am sending you money. I don’t want you owing Eion Bane a single fucking penny, Lexa. Got it?”

She huffs. “Fine.” Then her tone softens, “I’m okay, I promise. I can’t explain anything to you right now, and I’m sorry about that. Just please do whatever you can to make sure my mother doesn’t find me.”

“I don’t even know where you are, how is she supposed to find you?”

“I’m hoping she can’t. That’s why I can’t tell you where I am either. Everything I’m doing is to keep you and Liam safe, I swear. You’re both my family and I love you. I’m sure you’ll try to track my call, so I’m going to go now. Good night.” She hangs up and I mutter a curse. Of course I’m trying to track her location. She knows me too well.

Disgruntled, I head back to the dining room and my pompous, irritating guest. He’s done nothing but blow his own horn all evening. Any subject he knows everything about, he’s a fucking expert. I roll my eyes. He’s on my last nerve, but until this deal goes through, I have to pretend I don’t want to murder him.

Plus, I don’t like the way he looks at Gin. There’s something off about it that I can’t quite put my finger on.

As soon as I enter the room, I notice the thick, charged atmosphere. Gin’s pale face paired with Oz’s smug expression sets my teeth on edge. What have they been doing while I was gone?

I take my seat, and Oz immediately launches into more business chit-chat. “...all that to say, we have a deal.”

That catches my attention. “A deal?”

“Yes.” Oz leans back in his seat and puffs out his chest. “I’ve made my decision. I’m going with your company. Your vision, and Titan Enterprises, are the best fit for my property. I’ll have the contract drawn up in the next few weeks.” His gaze flits briefly to a quiet, distant Gin. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. We’ll finalize the details once you’re back from your honeymoon.”

A wave of relief crashes over me. This is the first step toward securing Liam’s inheritance and place at the company. But I’m not counting on this victory until we’ve signed on the line and the paperwork’s been filed. Then I’ll celebrate.

“Agreed,” I state.

“I’m sure we have a long and mutually beneficial relationship ahead of us.” Oz grins at me, and I resist the urge to punch him.

“I’m sure we do.”

He stands. “My lawyers will be in touch.”

“Aren’t you staying for dessert,” I grind out, only because it’s polite and I’m still pretending to be a good host. This deal isn’t done until it’s done, after all.

“You know, I think I’ll skip dessert this time. Rain check.” Oz shakes my hand. “Thank you for a lovely evening.”

He tips his chin to Ginevra, and she gives him the fakest smile I’ve ever seen on her lush lips. I’ve been so preoccupied with Oz all evening that I haven’t noticed how tense and uneasy she seems. What the hell is going on?

I walk him to the door, impatient about getting him out of my house. Once he’s finally gone, I return to Gin, finding her in her dressing room with a bottle of vanilla vodka in her hand. She only drinks that stuff when she’s distraught. She takes a shot and stares into the vanity mirror.

“Are you unwell?” I ask, approaching her.

“A little. I’ll be fine.”

“What’s wrong? Talk to me.” I move closer. “Did he do something to you when I was gone?”

Her wide, fearful eyes find mine in the mirror, and that look punches me in the gut. Something is very wrong. I kneel before her, taking her hands in mine.

She glances away. “I’m fine.”

“You’re obviously not fine. What did he do?”

“Nothing.”

“Why won’t you tell me the truth?” I plead, trying to get her to look at me, but she won’t.

“I just… c-can’t.” Her voice breaks.

“All right. What do you need from me?” I lean in and kiss her, but she doesn’t kiss me back. I don’t want to cause her any more distress, so I pull away and stand up. “I’m going to draw you a bath.”

She nods, taking another swig of vodka.

I go into the ensuite and fill the tub with water, adding bubbles and bath salts. While the water runs, I pull up my house cameras on my phone, reviewing the recording of what happened in the dining room while I was on the phone with Lexa. There’s no sound, so all I see is Oz speaking to Gin and her growing more and more distressed.

Rage grows like a cancer in my chest. As soon as that paperwork is filed, I’m going to have words with Oz.

What I don’t understand is why Gin refuses to tell me what happened. She knows I’ll protect her, right? I’ll do anything for her.

Unless… What if she won’t tell me because she’s playing me for a fool? Jealousy and suspicion tangle in my gut.

U nable to sleep that night, I leave a softly snoring Gin in my bed and tiptoe to my office. Suspicion eats at me and I need to lay it to rest. Firing up my computer, I search for any link between Gin and Oz.

In no time at all, I have all the information I need staring back at me on my screen. He’s the ex-boyfriend. The fucking ex . Shit.

She’d said she was seeing someone and they broke up shortly before our… arrangement. I’ve had so much going on since then that looking into her ex-boyfriend, who was supposed to be out of the picture, was way down on my priority list. That was stupid of me, I should have looked into this sooner.

They know each other, they dated for several months, so why act like they’re strangers at dinner? What are they hiding? Are they secretly still lovers?

I spear my fingers through my hair and tug on the ends. Ginevra and her secrets are going to drive me insane. Is she really the sweet, abused young woman she seems to be, or is she a master manipulator playing me for a fool? Hell, her and Oz could be in on this together.

Now I’m just being fucking paranoid. Right?

I can’t figure out their angle, if there even is one. But one thing’s for certain, they’re both keeping secrets—and they’re both lying to me. Why?