Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71865 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71865 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Thinking of the devil. When I reach for the coat, he holds it open like a gentleman, instead. Warily, I get up so he can help me slip into it. His hands rest on my shoulders for a second before he sets me free. I step away and turn back to face him. He’s handsome in the blond hair and fair skin kind of way. The color of his eyes leans more toward blue than his brother’s. Recalling what Maxime had said about him, a shiver runs over my body.
Watching me with his head tipped down, he asks, “How are things with my brother?”
I fold one side of the coat over the other. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
He smiles. “Touché. Is he treating you all right?”
“What do you care?”
“I don’t know what my bother told you, but I’m not your enemy, Zoe.”
“No?” I look him over. “Then what are you? My friend?”
“There’s no need to say it like that.”
My fingers tighten on the fabric I clutch to my chest. “How would you like me to say it? My kidnappers? My jail keepers?”
He holds up a hand. “Maybe friends isn’t the right term, but no one wants it to be bad here for you. We’re not monsters, you know.”
His expression and words are so sincere I have a hard time processing them.
“That’s why I asked how Max is treating you,” he continues.
“You’re concerned?” I ask mockingly. “You expect me to believe that?”
He taps his temple. “Max isn’t always right up here. Ever since the accident…”
My heart starts beating faster. “What accident?”
“The fire. Didn’t he tell you?”
I shift my weight, eyeing the distance to the gazebo steps. I feel like a bird trapped by a cat. “He mentioned it.”
“Arson. Someone set fire to one of our warehouses. Max was trapped inside.” He rubs his forehead. “No one should’ve been able to survive those flames. The pain must’ve been excruciating. After Max walked out of there, he never was quite the same.”
I shudder at the mental picture. “Are you saying he’s insane?”
“What I’m saying,” Alexis says, “is that you have to be careful.”
“Talking about me?” a deep, familiar voice asks.
I spin around to see Maxime approaching with a dark look on his face.
“We were just getting acquainted,” Alexis says with a cold smile.
Maxime steps up next to me. “You don’t speak to her when I’m not around.”
“That’ll be a tad difficult,” Alexis says, “seeing that she’s part of your household now and our paths are sure to cross more often than not. You can’t always be everywhere, can you?”
Maxime grabs my arm. “It’s time to go.”
Alexis salutes. “I’m looking forward to seeing you on Sunday, Zoe.”
“She’s not going,” Maxime bites out.
Alexis pulls his face into a shocked expression. “You’re leaving her all by herself in that stuffy old house while we’re having a party? How rude of you, brother. Don’t worry, Zoe. I’m happy to keep you company. My social skills are not as unpolished as my brother’s.”
Maxime puts his face in Alexis’s. “You don’t want to test me.”
“Having authority issues, Max?”
Maxime’s hold on my arm turns painful. His other hand clenches at his side. “I dare you, little brother.” His smile is thin and cruel. “I’d love a reason to give you the treatment you deserve.”
Maxime pulls me roughly down the steps and onto the path, walking with such long strides I’m battling to keep up. Cecile and Hadrienne get up when we enter the lounge.
“Max.” Worry is etched on Cecile’s face. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” He kisses his mother’s cheeks. “See you on Sunday.”
He all but drags me to the car and shoves me inside. When he comes around and takes the wheel, I try to make myself small against the door. My heart is still thumping in my chest. I can’t stop thinking about what Alexis said. There’s not much love lost between the brothers. There’s no question that they’re both manipulating me, but which one is telling the truth?
Chapter 18
Maxime
Alexis loves fucking with me, but I won’t let him fuck with Zoe. She doesn’t know this family and their layers of nuances. She has no way of protecting herself against the mind games we play. It’ll take her years to figure us all out.
I glance at her as I change the gears. “No more talking to Alexis.”
She gives me an incredulous look. “What am I supposed to do when he talks to me? Ignore him? Pretend I don’t hear?”
“Just say I don’t want you to talk to him.” Possessiveness is something every man in this family understands.
She shrugs. “Fine.”
“What did he say to you?”
“That you’re insane.”
I laugh. “He’s probably right.”
She gapes at me. “You’re not upset?”
“I don’t get upset about things that don’t matter.”
She looks back at the road. “Wait. Why are we heading home? I thought you wanted to eat in town.”