Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
If my penance and punishment was to wander this earth being deprived of the warmth of the woman I loved, then it was more than I deserved.
At least now I would be the monster in the shadows, protecting her from any other future harm. Starting with the person who set us both up.
If the last time was a raging inferno, this time was a fucking nuclear bomb.
“If I timed this right, she should be walking in your door any moment.”
Luc pulled out his gun and cocked the hammer back, a clear threat, and opened his mouth to say something else when his phone vibrated in the inside pocket of his suit.
With the gun squarely pointed at my chest, he answered it.
“What?”
Someone was talking on the other end of the line. I assumed it was his new wife, Mrs. Manwarring. I had been gone for about twenty minutes. Even if Olivia ignored my driver and crawled to her brother’s home, she should be there by now.
Luc’s features softened the moment he heard Amelia’s voice. I wondered if this all hadn’t gone down like this, if I had been smart enough to see through the bullshit and not let my emotions blind me, it might have been Olivia calling me and maybe my face would have done the same.
“Okay, I will be home soon. I have some business to handle first. Call the doctor to come check her out.” He hung up the phone and put away his gun.
“I didn’t hurt her, not really,” I said.
The lie tasted bitter on my lips so I took a sip of liquor.
At least it was true physically. Sort of.
Emotionally, it was another story. I played with her head and her heart. I broke her trust over and over. I took what wasn’t mine. Who knew what kind of damage I had done to my babygirl.
“I should kill you anyway,” he said, almost echoing my guilt-laden thoughts.
“I wouldn’t blame you, but there is business to be done first.” I offered him the drink.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at me like it was some kind of trick. “Why am I here, Marksen?” Luc was back to his growly, grumpy self. I motioned to one of the other chairs again and slid his glass over in front of it.
“You are here because we need to talk. I was under the impression that you were systematically destroying my empire.”
“I wasn’t,” he interrupted.
I waited for him to sit down before continuing.
He curled his lip in disdain at the snifter until he swirled it and smelled the aged-to-perfection Scotch. Then his eyebrows rose in surprise as if he didn’t think I would break out the good stuff for this meeting.
“I am well aware of that now. Your sister was actually the one who was able to follow the paper trail that led to the person responsible.”
“That still doesn’t explain why I am here,” he said.
“Because although lately we’ve been divided, you and I used to work very well together. I think it’s time we come back together.”
“Do you remember what you did that severed our business arrangements?” He sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees as he glared at me.
“Yeah, I fucked up, and I went after the wrong warehouse. Then you interrupted my wedding and very publicly stole my bride. If what Olivia says is true, you are happy, in love, and you pulled a grinch.”
He shot me a confused look, and I elaborated. “Your heart grew three times its size. Which, I might add, is impressive as fuck since no one thought any of the Manwarrings had a heart.”
“Olivia has a heart,” he countered.
I stared down at the amber liquid in my glass as I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I nodded. “She does. She also has a brain and is probably more business savvy and ruthless than both of us combined.”
Luc laughed and sat back in his chair.
“You’re probably right.”
“Do you know, she walked in on me going through all the documents when I thought I was looking at the damage you were doing. She found the pattern before I did, she saw the paper trail and the shell game clear as day. It only took her a few hours to untangle what my analysts didn’t even know was happening.” I was still in awe of that woman.
“You need better analysts,” he said.
“She is brilliant,” I countered.
“She is a Manwarring.”
“She is, more than you know. She and I had a bet. I thought she would bet her freedom or the blackmail photos, if she proved you weren’t behind it.”
“She didn’t?” he asked.
“No, she said I would be letting her go anyway.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the brazen way she had told me that, like it was a forgone fact. “She demanded that I drop the vendetta against your family and get revenge. Whoever was doing this to my family and making it look like yours, she wants them to suffer.”