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“That video was shot to shit, and we only saw her face for a half-a-second. It could have been anyone.”
“Looked just like her to me.”
Thankfully, the suite is deserted when we step inside. Enough stuff is scattered around that I know the girls haven’t checked out. They’ve must have gone downstairs to eat or to the gym.
“Make it quick.” I lean back against the door with my arms crossed over my chest. Cole gives me an annoyed look, but I just give him a neutral one right back. I might not be able to stop him from invading my girlfriend’s privacy without causing us both more problems, but that doesn’t mean I have to help him. “And don’t break anything.”
Cole goes into the bathroom, making way too much noise as he rummages in the drawers and under the sink. “You know what it’s going to mean if she did take it, right?”
I don’t answer until he comes back out, because I want to make sure he sees the expression on my face. “She didn’t.”
“But if she did…”
“She fucking didn’t,” I snap sharply. “You do realize that Olivia has an identical twin running around right?”
He makes a scoffing sound. “Evangeline just got here. What the fuck would she want with the ledger?”
I might not have the answer to that question, but I know it’s something more than the nothing he seems to think. But I can’t exactly tell him we’re trapped in a twisted version of the Parent Trap. Or that the girl he thinks is Evangeline might be the more dangerous sister, at least where Havoc House is concerned.
“Just hurry the fuck up,” I grouse, instead of answering his question.
“Might go faster if you helped me look.”
I don’t so much as twitch a muscle. “It might.”
Cole disappears into the larger bedroom, but I still hear his murmured fucker.
My mouth tips into a frown that I know would look worried if I let him see it. I can’t imagine that Gigi would break into our penthouse suite to steal the ledger, especially without telling me. But regardless of how sure I sounded when I swore it couldn’t be her, a niggle of doubt remained.
Gigi is impetuous. When she gets an idea in her head, she goes chasing after it before she thinks through the consequences. That impulsivity and suicidal bravery are part of what I love most about her, but they’re also the traits most likely to get her killed.
When Cole comes out of the first bedroom empty-handed, I feel a stab of relief.
“No luck?” It’s hard to keep the hint of gloating out of my voice.
He lets out an annoyed sigh as he glares at me. “Look, man. I get what you see in Olivia. I really do. She’s a challenge and total ball buster when she wants to be. But you have to see that the girl has been playing you since the day she got here.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Not about this. Even if your girl didn’t take the ledger, doesn’t change the fact that problems follow her wherever she goes. She is a magnet for the worst kind of trouble and she didn’t get involved with us by accident.”
My eyebrows go up. “You’ve been talking to Vaughn.”
“He has a lot to say on the subject of Olivia Pratt. No offense, man, but I trust his opinion a little more than yours. Whatever happened last year, he isn’t the one letting her lead him around by the dick right now.”
I’d like to be offended, but I’m too concerned about what the fuck Vaughn has been saying to worry about my feelings. “What else has he said?”
Cole just shakes his head as he goes into the other bedroom. “Enough that I know you’re not thinking straight.”
This time I follow him, annoyance finally winning out over other emotions. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like,” he huffs as he bends down to look under the bed. “You refuse to see this for what it is. The girl is playing you like a trombone.”
If only he knew.
“Run me through it,” I offer. “What’s the master plan that I’m too pussy-blind to see coming?”
“Revenge, for one. She blames Havoc House for whatever happened to her last year and wants to see us all go down for it.”
