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"You're not denying the rumor," he stated again.
"Neither am I upholding it," she argued.
He watched her carefully, silence stretching between them as she paced back to her chair and sat down wearily.
Her father was pacing at home, she knew. He had called that morning, torn between loyalty to his daughter and the knowledge he had just learned, that his entire life, the holdings four generations of Rutherfords had possessed, could come crashing to his feet. All because of Drew. Because he had dared to threaten her with that club, and when she had spilled all her hurt and anger to the person she believed was a friend, it had begun to spread.
"My father called," she finally said. "He's received phone calls from major stockholders. " She knew this game. She had been born and raised within the dirty little social set that thrived on power and threats. "Drew was right, wasn't he? You have enough power to destroy all of us. "
"Kia, I'm here to help you," he promised her.
"Yes, of course you are, how could I have ever believed otherwise?" she stated tearfully, mockingly. "What do you want me to do, Chase, take out an ad in the newspapers that I lied? That Drew never brought in a third from your damned club and tried to rape me?" Her voice rose in humiliation and pain. "Tell them he never threatened to destroy me with the power that club wields? Did you bring a list of the papers? Should I stand on the street corner and proclaim it to the world?"
The tears didn't fall, but they wanted to. She wanted to sob in fury.
"I want you to call your friend and tell her the club doesn't exist. That you were trying to hurt Drew. When you're asked about the club or anything he told you concerning it, I want you to deny he ever mentioned it. You didn't give names, Kia. At this point, it's all speculation based on the few single members known to share their lovers. Help me fix this now, and I'll make certain you're protected. "
She gave a very unladylike snort. "And how will you do that, Mr. Falladay?"
"Will you trust me, Kia?" He leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees as he watched her. "Will you trust me to keep my word? That you'll be protected, not just in any retaliation against Drew, but from Drew as well?"
The bruise at the side of her face burned.
"I don't know what you mean. "
"There's not enough makeup in the world to hide that mark on your face, or the fear in your eyes, Kia. I don't
want to add to that. No one is going to hurt you physically. Drew will never touch you again, period. When the time comes, he'll pay for what he's done to you, just as he'll pay for using the club to attempt to threaten you into a relationship you didn't want. "
She stared back at him in shock.
"Why would you do that?"
His expression hardened. "Kia, we're not just a club filled with members who share an agreement on a lifestyle. That club, that power base and that protection, wasn't created for its members alone. It was created for their women. "
She shook her head. That didn't make sense. None of it did. "I'm divorcing him, though. "
Something flared in his eyes, something she didn't dare delve into too closely. Something that had her tensing, reminding her of long dark nights and fantasies she didn't dare think about.
"It doesn't matter. He and another member hurt you. He bruised you, Kia, and he frightened you. And that isn't tolerated. Trust me. Work with me, and before you know it, Drew, and the pain, will be behind you. "
It wasn't such a large request, and she knew it. The gossip would truly never be squelched but it would never be considered more than an amusing tale without her backing.
She looked down, staring at the toes of her very stylish shoes that matched her very tasteful silk dress and wished she had worn her jeans instead.
Her world was exploding around her—what did this matter? And what did his request matter? It was for her benefit as well as that damned club's.
"I'll take care of it. " She lifted her chin and shrugged as though it didn't matter. "I never should have lied about Drew. What he did was bad enough. " Humiliation flamed through her. "Perhaps I was just trying to excuse him. "
Anger flickered in his gaze with such a rush of intense light that it surprised her.
"Perhaps the friend so determined to tell the tales put her own lies to the story?" he suggested quietly, his voice hard.
To that, Kia shook her head. "No. I'll take the blame. I trusted her. That was my mistake. I'll deal with it. "
Chase watched her, so vulnerable, her hair covering her face, hiding the tears he knew must be filling her eyes. Coming here had been the hardest decision he had ever made. It was the only time he had regretted fulfilling this part of his job as Ian's private investigator and the first defense against society's knowledge of what the club actually was.
Wounding this woman's pride made him feel like a damned animal.
