Why would he bring them here? He said he was leaving to keep me safe, but he did the exact opposite. Why lie like that?
I sit up, narrowing my eyes as an idea strikes me. Was he just baiting me with adoring compliments and sweet kisses? Working me until he got a tour of the manor and found the perfect time to infiltrate?
“Gah!” I let it scream out of me. My fists curl so tight my manicure indents half-moon piercings into my palms. I hunch over my thighs, and every muscle tenses.
I hate this.
I hate that he did this to me.
I hate that I didn’t see it coming.
He was in such a bad mood the last time I saw him at the pool house. He told me he was planning on riding with Boscoe. How did I not register that meant he’d had contact with The Scorpions?
He left the pool house, saying he’d give his brother something he wanted.
My heart aches with the memory of Dax telling his brother I didn’t come from a wealthy family.
How could I not piece together that I was something his brother wanted? I was the key to gaining a hefty loot.
I was used.
As I lift my head and blink the water out of my vision, my eyes mindlessly wander the floor. I glimpse the foot of the armoire and cringe. As I turn away, something catches my eye.
On second glance, a sunray beams through the window and shines against something on the floor. I get up, keeping the blanket snatched around me. I stand over the sunlit item and then lower to pick it up.
My heart fritzes when a bolt of panic and surprise hits me. Very gingerly, I hold Dax’s chain with the pendant his mother gave him. As it sits in my palm, I remember the remorse stinging his eyes and his anguished apologies.
I pull the chain to my chest and gulp for air.
He didn’t have a choice.
“No, it’s your favorite.”He was devastated when he took my bracelet.
I run my fingers over his necklace.
Did he leave this here because he felt my pain?
With my head hanging low, I clasp the chain around my neck.
The blanket cloaks around me and drags along the floor as I leave my bedroom. When I reach the first floor, staff members attempt to gain my attention, but they may as well be ghosts. I amble to the rear of the manor, and my heart draws me to the pool.
I nestle on a deck chair, gazing at the morning sun dazzling against the steady water. My heavy eyes are ready to close, but I sense I’m no longer alone.
“Christie’s gone,” Ash says flatly, scuffing his way to my deck chair. “Her family took her out of town, and they’re staying with her grandparents. Are you happy now?”
I squint at him. “You’re blaming me for her leaving?”
“They left because of the robbery caused by your boyfriend.”
“That wasn’t up to him. If only you’d seen his face. He was forced into it. I know it.”
“You’re making excuses for him?”
I clutch the fabric over my chest. “He’s not a bad guy, Ash.”
Ash rolls his eyes. “I’m not listening to this. And I’m not taking my eyes off you.”
I scoff. “What? You’re doing the whole overprotective thing with me because Christie’s gone?”
