Page 51 of London Dynasty

There was another picture of Kerrigan riding a horse. I searched it, hoping it might contain some clue that would open up who she was to me. I closed my eyes again. I could almost feel the horse beneath me and the wind in my hair as we rode along the countryside. But it offered me no insight into who she was either. These glimpses of her life were as nondescript as the room upstairs. I was just about to give up when I noticed a bag tucked in the corner. Its glossy yellow leather seemed an odd fit for Tod Belmond.

I picked it up and placed it on the desk. Unzipping it, I withdrew a laptop computer and opened it. Powering it on, I waited, holding my breath, until a lock screen appeared, prompting me for a password. I had no idea what the password was, but the lock screen was enough to confirm my suspicion. Because above the password request, two words told me all I needed to know: Welcome Kerrigan.

Why was her computer here, if she wasn’t? I started to look in the bag again when the security system alerted me that there was someone at the gate. I replaced the computer, zipping it closed, and put it back where I’d found it. I’d have more time to dig into this later. Maybe even try to guess her password. But I didn’t want anyone to know what I was up to.

Did Giles know this bag was here? I couldn’t risk removing it from the office. I would have to see to whoever this was at the gate, send them on their way, and come back. I hoped I had enough time before Giles returned from the theatre. It was important that I covered my tracks behind me. Forcing Kerrigan to come home early was not something I wanted to discuss with Tod. I didn’t want to give him a chance to renegotiate our deal, or back out of it entirely. I shut the office door behind me and pocketed the key. Making my way to the security monitor near the front entry, I clicked on the feed and groaned when I saw Spencer waiting at the gate. He was standing there, no car in sight, pressing the intercom button.

I wondered if it was a coincidence that he’d shown up when there was no one around to send him away but me. Silently, I cursed Giles. There was no way he happened to be at the theatre at the same time that Spencer happened to show up here. That meant that Spencer knew I was inside, hiding from him, and that left me no choice.

I hit the button to respond.

“I don’t want to see you,” I told him.

“Kerrigan, we need to talk.”

My core clenched as his voice filled the empty space. It was enough to prompt the feelings I so willfully ignored to roar to life.

“Let me in. Please.”

“No way,” I said, standing my ground.

“I just want to talk to you. I know things went too far with Holden.”

“I’m sorry, but I need time to think.

“You have had a week to think!” He roared, banging his fist on the brick security shack and wincing. “This is ridiculous. I didn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to do.”

“That’s not what this is about.”

He hit the wall again. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m going crazy here. I have to talk to you.”

“Then you’ll have to wait until I’m ready,” I said.

“Okay. Then I’ll wait.”

He couldn’t mean that literally, could he?

As if he knew what I was thinking, he slumped onto the ground and stared in the direction of the camera.

Apparently, he could. I turned on my heel, but instead of going back to the office, I raced upstairs and buried myself under the covers. I didn’t trust myself to listen to Spencer calling over the intercom or to see him sitting there. Just hearing his voice had been enough to weaken my resolve.

I waited what felt like hours. Outside, this sky grew dark, tricking me into thinking it was later than it was. But it wasn’t evening, it was simply a storm. Clouds blocked the summer sun and before long, rain lashed against the windows. I’d lost track of time. Between the rain and the waiting, I was sure Spencer had given up. Instead, when I tiptoed downstairs and checked the security feed, he was still there, sitting in the downpour.

“Give up,” I called over the intercom.

I watched him shake his head on the security feed. He raised his hand and hit the response button. “I will stand here and drown in this rain before I leave, Kerrigan.”

“I don’t think you can drown in the rain,” I replied.

“Then I’ll die of starvation,” he said with a shrug. “Or exposure. Or heartbreak. I’m at your mercy.”

He didn’t mean that. He couldn’t. I fought the hope that swelled inside me that he did. I closed my eyes, shutting out the sight of him drenched on the security feed and slumped against the wall. Something told me that Spencer Byrd had it within him to do exactly what he said. A vision of him, lying dead at the front gate, when Giles returned from the theatre swam to mind. It wasn’t long enough of course for any of those terrible things to happen to him, but he would wait until Giles returned. And Giles would let him inside the house. And then we’d have an audience for whatever row we were about to have.

I let out a frustrated scream, reached over, and opened the gate.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Spencer sprang through the gate as soon as it had opened far enough to allow his body to fit through. I didn’t wait to watch him run toward the house.