AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I gasp, my breath choking in my throat as he suddenly drops over me, his fists against the headboard to either side of my head, his eyes level with mine. Heat pools instantly and horribly in my core, my skin tingling as the nearness of him sets me ablaze.
Goddamn him.
“You seem to have a complete inability or unwillingness to step away from that insanity,” he growls, eyes narrowing.
“Ella, for the lastgoddamn time, I did. Not. Hurt. Your. Mother. No matter what Oliver fucking Prince whispers into your ear.”
My lips curl, teeth flashing.
“I saw what I saw, Noel,” I hiss. “He didn’t have to whisper anything. I saw proof, with my own—”
“You saw cherry picked pieces of information, designed specifically to enrage you, and turn you into a useful tool.”
His mouth thins.
“Which worked, apparently.”
“You were a top donor to the police the same year as—”
“I’m a top donor to the policeevery year,” he growls. “I have been ever since I made my first fortune. My grandfather was a police constable after he came back from World War Two.”
I stiffen.Shit. I didn’t know that.
“The police report—”
“Was originally longer.”
My eyes narrow. “Because you—”
“Because I bribed three police detectives.”
I stare at him.
“You—”
“It was amended to protect you.”
His eyes narrow.
“The redacted version doesn’t mention youstabbing me, little one,” he growls quietly.
My nostrils flare, eyes darting over his.
“You have a nice little answer for everything, don’t you?”
“I have a credibly backedexplanationfor all of it, yes.”
My mouth tightens.
“What about the accelerants?” I snap. “The chemicals used in both fires—”
“Were the same, I’m aware,” he growls. “That doesn’t mean I had anything to do with it.”
“You had carsboth timesfound right after the fires, with—”
“Seriously?” he rasps, snarling as he shakes his head.
“You honestly believe a man of my means is going to go Jason Bourne with a can of fucking gas and cleaning agent? Those were ignored both times because it was clearly a false flag. None of my fingerprints on anything, and the cars broken into both times. Any reasonably competent law enforcement officer could see they were planted.”
