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She glanced at me then, surprise evident on her face. ‘Why would I do that? It’s not your problem; it’s mine.’
‘It is my problem now, as there is a matter of one million euros to repay.’
She flushed. ‘Once we sell the chateau I can...’
‘No,’ I said, startling her, as I became increasingly annoyed with her stubbornness. ‘You are not selling your home. I will not allow it.’
‘That’s not your choice to make,’ she said.
I forced myself to dial down on my frustration. She had been brought to the brink of ruin because of her brother-in-law’s recklessness, and then roughed up by one of Carsoni’s men. She couldn’t afford to refuse my help.
But as I opened my mouth to tell her what I planned to do about this situation, I heard the gendarmes’ sirens.
I swore softly. About damn time.
She looked relieved by the interruption.
We spoke to the police together, but when she was questioned about the goon who had been hitting her when I arrived she said she couldn’t identify him.
I knew she was lying because she watched me as she spoke to the young gendarme, her eyes pleading with me not to intervene—and contradict her.
I remained silent. But only because I knew that informing the gendarmes of Carsoni’s involvement was not the answer.
As the police left us to question her sister Jude and Joe about the incident, Edie murmured under her breath, ‘Thanks, for not saying anything about Carsoni.’
I nodded.
‘And for punching that creep for me,’ she added. ‘I should have said that sooner.’
‘No thanks is necessary,’ I said, biting down on my irritation at her polite, impersonal tone.
She was clearly exhausted. And I had no inclination to argue with her further.
I knew exactly how to handle a vile parasite like Carsoni. I had refrained from correcting her—and informing the police of her attacker’s identity as one of Carsoni’s goons—for the simple reason that I knew the police wouldn’t be able to touch the money lender. And without Carsoni’s help it would be impossible to track down the man who had attacked Edie.
I, on the other hand, intended to make sure both men paid for what they had done to Edie. And, unlike the police, I did not intend to play by the rules.
She pressed a hand to her forehe
ad.
‘Have you got a headache?’ I asked, concerned by the deathly colour of her skin, which only made the purpling bruise on her cheek more pronounced.
‘It’s not too bad, considering,’ she said, looking ready to keel over.
At last the police left, with promises to start a search for the attacker, who I had no doubt would be long gone by now.
I directed my attention to Jude, who still had Joe hovering over her. I’d never seen my casino manager quite so attentive with a woman before—but then Jude Trouvé was almost as beautiful as Edie. Almost. Which probably explained Joe’s attentiveness. He was a man who appreciated beauty as much as I did.
‘Edie needs to rest—can you keep an eye on her?’ I asked Jude, who looked almost as washed out as her sister. ‘The paramedics said to look out for signs of lethargy or disorientation.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Jude put a gentle arm around Edie’s shoulder.
‘I don’t have time to rest,’ Edie said wearily, trying to shrug off Jude’s arm. ‘We’ve got to put the house on the market—’
‘There’s no need to do it today,’ I interrupted.
In fact there would be no need to do it at all, once my legal team had contacted Carsoni and informed him of what was going to happen next, if he wanted to stay out of prison. But she had that stubborn look in her eyes again, and I decided to humour her rather than indulge in a pointless argument that would just exhaust her more.
