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14
Karma
I stand at a distance from the penthouse, not far from Tower Bridge in London. The place belongs to Dr. Weston Kincaid, one of the Seven, as they like to call themselves. Seven billionaires who co-own 7A, one of the leading financial companies in the country. Weston is a friend of Sinclair Sterling, another of the Seven. Sinclair is married to my sister Summer. The one whose wedding I had attended before I had run into my Capo.
I had gone to Summer and Sinclair’s townhouse on Primrose Hill, just as they had been leaving the house. I had grabbed a taxi and followed them here. I had jumped out of the cab and walked toward them as they had left their car and approached the entrance of the building. They had paused halfway and Sinclair had hauled my sister close to him and kissed her… Okay, he had practically devoured her face, if you want to know the truth. The heat between them had been palpable enough that my face had reddened. My toes had curled, and gah! That’s wrong. This is my sister and brother-in-law, for chrissakes! Still, the way they had been going at it, in the open... It had reminded me of how it was with my Capo… My cheating Capo—the asshole who’d decided to have his dick sucked by another woman, making sure that you’d see it, remember?
Ahead, Sinclair had finally released Summer, who’d laughed. She’d reached up and rubbed the lipstick off of his mouth. "Your friends are going to know what we have been up to."
"Like I bloody care?" Sinclair had snorted. "Honestly, I’d rather have stayed home with you, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to surprise the twat, Weston in his love nest."
That’s when I’d realized where they were going.
"You’d have hated it if they had done the same to us." She’d giggled.
"All the more reason to spring the surprise on him." He’d smirked.
Another car had driven up, and that’s when I had fallen back. I had darted away behind a parked van. Then peeked around it in time to see Saint, another of the Seven, get out of the driver’s seat. He’d walked around to open the door to the passenger’s side and Victoria had gotten out. Huh? I guess Victoria is with Saint now? What else have I missed in the time that I have been away?
Clearly, the entire group is converging at Weston’s. Of course, they are. It’s Christmas, right? They want to be together to celebrate.
I’d peeked around the side of the van again and seen Summer moving forward to greet Victoria with a kiss. Guess my sister has found her tribe. Her people. Her husband…
And me? Shit, I’d had it all…and lost it… I flatten my palm against my stomach and tears slide down my cheeks. I have to stop breaking down at the least provocation. I can’t go through life always thinking of what I could have had. I need to focus on the now, on what I still have. Myself… My health… And I still have my new friends, Aurora and Cassandra…who know what I have been through. And I have Andy, of course.
I wipe away my tears, glance around the van just as another car draws up. Jace and his wife Sienna, both friends of Sinclair, step out. Then Jace reaches into the back seat, and a few minutes later, emerges with a baby carrier.
The group exchanges greetings, the women kiss, they coo over the baby, then all of them enter the building. I take a step forward, then stop. If I go in there now, I’ll have to confront all of them, and honestly, that’s the last thing I want to do right now. Guess I’ll just have to find another time.
I hunch my shoulders, turn away and begin walking down the road. The hair on the back of my neck rises. I glance around. What the hell caused that feeling? Am I being watched? I look up and down the road. The sensation fades and I start walking again. I reach the end of the road, glance around for a cab, but can’t see any. I hear a noise behind me and stiffen. My heart begins to race; my pulse pounds at my temples. Shit, where’s a taxi when you need it, eh? I increase my speed and head for the tube station that I remember passing on my way here. Footsteps sound behind me, and I break into a run. I race down the street, turn another corner and see the entrance to the tube station ahead. Thank god! My breath comes in huffs as I run toward it. I am almost there when someone grabs my shoulder.
"No," I yell as I try to pull free, "let me go. Now!"
"Beauty?"
"No, no, no," I struggle wildly, "don’t fucking come near me."
"Language, Beauty."
I blink, then pause. I am turned around and find myself staring at a broad chest, clad in a plain white T-shirt that outlines the sculpted planes. A black jacket that has seen better days clings to his broad shoulders. The dark, masculine scent that could only belong to one man envelops my senses. I swallow, refuse to look up. He notches his knuckles under my chin and applies pressure. I tilt my chin up and meet his cold blue gaze.
"You?" I whisper. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you."
"No," I try to pull away, but his grip tightens. "You told me to leave, remember?"
"And I came after you."
"You cheated on me."
He shakes his head, "I only pretended to."
"A likely story," I snap. "I was there, buster. I saw you, remember?"
"You thought you saw her going down on me—" I wince and his jaw hardens. "The mind can play tricks on you, so you think you see what you expect to see."
"Your pants were unzipped."
