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Briar’s head twitched to the side. “Why?”
“Probably because he thinks that Jorge would attempt to take over. Which he would. He might not care about me, but I am his daughter. It would look like weakness on his part if he didn’t take action. Danton’s adamant that he wishes to deal with the situation himself.”
I wondered just exactlyhowhe was dealing with it. It was most likely in a way that involved my attacker bleeding heavily. And I couldn’t find it in me to feel pity for the asshole.
Still, not wanting to think too much about it, I shook my head and asked, “Can we talk about something else? Something lighter?”
“Sure. I have a question.” Inaya leaned forward. “What’s Danton’s apartment like?”
“All style and masculinity,” I replied, glancing around, taking in the leather seating, unnecessarily wide TV, black glass coffee table, shark-gray paint, and wooden flooring. “It suits him. I like it.”
We moved from one easy subject to another, joking and laughing, until I heard the whirring of the elevator.
I stilled. “He’s back, I’ll call again tomorrow, I promise.”
The girls waved, saying their goodbyes and quietly wishing me luck.
The shiny metal doors on my far left slid open just as I ended the video call. Danton stepped out of the elevator and slowly stalked through the small foyer and into the living room.
He looked as composed as always, not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle in his shirt, not a dot of blood to be seen. You wouldn’t think he’d recently interrogated someone. But his jaw was tight, and there was a hard glint in his eye that told me he didn’t at all like whatever he’d learned from my attacker.
“You’re back sooner than I expected,” I told him.
“It didn’t take long to get the answers I needed. The bastard sang like a canary.” Taking a seat on the sofa beside me, he angled his body to face me. His gaze drank in my expression. “You okay? I didn’t like leaving you alone.”
My chest went a little tight in a good way. I mirrored his position. “I’m fine. How did your conversation with—” I cut off as my phone began to ring. “It’s Julian again,” I noticed as I peered at the screen.
Danton’s brow creased slightly. “Again?”
“He tried calling me earlier.”
His jaw hardened. “I told him not to try contacting you.”
I felt my brows flit together. “You spoke to him?”
“I did. I had a few questions for him, since the prick who attacked you claimed that he did it under your brother’s orders.”
My lips parted. A shocked, disbelieving laugh bubbled up. “What?” I shook my head. “That makes no sense. What possible reason could Julian have to do that? No. No, that has to be a lie.”
“Cat—”
“All he’d have to do if he wanted to speak to me is ask me to meet him somewhere. There’d be no need for anyone tokidnapand take me to him.”
Danton rested his arm on the back of the sofa. “I doubt Julian believed that the attempt to grab you would be successful. He’d guess that you had a guard; that I’d ensure you were protected twenty-four/seven. Even if he didn’t spot Duke, he’d know there’d be someone watching.”
“Then why would he even bother?” Could Danton not see that this was completely nonsensical?
“Your attacker, Cory, received a message from a burner phone saying, ‘I’m calling in my favor. Bring my sister to me and be rough about it. A message needs to be sent.’ He signed it ‘Julian’ and included your address.”
I shook my head, unable to believe it. Not wanting to believe it.
“I saw the text message, Cat. Cory wasn’t lying about it. He didn’t notice Duke, and since Julian had given him no warning of a guard in the text, Cory assumed that you weren’t constantly watched—he didn’t know you’re mine. So he made a grab for you.”
“Anyone could have sent Cory a message and signed it ‘Julian,’” I pointed out.
Danton conceded that with a brief tilt of his head. “I called your brother. He swears that it wasn’t him; that he doesn’t even own a burner phone with that number. But he wouldn’t exactly admit to it, would he?”
No. No, he wouldn’t. I licked my lips. “What else did he say?”
