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It occurs to me to wonder how much Jeanie knows about their lifestyle.
When Matteo disappears, Skylar goes to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water.
“You two might want to turn some music on down here or something,” she says with a cheeky grin. “Pretty sure I’m about to get my ass beat.”
I nearly choke on my last swallow of coffee, and Skylar’s head falls back as she lets out a laugh. “Sorry. Don’t worry about me. I goaded him and he called my bluff. Bout damn time.”
I recover from my coughing spell and shrug. “Hey, sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. Have fun up there.”
Jeanie doesn’t seem at all uncomfortable with our conversation. In fact, she seems downright amused.
“Skylar always has been a take the bull by the horns kind of girl, and Matteo is definitely a bull.”
Skylar winces. “I’m so sorry he fired you. But I’m glad Luke gave you the chance to work for him. You deserve it. It will be way more interesting than driving me around all day, I’m sure. And even if Matteo is thickheaded, I’m glad to have you around.”
With water in hand, she sashays out of the kitchen and up the stairs to meet her fate.
Meanwhile, I’m stuck in the kitchen with a driver who isn’t actually allowed to take me anywhere. I’m tempted to sneak upstairs and get my laptop, but I don’t want to overhear whatever Matteo and Skylar have got going on, so I stay where I’m at and try not to think about the fact that I’m trapped.
Chapter 21
Luke
“IsthereachanceJamie leaked her location because he wants you to bring her back to New York?”
I frown at Owen as we sit across from each other in his office at Elysium. We’re waiting on Matteo and Victor to arrive so we can address the situation currently staring us down.
“That’s a little too… slick for Jamie. He’s all brute force and no logic. He’s always been that way. You remember your dad trying to reason with him all those years ago.”
Owen snorts. “My father had that broken nose coming, so I’m not even mad about it. But yeah. I get what you’re saying. What about the next generation? Is your brother more likely to do something like this? We didn’t interact a lot when we were kids, so I don’t know him that well.”
I nod thoughtfully. “It’s possible. But it seems like he would have reached out to me and tried to negotiate first. No. I think this is something else entirely. The leak didn’t mention her ties to the assassination. It felt personal. And if it were my family, they wouldn’t have gone with some local gossip show. It would have been national.”
“Speaking of personal, we’ve got the woman stashed in a room on the eighth floor that was closed to have the wallpaper and carpets replaced. She needed a shower. We brought her here in case you did end up taking Zara back to the Sapphire.”
His nose wrinkles in disgust and I can’t help the chuckle. “Zara says she’s been homeless for years. Wouldn’t say much more than that but promised to if I need her to.”
“And you’re sure she’s related to Zara? I swear they look nothing alike. But I suppose that could have been the bulky clothes and layer of dirt talking.”
“As soon as she heard what the woman was screaming, she said it had to be her sister. Then she verified her identity from the photo you sent.”
“Let’s figure out what to do with her first. I don’t think she’s involved, but I want to get her into housing so Zara can take stressing about her off of her plate.”
“Why hasn’t Zara done that already?”
I shake my head. “It’s complicated. The sister doesn’t want Zara’s money because it’s dirty and the way she earned it was sinful. She comes from a hyper-religious family.”
Owen nods in understanding. “I’ve never understood being a zealot about anything but least of all religion.”
“You’re preaching to the choir so to speak.”
Owen snickers and reaches for his phone. “Let’s see if we can talk to her yet.”
While Owen is on the phone with the detail outside of Monica’s door, Matteo walks in. “What’s going on?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Still trying to figure that out. We’re going to talk with Zara’s sister in a minute if you want to join.”
Matteo whistles. “I heard she caused quite a scene.”
