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“This isn’t a hospitality suite, Zane,” Tristen barked.
Zane sighed and shook his head, but he didn’t back down. “I’ll get you some water at least.”
“That would be nice.” The butterflies in my stomach had returned, fluttering madly in a stark warning that it would be next to impossible to escape now that I was here. I’d noticed at least two men with guns as Jeffrey drove up the long driveway. I was certain there were more. I was no fool to people of power and influence. The place was likely wired to the hilt, security cameras everywhere. For all I knew, there were boobytraps throughout the property as well.
“Why do you work for him?” I asked Tristen, hoping to glean any information I could.
I was surprised he didn’t issue a nasty statement. But he did keep his hateful glare as he lifted his head. “Because it’s a job, a better one that I would be able to get anywhere else.”
“What do you do for him?”
“Are we playing twenty questions now,Ms.Rollins?”
“What’s wrong with me asking about you? Are you ashamed of what you do?”
“Ashamed?” he hissed as he walked closer. “I have a goddamn MBA in business, accounting my background. I’m the vice president of a multimillion-dollar company, stocks through the roof since I took over all aspects of the corporation. Why in God’s name would I be ashamed of that?”
“Because you kill people.”
I’d never seen a real look of amusement cross the man’s face. His eyes lit up as he burst into laughter. “If you don’t believe that eliminating issues by extreme methods occurs within every Fortune 100 company, then you are either naïve as hell or just a fool. I don’t take you for either.”
He was probably right, although not in such egregious manners.
“Here you go,” Zane said as he handed me a bottle of water. “Why don’t we go into the living room to wait?”
Tristen never blinked as he watched me back away, finally following Zane down a hallway to a room with double doors. As he opened them, I was pleasantly surprised all over again. I’d expected stark surroundings, but between the upholstered furniture and bright walls, floor-to-ceiling bookcases filled with books and photographs in beautiful frames, a large comfy-looking throw on the back of the sofa, and a massive stone fireplace on one wall, I could envision spending hours in the room.
Zane studied me as I turned in a complete circle and I noticed he still wore a smile on his face. Why had he gotten himself involved with such a savage family?
“You seem shocked,” he said.
“Yes, I guess I am.”
“What did you expect, bars on the windows and uncomfortable furniture?”
“Um. Yes.” I allowed myself to laugh, some of the tension easing. I still had difficulty processing let alone getting off my mind what Constantine had told me about Nickolas. There was no doubt he’d suffered from the loss of his friend, the guilt surrounding the young boy’s kidnapping. And he bore those deep emotional scars and likely would for the rest of his life. He believed he was the one who should have died.
However, I couldn’t fall into a trap, caring about him. That just wasn’t… possible.
Even if he’d saved my life, risking his own.
Even if he was the most gorgeous man in the country.
Even if my body molded with his perfectly.
God. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? He’d refused to let me do anything other than clean the knife wound. He was a fool, the possibility of infection high. He had no idea what kind of bacteria had been on the blade.
I pressed my fingers over my lips and walked to the set of French doors. He had a pool and hot tub, the setting reminding me of a fabulous lagoon on a tropical island. “Does Constantine spend much time here?”
“He travels often, but this is his home and has been for years. I’ve only been here once, a party he had for his sister’s birthday.”
“They have parties?” I threw a glance in his direction.
“They have holidays too and barbeques. What do you think happens behind closed doors when the family members are alone, Ms. Rollins?”
“Please call me Jade.”
“Mr. Thorn wouldn’t like that.”
