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“A man has his needs,” Elijah finally shrugged, when she was out of earshot. “As I’m sure the two of you well know. Besides, Jenna and I aren’t exactly exclusive right now.” His voice turned bitter. “Apparently she’s too busy slumming it up with one of you three.”
His words were meant to be an insult, but they weren’t. They only made me smile.
“You don’t even know, do you?” I grinned.
For the tiniest portion of a split-second Elijah actually seemed caught off guard. His eyes shifted left, then right. He recovered quickly though.
“Know what?” he asked.
I shot a sideways glance at Luca, whose grin was even wider than mine.
“Forget it.”
Elijah’s mouth twitched. Dropping the facade of civility, he looked back at us with disdain.
“Remember,” he said coolly, “as you’re fixing your little issues and getting back on track? I’m already five steps ahead of you. Nothing you can do matters, because your restaurant willneverre-open. I’ll pay to make sure of it.”
Luca shifted, coiled like a panther ready to pounce. His body language said everything. Elijah however, stood his ground. Either he chose to ignore the danger or was blind to it entirely.
“Of course, all this trouble disappears in the blink of an eye if you do one simple thing,” Elijah went on. He watched us over his drink, sipping it slowly, his eyes darting between us. “All you need to do is walk away from Jenna.”
The disgust couldn’t be more apparent on either of our faces. Elijah smiled evilly.
“Hell, in the name of saving time I’ll even pay you to do it.” He cleared his throat. “Just name your price.”
Revulsion welled up inside me, readying me for the thrashing I so desperately wanted to give this disgusting piece of garbage. But I knew what would happen if I did. The payoff would be glorious, but the penalty would be steep.
“I know who you are, Tyler,” he said, taking a step in my direction. “I know you and Jenna have a history, and she meant something to you in the past. Maybe she still does.” He shrugged again. “But that’s over now. Jenna’s all mine. She always will be.”
“You’re willing to pay us…” I repeated slowly.
Elijah shrugged. “Sure.”
“To leave Jenna.”
“Yes.”
“With your daddy’s money?” I laughed merrily.
It was like twisting a knife; deep in his gut. Elijah’s expression changed instantly. It went from smug satisfaction to bitter rage, in all the time it took to blink.
“That’s funny,” Luca smirked, playing off my lead. “Do you have to run to the ATM first, or does your daddy just drop off a briefcase full of—”
Elijah fired his drink straight at the floor. The crystal glass shattered violently into thousands of glimmering, jagged shards that bloomed like an explosion in every direction.
“Yikes,” Luca said casually. He pointed down to Elijah’s socks. “You’re gonna wanna put some shoes on.”
For several moments he just stood there shaking, looking every bit the psycho Jenna had described. His face was red. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.
Then, just as quickly, he let out a long exhale and the anger subsided.
“I have a dinner guest to get back to,” Elijah said politely, like the last thirty seconds didn’t even happen. “So playtime’s over.”
He walked to the front door and flung it open.
“I think you gentlemen should take your ball and go home.”
Thirty-Seven
