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This man who’s capable of such gentleness, such tenderness, such fierceness and courage, and yet he hides it all so well.
My eyes sting. I have to suck in a deep breath before smiling up at him.
He says nothing now, looking down at me, his eyes storming and dark.
Time loses all meaning until I feel Molly pawing at my leg, checking to see if I’m still alive.
Eventually, he clears his throat and looks back out the window.
The whales are long gone and the rain is hitting harder now.
It’s like a middle finger from Mother Nature telling us that this special moment is definitely over.
“I want you to know it’s under control. Soon, you won’t have to worry about Meghan or her warped mother anymore,” he tells me.
“Why? What happened?”
“You’ve heard about the legal drama, I’m sure. Mark was the one who stole the drone, and we have evidence. He was working with Meghan and Adriana. He grabbed a prototype from the lab and sold them the photos of us he took. His stupidity is our smoking gun.”
My brain short-circuits.
Mark?
Overgrown annoying puppy Mark Cantor did this?
Anger ignites my insides, and I brace my hands against Shepherd’s chest.
He’s so broad, so big, I feel safe enough to absorb the shock when I’m in his arms.
“He... he hated me that much?” I ask. “Jesus. I never thought...”
I shake my head.
Mark never showed me more than awkward overfriendliness.
If anything, I thought maybe he had a work crush on me.
Or maybe he wanted to impress me because he had a compulsive desire to suck up to people and make them like him.
Just look at how he treated everyone else.
Look how he treatedShepherd,Mr. Brownnoser extraordinaire.
Or so I thought.
“I’m glad you caught him, but honestly, I’m furious. The fact that he was using me the whole flipping time—”
“It’s not about you, Destiny,” Shepherd interrupts, taking my chin. He tilts my head so I look him in the eyes again. “This was about me. About sticking it to the man in his entitled mind. He expected a promotion for breathing. The little reprobate thought he saw a chance to make some money and fuck me over, and he took it.”
“Still. He used me. He turned me into a weapon against you...”
“No. He tried,” Shepherd says sharply. “The kid would’ve used anyone who’d give him a leg up. I’ve seen his type a thousand times. Cutthroat little cowards who’ll lie and cheat their way to the top, not caring who they step on along the way.”
I nod limply.
My stomach bottoms out. But although thinking about how two-faced Mark is creeps me out, it’s also a relief.
We finally have answers.
