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“You’re emotional and not talking sense. Let’s go home, and you can sleep it off.”
She laughs through her cries. “I’m not drunk. I’m sober and finally awake. You need to get back before you arouse suspicion. I think Ray would enjoy the BLT from here.” She stands up.
“Where are you going?”
She straightens her dress. “His grandfather owned a crematorium in Cookham. All the pieces were right in front of me, but I couldn’t see the whole picture until it was too late,” she mutters to herself.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
She smiles down at me. “The diamonds. He’s been doing this longer than anyone knows. It all comes down to the diamonds.”
January 2025
Huxley doesn’t look any more reassured at the end of the story. “What do diamonds have to do with it?”
“Do you believe me now?” I ask, ignoring his question. “She wasn’t drunk.”
“She could have gone to a bar right after meeting you.”
I scream in frustration. My scream turns into cries. “What more do I have to give you? Why don’t you believe me?” I try to control my tears, but they fall anyway. “I didn’t listen to Emery’s warning, and look what happened to her!”
I’ve always hated how flawless Huxley’s poker face is. Through his stormy stare, he watches me fall apart.
He shakes his head. “What do you want me to do? This is all fucking crazy! Look at us! Standing in a hotel room naked with a sleeping baby while you throw around accusations of murder. This isn’t normal. You’re paranoid, and I get it. After your dad, you can’t trust anyone. I accept the blame for that, but this isn’t healthy. You’re starting to sound like Emery. I think you need to get out of that house.”
I pick up Elise as her cries fill the silence. I hold her against my bare chest and offer her the comfort I crave from Huxley. She nestles against me and settles.
“Emery was right, so how does that make her crazy? She’s dead, isn’t she?” I rest my cheek against her head, letting her hair soak up my tears. “He’s going to kill me, Hux. It’s only a matter of time. I’m begging you to help me.”
His eyes lose all life. “With what? What are you planning?”
“When we met, you said disappearances were your speciality. Help me disappear before he makes it happen.”
Huxley backs away from me. “Disappear? You can leave – he told me if that’s what you want, he won’t stop you.”
“Xavier doesn’t let you walk away. He won’t let me leave, especially with Elise.”
His eyes widen. “You want to steal his baby?”
I hold her tighter. “She’s still legally my baby. Even if he lets me go, he won’t give me her, and I promised Emery to keep her safe. As long as she’s around Xavier, she won’t be safe. I’m scared for our lives, Hux. Will you help us, or will our blood be on your hands?”
He stares down at the ground as he contemplates. After a few minutes, he looks up at me. “Here’s my counteroffer. Let me look for Elliot. If I find him, you drop all of this.”
I know he won’t find Elliot.
Hope crawls over me. “And if you don’t?” I ask.
He nods. “I’ll help you both disappear.”
46
Xavier
PheobeHayeshasneverliked me. In the few incidences where I’ve joined Savannah for a visit, she eyes me with distrust and scowls when I move or speak. That’s why I’m not surprised she’s glowering at the necklace her daughter now wears.
“Take that off,” she demands, pointing at it.
Savannah grasps the ring as if to protect it. “It was a present from Xavier.”
