AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The rook will shatter if I grip it harder than I already am. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
Her eyes turn to slits while she smirks at me. “Or what, Xavier? Are you going to kill me too?”
I rest my elbows on the table and lean in closer. “I would never kill you. You brought my daughter into the world.Sheis the only reason I didn’t kill you the night you returned from the fair.“ I tilt my head and wait for the penny to drop.
Her eyes dart across the chess board as I make a few more moves. “What are you talking about?”
Leaning back in my chair, I revel in the power I hold. “You thought you could outsmart me? I spent most of my childhood in Cookham. There was a town carnival –The Magic Junction-every summer and winter.It was a family-owned carnival. Did you know it came about because the family were famous for their corndogs?”
Her almond eyes widen ever so slightly despite her efforts to conceal her surprise. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Rylee’s Dogs.” I chuckle. “It’s funny because that was the name of the family dog. It was the name printed on the receipt you left in the bin. I tried so hard to teach you how to look after things. But no matter how hard I tried, you never learned to clean up after yourself. If only you took my advice, I never would have known you were being a noseybitchand snooping around my grandfather’s crematorium.”
Stone replaces her features. “What are you talking about?”
The chessboard gets spun again. I examine the board for the best move as I say, “Who were you with, and what did you think you’d find?”
“If you’re so smart, you tell me.”
My smirk makes her uncomfortable. “Mia would have asked too many questions. Your mum is…” My lopsided grin ignites a reaction.
Her hands slam down on the table. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
My laugh tumbles out at her meek anger. “Apologies, Miss Hayes. That only leaves one person – Jordan. He already knew what you were investigating.”
“Which was what?”
I ignore her question, choosing to get further under her skin. “You should have broken in and collected Mr Hunter’s ashes. You would have saved me a job.”
Her hands close over her mouth to hide her gasp. She stares at me with so many pathetic emotions for her useless ex-boyfriend.
“You killed him?”
“For you. To protect you.”
“Protectme?“ she sneers.
My face twists in rage. “How can you not see it? Isavedyou!”
Disbelief glows in her amber eyes. “Saved me?“ she echoes. “I didn’t need saving! I was perfectly fine beforeyou.Youdragged me to hell!”
With a devilish smile, I say, “Hell isn’t big enough for me.”
Her beautiful caramel skin blanches. She squints as she studies my relaxed face. Her head slowly nods. “That was months ago. Why pretend?”
I use my rook to knock off one of her pawns. “You thought you were playing me, but the truth was I needed time to put my plan in place.”
“What are you going to do to me, Xavier?”
My groan makes her jump. “Why are you ruining the game, Savannah?”
“Why are you doing this to me? Why pursue me when you knew I was fucking Huxley? I cheated before we even happened.”
The reminder flares my anger. I should have known she was not the perfect woman I was looking for. She was as much of a liar as my mother and the others.
“You didn’t pay attention to any of your customers, but when you looked at me, youreallysaw me. You smiled at me and asked what my favourite coffee was.”
Unlike Ray or I, Savannah’s facial expressions reveal her emotions. Like right now, her eyebrows are pulled together, forcing the skin between them to crease. Her cheekbones rise slightly as she looks at me, confused. “What are you saying? You’ve been stalking me since… when?”
