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“He wants me in a glass box. I’ve never seen him with anyone like he was you… like he is with you, respectful, open, approachable.”
“You think your dad isn’t approachable? Damn, when I walk into his apartment it’s always with some crazy story or seeking information I’d never dream of asking anyone else for… And he’s saved my ass, plucked me up when I didn’t even see the danger. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for your dad, just like I know there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for me… or for you.”
She wet her lips. “He said you had a boyfriend. That day I came over and you were…”
“In his bed? Yeah, he did.”
“Lach said you had your heartbroken too, is it true? You were with someone?”
“Sort of,” Sersha said, pushing off the wall. “Did I hear you say Mila’s awake?”
“Lach and I were just too easy.” The woman wanted a subject change, she got that. But this was a chance she may never get again. “We were in this place, like it was comfortable and—”
“You don’t owe me any explanations. I know my brother’s hurt; I know he wanted to be with you. But what goes on between a couple is their business, no one else’s.”
“Lach’s a good man.”
“He is. And not one good with failing.”
“He didn’t fail. Our relationship just… broke. It wasn’t angry or hateful, just not in the right groove.”
“I get it. Sometimes love doesn’t matter. Sometimes respect and passion don’t matter either. There are reasons people aren’t suited to be together. Reasons that can’t be overcome. Some people don’t fit.”
If she’d had her heart broken, she hid it well. Though the hurt was definitely in there, peeking out from beneath the façade. A glimmer of sorrow at the corner of Sersha’s eye betrayed some piece of her was missing. She and Lachlan fitted as a couple and hadn’t worked out. If Sersha and whoever she’d been with didn’t fit each other and it hadn’t worked, what hope was there for their futures?
What was the key? Were people supposed to be righteous or selfish? Do right or do wrong? Follow the presumed path, the expected path, or were they supposed to do their own thing? Sometimes no one could win.
Opening up might be the first step to learning more about the woman she’d overlooked for so long. And she couldn’t deny a fascination with Sersha’s position within the city’s family elite. On both sides of the aisle, apparently.
“These families, like the Manzanis, do they ever…?”
“Ever what?”
She squirmed. “Make false threats?”
“Someone threatened you?” Sersha asked, instantly serious. “Who threatened you? Was it Evander?”
“No! God, no, I’m too small a fish for him to care about.” She hoped. “I’m just worried that Yvonne might… be…” Her nerve faltered. She couldn’t say it without saying it. “Never mind.”
“Talk to me, Imogen. Whatever it is, it’s okay. If I can help, I’ll help.”
“I don’t want to damage your relationship with my dad and—”
“I don’t tell Strat everything or my brother, believe me on that. Tell me. Don’t take this on alone. I can only be an ally if you let me in. Let me help.”
“I don’t think anyone can help.”
The confidence of the woman next to her was enviable. “I’m your best bet. I have the ear of them all and don’t think you’ll break if someone looks at you sideways.”
Like the men in her life did.
“Do you know… Swerve?”
“Swerve approached you?” Sersha asked, her eyes growing. “That’s not good. Not good at all.”
“He said if I kept going, Yvonne would pay. And he… he said there were others.”
“Others?”
