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Heat rushed through my limbs. “The Brightons, then?”
A tick pulled at Slade’s eye for the briefest moment. “The flowers I mentioned came from none other than Alec Brighton, younger brother to Jordan. If you recall, which I’m sure you do, my sister killed Jordan, his father, Julian, and my wife’s father for her kidnapping. Now, why would Alec be sending my sister flowers for the last three weeks? White roses and suddenly today, red. It doesn’t make sense. She got a card, too. It said, red. Tell me why.”
My hands gripped around the glass hard. I was surprised it didn’t shatter in my grasp. “He’s going to try to kill her. Red equals blood in my book.” I was standing before I could even finish. Pressure on my suit jacket pushed me back down.
“If that’s the case, I’ll finish him off myself. You stay,” he snapped.
It took everything I had not to drive my fist into his face over and over again. Lily needed me, but I was smart enough to know that now wasn’t the time. Let Slade check on her. I had to get the fuck out of here and put my plan into action early. It was time.
Chapter 4
Lily
“Alec, it’s nice of you to come. Please, take a seat.” I gestured across from my desk and watched the tall, dark haired man drop his hand and nervously sit down.
“Thank you for having me. I know how hard it must be for you each time we meet, given our pasts. Please know I hold nothing against you for how things played out. What my father was mixed up in was wrong.”
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I pretended to relax in my chair. Alec and I had met on several occasions due to the world we both worked in, but we’d never actually talked about what I had done. I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea now. “I’m glad there are no hard feelings. What happened…it had to be that way. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. Your father was a very evil man. And so was your brother. He hurt my sister-in-law very badly that night. I think that may have been what triggered my reaction.”
“I saw the pictures. They…” he cringed. “I was shocked to realize my brother and father lived their lives that way. I never truly knew them. You see, my father wasn’t happy to have kids. I grew up in boarding schools and after that, college. I only ever came home on the holidays, so you can say I really didn’t know them too well. That’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a while now. There are no hard feelings on my part.”
I sat straighter in my chair, feeling a little relief take over, but still remaining wary. “Thank you for that. I’m not sure how things would be if it were the opposite. We see each other quite often.”
“Yes.” He nodded, scooting further down the chair, closer toward me. “That’s another reason I’m here. We’ve seen a lot of each other off and on for the last few months and I’ve been doing some thinking. Perhaps…” he paused and my brow drew in as I watched him shift uncomfortably. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”
“What?” I blinked at him stupidly. Had I just heard that right?
“A date. You know, mend this bad blood for good. We can start something fresh between our families. A new chapter. Something pure.” He stood, walking back to the roses. I felt myself stand.
Pure…white. “You.”
A smile greeted me as he turned around. “I like you, Lily. You come off as a hard ass, but I don’t think everything is as it appears. How about dinner? If you don’t like the real me outside of work, we walk away and pretend it never happened. I really think you’ll enjoy yourself if you just try. This is could be a good thing. Healing, for both of us. Maybe even our families, too.”
The door flew open and I jumped at Slade barging in. His heavy breaths were combined with a look that made my blood cold. It reminded me of the day I returned. He had pulled my terror stricken body over to face my rapists. While he had his gun on them, he’d made me point them out. That was shortly before I killed them.
“Out. Now.” His voice boomed through my office and I rushed forward, putting myself between them. Alec’s hands rose and I couldn’t ignore how sincere he’d been.
“I’m not here for any trouble, Slade.”
“Explain the roses. Why send them? Why go from white to red? Are you planning on hurting my sister?”
One minute, Alec was a few feet away, the next, Slade was jerking him forward and patting him down.
“Hurt her? Why the hell would I do that? I like your sister. Hell, I just asked her out on a date.”
Slade pushed him back hard, causing him to stumble.
“Enough,” I yelled. “Slade, you have to stop. Alec and I work together. He wanted to meet so we could talk about the past and I agreed it was time. What you’re doing is uncalled for.”
The angry stare was thrown at me. “Uncalled for? You killed his father and brother. You don’t think he wants revenge for that? I do.”
“I don’t. He explained he didn’t even grow up with them. If that’s the case, maybe he doesn’t blame me. His family was sick. Surely he can see that. Besides, we’ve never had any negativity toward each other, even when we were battling over accounts. Quite the opposite.” I couldn’t stop the smile from coming. “Getting Wes Corp was actually his doing. He pretty much handed me that one. Didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question.
Alec shrugged and returned my smile. “You worked hard. You deserved it. Plus, I think you would have gotten it anyway. I just eased back some.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” my brother cursed. “You both can’t be serious. This is so not happening right now. Alec Brighton?” he said, turning to me. “Seriously?”
I looked nervously between both of them. Alec wasn’t my Master, but he was nice in his own way. And I liked him. Besides, I couldn’t have Zain like I wanted. It wasn’t right. Not in the eyes of society, and Slade surely wouldn’t accept that scenario.
