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She took a few deep breaths, trying to remain calm, but it was hard. So, she turned back around and marched back into Grux’s office.
Trigg stood next to him now, holding a folder. They both looked up as she entered the room. She frowned. “You’re just going to tell him no without a reason? Why won’t you just help him?”
Trigg looked at Grux, who in turn glared back at Gianna. She didn’t know where her courage came from, but she was holding on to it for as long as possible.
Grux placed his hands down on his desk, and he frowned. “Because my brother is just stringing you along, dear.”
It kicked all the air out of Gianna’s lungs. She tried to harden her face like she’d been doing, but it was difficult.
“What?” She glared and shook her head. “No. Kozien wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Yes,” Grux snapped back. “He does this. He wanted to win you over, and now that he has, he will just string your case along without actually doing anything. He will do that while he takes on cases that will actually pay him. If I were you, I’d step away before you get hurt.”
It was like another bite at her, and she balled her hands into fists. “That’s a lie,” she asserted, looking at Trigg. He kept a neutral face, which told her Grux wasn’t lying.
Gianna’s insides twisted, and she felt her heart had been ripped out. She didn’t want to believe them, but looking over the evidence, it could be true. Kozien didn’t like anything she wanted to do, and it seemed they weren’t any closer to finding her brother than they were when they first met.
She turned and left. She walked past the lobby, where Kozien stood more calm now. He looked at her, seeing the rage written plainly on her face.
“Gianna, what’s wrong?”
She looked at him, feeling a flush of anger roll over her. “I don’t need your help with this anymore.”
“What?” Confusion rushed over his face. “Wait a moment. Hold on.”
She turned and marched away, wanting to get as far away from Kozien as she could. But he caught her by the arm and pulled her back, pressing her flat against his chest. She tried to fight, but there was no use. He was stronger than she ever could be. All she could do was hope she didn’t cry.
“Gianna, please,” Kozien begged. He was confused about what had happened in the past five minutes to upset her. “Gianna, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
Gianna finally freed herself, turning to him. He could see she had tears in her eyes and was hurt. He dropped his arms, looking stunned.
“You lied,” she snapped. “About helping me.”
“I did not,” he barked back. “I wouldn’t lie to you, Gianna.”
“That’s not what your brother said! He just said this is what you do! That you took my case to make yourself look good.”
She turned, taking several more steps away from him. Kozien reached for her once more, stopping her.
He knew if she left the building, he wouldn’t find her again. “No. That isn’t true. I promise, Gianna.”
“How can I believe you?” she snarled. “Explain to me how I’m supposed to just believe you. I hardly know you, Kozien. You could just be doing exactly what your brother said.”
Kozien ran his hands through his hair. This couldn’t get worse than it was. As if the case wasn’t hard enough without his brothers meddling.
“What did he say?” He sighed heavily. He didn’t like the hurt expression in her eyes and suspected Grux only lied to her to drive them apart. It was clearly something harsh enough to make her second-guess everything.
She crossed her arms after wiping away at a few tears that broke free. “He said you’re just stringing me along until you get customers who will pay you.”
Kozien took a deep breath. Of course, his brother said that. His brother didn’t want him to take this case to begin with, so why wouldn’t he just step all over his hard work?
“Is that true?” she asked, her voice suddenly brittle.
“No,” he barked. “That’s a load of shit, Gianna. I’m not using you to get other cases. I’m trying to help you find your brother. I’m doing this because you wanted help, and I offered.”
“Because why?” She threw her arms up. “Why? I can’t just take your word for it, Kozien! Tell me why you agreed to help me.”
He frowned. This certainly wasn’t the place where he thought about admitting his feelings to her. He imagined it when they were first getting up in the morning, watching the way the sun bounced off her cheeks. He imagined he would look deep into her eyes and watch the shock on her face.
