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“There’s no defending what we’ve done… what this has become. When Graham came to me with the idea?—”
“Save it,” I cut in. “Luke and I want to talk with you both later. On video call.”
A pause, then, “Yes, okay, we can do that, Sera.”
I should know better than this, but I can’t stop myself from asking, “How is your treatment going?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
On a warped level, she’s right. I shouldn’t care about this anymore. But I can’t shake the image of her kind face and the memory of her soft voice and the pure warmth of feeling, for the first time in my life, that I’d found somebody who understood me. Now she’s sick. She might not make it.
“It does,” I say, a hot tear sliding down my cheek.
I rub it angrily away. I’ve been crying too much recently. It annoys me. I want to be strong, but so much has happened, and there are so many threats still lurking.
“It makes me tired,” she murmurs. “But I’m feeling positive.”
“Good,” I say. “Tell Graham about the call. It’ll probably be late.”
“We’ll wait until whatever time is best for you. I love?—”
I hang up before she can finish the sentence, terrified to keep going because I still love her too despite the betrayal.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Luke
I approach Andy in the cafeteria. The tall, muscular man looks up at me as I approach. For a moment, I’m sure I see panic in his eyes. My entire body is blazing with the possibility… with rage.
Sitting opposite him, I say, “Is everything okay, Andy?”
He looks down at his sandwich, his cheeks coloring slightly. He’s just as tall as I am… younger, and he may even be more muscular. But he looks scared, and he has every reason to be.
“I’m sorry?”
“Why are you sorry?”
“No, boss, I meant… What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I’ve just been thinking,” I murmur. “Going over what happened in Vegas. I know how Damien knew where to find Spar… Sera when he needed to spill coffee on the laptop. That must’ve been her boss. But how did he know what conference room we were meeting in? How did he know where to spy on us? And this morning…” I lean forward, my hands balled into fists. “Therewere only four people who knew which restaurant we were at. Me, Sera, Victor. And you.”
I expect Andy to show some remorse. But his scared expression vanishes, replaced by a look of anger instead. He glares at me.
“Is this the part where I’m intimidated by you, Luke?”
I grit my teeth. “This is the part where you tell me why the fuck you’d agree to something like this.”
“Isn’t it obvious? Damien threw a hissy fit and got a payout.”
“You wanted a chunk, is that it? You would risk Sera’s life forcash.” I slam my fist against the table. He flinches. “Do you have any idea what I’d do to you if I could get away with it, Andy? We’ve treated you well. We’ve paid you in shares. You’re rich because of us.”
“I don’t need to tell you that more is always better.”
I shake my head. “You risked my woman’s life?—”
“Pfft.”
My blood turns cold. “Excuse me?”