Page 25 of The Billionaires' Gamble

ALEX/KATHERINE

Alex

The Council of Bros

Alex: we need to talk. I have news.

Gabe: about?

Alex: Katherine.

Kingston: what’s the news?

Alex: Probably better to discuss in person. When can you two be home?

Gabe: I have a meeting in 5. Should be home by dinner.

A stack of pictures pops up next to King’s name. The first one is of a gymnasium with a giant metal ring with a person standingin it. The next photo is blurry, or rather, the person upside down in the ring is blurry. The last shot is of a grinning Kingston, his arm wrapped around the hoop, looking like he’s having the time of his life.

Kingston: Cyr wheel practice is over at 4:30. Should I duck out early?

What the hell is a cyr wheel?

The SUV slows to a stop, and I glance out the windshield to find traffic snarled. My fingers flex against my thigh as my patience snaps taut like a rubber band. I take a deep breath and count to five. There’s nothing productive about losing my temper.

Massaging the ache in my forehead, I mentally remind myself that Gabe and King don’t know what I know about Lucinda Winthrop or about life.

Lucky for them, they’ve never lost their sister to a fucking creep. Not everyone has the same protective instincts I do. And I can’t keep Katherine in bubble wrap, no matter how much I might want to.

She’s with Roman, and he’ll keep her safe.

Alex: It’ll keep.

Then I open my web browser and typecyr wheelinto the search bar.

Katherine

“Can I get you anything?” Destiny asks from the kitchen.

I survey the walk-in pantry, looking for a snack because that salad did not do it for me. Something sweet and carbalicious will make that train wreck of a lunch better. That and a bubble bath.

I’ve never had an afternoon bubble bath.

There’s a momentary drip-drip-drip of woe-is-me rich girl pity, but I shake it off. From now on, I’m taking the afternoon bubble bath, and the world can fuck right off.

“You know—” I turn and find her hovering outside the door, curious but patient. “Would you think terribly of me if I said a glass of Chardonnay?”

Her lips twist and then pull into a smirk. “Not in the slightest. Coming right up.”

My shoulders relax. A judgment-free zone is a precious thing.

Maybe that’s why I like Roman so much. He was more concerned that he’d failed to protect me from Tyler than wondering what I’d done to cause Tyler to come after me like that. Without missing a beat, he’d apologized, promised to keep a closer eye on my ex in the future, and gotten me home safely.

I turn and snag the colorful box of cereal that promises sugary goodness and crunchy marshmallows. Just go with it. It’s delicious.

I find Destiny adjacent to the dining room at a small wet bar, pouring a pale wine into a glass. It’s a generous pour, and I want to hug her for that. But I don’t. That’d be weird. She hardly knows me.

So I smile and thank her and resist the urge to explain my chosen snack.