Page 82 of The Brothers Hawthorne

“That’s a lie.” Eve passed him, then turned slowly toward him, leaving them face-to-face. “But then, we always were liars.”

Grayson felt those words—and her presence—in a deep and hollow place. A singular muscle in his jaw tensed. “There is nowe, Eve.”

“At least when I lie, there’s a utility to it. A purpose.” Eve took a single step forward. “At least I don’t lie to myself.”

She’d used him. She’d made him a pawn, then discarded him. She had come after his family. Apathy was what she deserved—thebestshe deserved, and that only because Grayson wouldn’t risk the complications that could come with exacting a fair price for her betrayal.

So she gotnothing.“What are you doing here?” Grayson said, a Hawthorne question, more order or demand.

Eve responded with a question of her own. “How are things going with your sisters?”

Fury surged inside Grayson. If that was a threat…

“It’s not easy,” Eve continued. “Coming to a family as an outsider, seeing what might have been. Whatyoumight have been if things had been different.”

Grayson saw how she was playing this.We are not the same, Eve.“You made your choice.” His voice was low and full of warning.

She should have taken that warning.

She didn’t. “Do you want me to say that I regret what I did to be named Vincent Blake’s heir? That I wish I’d chosen to remain at your mercy? Athers?” That was a reference to Avery. It had to be. “Do you expect me to stand here and tell you that money and power don’t matter?”

Of course they did. “I don’t expect anything from you.” There wasn’t a hint of emotion in Grayson’s tone—no way in, no weakness for her to exploit.

“You have no idea what it’s like to be me right now, Gray.”

She’d called him Gray. If she expected that to affect him in any way, she was going to be disappointed. “You got what you wanted,” he replied with searing, emotionless precision. “You’re the sole heir to a massive fortune.”

“I’m alone.” The words slipped from her mouth like a confession.

Vulnerability had always been Eve’s weapon of choice.

“I have to prove myself every day,” she continued, “knowing that if I fail, he’ll take the seals from me one by one, and I’ll be left with nothing.” She met his eyes, waiting for a response, and when she didn’t get one, she turned to her guard. “Slate, tell Grayson how many of my great-grandfather’s men are loyal to me.”

Mattias Slater’s face remained neutral, dangerously so. “One.”

You, Grayson thought.

Eve grabbed Grayson’s chin, wrenching his gaze back toward hers. “Would you at least look at me?”

Why would I?“What do you want from me, Eve?”

Something like hurt flickered in her eyes. “What do I want from you?” Eve drew in a breath. Then another. “Nothing.” She raised her chin. “Yet. When I want something from you, you’ll know.”

She was baiting him. And, damn it, he took the bait. “Stay away from Gigi and Savannah,” Grayson bit out, brutal force in each word.

“Is that what Tobias Hawthorne would do?” Eve said. “Would he give away leverage? Would you, Gray?” Eve’s stare was just as piercing as his—when she wanted it to be. “I wonder… What did you and your sisters find in that safe-deposit box?”

That wasdefinitelya threat. “Move,” Grayson ordered in a tone that could have been described asarctic. “Call off your attack dog and get out of my way.”

“Or what?” Eve looked at him in a way designed to make him look at her.

“Move,” Grayson repeated, enunciating the word, “or I will move you.”

She didn’t. “Lie all you want, Grayson. To yourself. To me. But don’t forget that I know your father isn’tmissing. And the only thing keeping my lips sealed about the people responsible is the promise of an honor-bound old man who won’t be around forever.” She stared at and into him. “You’ll want to be on my good side then.”

And there it was. “If you come at Avery,” Grayson said, matching her threat with one of his own, “if you even think of coming near my sisters, I’ll destroy you.”

Eve brought her lips to whisper directly in his ear. “Is that a promise?”