"Oh, Snap!" Emily couldn't hide her excitement when they walked into Levi's penthouse Wednesday evening."Mr Scissors doesn't fuck around!" she gushed as she dumped her bag on the couch and ran up the glass staircase to the entertainment room on the first floor.Natalie ran after her. "Em, I don't think we're supposed to be here."She'd only been up here once when Levi took her on the tour of the house. They usually spent most of their time downstairs, in the master bedroom, situation room, or open plan living area."What do you mean you're not supposed to be here?" Emily giggled as she jumped on the massage chair and turned it on. "This is your house."Natalie shook her head. As much as she'd love to call it hers, she still felt like a guest. But it wasn't Levi's fault. He'd gone out of his way to make her comfortable. She just wasn't used to his life. Everything was expensive and fancy, and she was afraid if she so much as touched something, it would break.Emily, though, had no issu

They were silent for some time, processing Colleen's announcement.Having had her fair share of run-ins with the owner of Dreams, Natalie couldn't say she was surprised, though.But Emily...Emily really seemed to be struggling."What do you mean Aunty Viv wants you dead?"Colleen laughed, but her eyes remained limp, and the sound splattering through her cracked lips wasn't cheerful at all. "I'd get out if I were you. No matter what Aunty Viv says, don't trust her."Sensing a meltdown looming, Natalie tried to redirect the conversation to a less stressful topic. She couldn't have Colleen getting agitated again. Aunty Viv was clearly a sore subject for her. "Why did you want to meet with me?""I wanted to see Paul's other victim. I was curious to see the idiot posting about brass knuckles and a plastic surgeon on a forum where Paul can easily find you," Colleen said as she ran her hand through her tangled hair."I'm not a victim. I'm a survivor," Natalie said with conviction. It took h

They spent half the night trying to convince Colleen to return to Rock Union with them.Colleen admitted she missed her family, especially her twin, but the risk of damaging their reputation was too high. She couldn't, wouldn't destroy her father's life's work."So you plan to live this way for the rest of your life?" Emily asked, making a point of roaming her eyes over the shabby living conditions."Andrei asked me to sit tight while he figures something out about Dreams.""What is he planning to do?" Emily was brimming with questions."I don't know much," Colleen shrugged. "But I know he's trying to offload his shares at Dreams, and once he has, what comes after won't be anything good for Aunty Viv and Paul.""So basically, there is no plan, and you trusted Andrei's word?" Natalie was totally flabbergasted."We both need time to figure things out," Colleen retorted sharply."We can go to the police," Natalie said, stunning them all with her suggestion.The thought had never crossed

Natalie didn't have high hopes for the weekend after their fight earlier. But promptly, at 3:00 PM, she followed Levi to his car parked in the basement and did her best to ignore the electric jolt shooting up her arm and all the way to her heart when their hands touched lightly as he held the door for her.She'd missed him last night, and she desperately wanted him to hold her and kiss her now. But she didn't have to be psychic to know there'd be no kissing this weekend. No cuddling either. Levi was furious with her, and rightfully so. She'd blatantly lied to him. But what other choice did she have? It was either that or risk losing Colleen's trust and have her vanish again—"Seatbelt," he said curtly, breaking through her inner turmoil.Natalie nodded quickly and snapped it on, sighing at the memory of their time in Sparrow Beach, back when he helped her put the seatbelt on, and she thought he was going to kiss her. It was hard to believe their trip was just a little over a week ago.

Supper was served promptly at 6:00 PM.As Ms Baker took her to the formal dining room where Levi and his parents were already waiting, Natalie wondered just how many dining rooms there were and the difference between a farm and a ranch. But the latter wasn't something she'd ask out loud. She'd google it, lest she sounded ridiculous. There was no reason to give Leviticus more reasons to look down on her.Levi held the chair for her, and she sat down.All the dishes decked out on the massive dining table looked scrumptious, but she couldn't understand why they'd cook so much food for only four people.Throughout their meal, Cynthia asked Natalie numerous questions, from her childhood to her hopes and dreams for the future.She answered them all with a warm smile and even pulled out her phone to show her photos of her siblings."Look at all that hair," Cynthia gushed when she saw Jamie's curly afro. Laughing, she patted Natalie's hand. "I wish my hair was as thick. Don't ever age, dear."