جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

Kyren was closing the filing cabinet when I heard Anna's footsteps in the hallway. I made it back to the sitting room just as she ended her call."Sorry about that," she said, settling back beside me on the sofa. "Rebecca's having a crisis about her dress for the rehearsal dinner.""No problem. Actually, I should probably head out. I have some business to take care of before tonight.""Business on a Sunday?""Family business. You know how it is."She walked me to the door, rising on her toes to kiss my cheek. "I love you, Kyren. I can't wait to be your wife."The words followed me all the way to my car, a reminder of just how many people I was going to hurt before this was over.I called Leo as soon as I was clear of the estate. "I need surveillance on Miguel Serrano. Full detail, around the clock. I want to know everywhere he goes, everyone he talks to.""Boss, he's about to be your father-in-law. Don't you think—""I think I need leverage on Alvarez, and he might be our best option

AlastairThe clothes fit perfectly. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in the guest suite, adjusting the collar of a shirt that probably cost more than I'd spent on clothing in the past two years. The fabric was soft against my skin, expensive cotton that felt like wearing liquid comfort. The pants fit as if they'd been tailored specifically for my body, which, given what Luciano had said about having me measured, they probably had been.Looking at my reflection, I barely recognized myself. Gone was the tired graduate student in wrinkled clothes and worn sneakers. In his place stood someone who looked like he belonged in rooms filled with crystal and marble, someone who could walk into expensive restaurants without the staff assuming he was lost.It was disturbing how good it felt.The transformation was more than just clothing. It was possibility. For the first time in days, I looked like someone who had options, someone who mattered. Even if it was all an illusion built on

KyrenLeo found me in my home office at seven in the morning, looking like he'd been up all night. He set a manila folder on my desk."Miguel Serrano," he said without preamble. "We've got him."I looked up from the shipping manifests I'd been reviewing, my attention immediately focused on the folder. "What did you find?""More than we hoped for." Leo settled into the chair across from my desk, his expression grim but pleased. "Your future father-in-law isn't going to be happy when he learns that you been having him tailed.”I opened the folder and found myself looking at surveillance photographs, Miguel Serrano entering a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of the industrial district. Miguel meeting with known drug dealers behind shipping containers. Miguel accepting envelopes of cash from men who looked like they'd never filed a legitimate tax return in their lives."A warehouse?" I asked, studying the images with growing interest."Three of them, actually. All registered to shel

KyrenSatisfied that everything went well, I smiled to myself. Bringing the glass to his lips to hide it.I was about to rejoin Anna when I noticed movement in my peripheral vision. Alastair was excusing himself from his conversation with the police commissioner, moving toward the hotel's corridor that led to the restrooms. Alone. Luciano remained engaged in discussion with Senator Mort, his attention focused on whatever political arrangement he was negotiating. For the first time since they'd arrived, Alastair was unguarded, unmonitored, and completely accessible to me. This was my chance. I followed at a discrete distance, my heart hammering against my ribs with anticipation and rage and something that felt dangerously close to desperation. Alastair disappeared into the men's restroom at the end of the hall. I waited thirty seconds, then followed. The restroom was luxurious even by expensive hotel standards, marble surfaces, gold fixtures, lighting that was flattering rather

KyrenThe silence in the restroom after they left was deafening. I sat on that ridiculous toilet seat in my expensive suit, listening to the sound of my own breathing while rage and humiliation battled for control of my nervous system. The marble walls that had provided such perfect acoustics for our encounter now seemed to mock me with their silence.I'd heard every word of their conversation. Every casual endearment, every possessive touch I couldn't see but could practically feel through the thin stall wall. The way Luciano had called him "darling" like he owned him. The way Alastair had played along, submissive and accommodating in a way he'd never been with me.But worse than that was the subtext I'd picked up on, the undercurrents of meaning that suggested their relationship was far more complex than simple captivity or even attraction. He knew exactly what had been happening before he'd knocked on that door. And somehow, that knowledge amused rather than angered him.I finall