Her lips curved into a small smile. Was she enjoying this as much as he was? Before his brain could go wild exploring that thought, he reined it back and refocused on their conversation.
“Nothing,” she said. “Dizzie ran out of the room when I mentioned it.” Now her smile reached her eyes.
“She ran out of the room?” Aleks blinked and tried to process Dizzie’s unexpected reaction.
“Like it was on fire.” Portia laughed.
Aleks smiled, but he was still confused. “That’s... not a good thing, right?”
Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. “I have no idea. We’re not close.”
That made him sad. He’d always believed family should be treasured. “Perhaps you should be.”
She snorted. “Why?”
Wasn’t it obvious? “Because you’re both Tremaines. The last two, if I’m not mistaken.”
Her eyes glimmered softly, then she turned away. “And my father.”
Fucking Phillip Tremaine.Aleks refrained from saying that out loud. From what he knew, the man was a monster, both in business and in his personal life. But Portia appeared to have loved him and Aleks didn’t want to upset her.
“Right, your father. What happened to him? No one has seen him for months.” Keeping his tone flat was a struggle.
When Portia turned back to him, the sheen of tears was gone and her face was composed. “I have no idea,” she said stiffly.
Aleks gazed at her, soaking in her beauty, her spirit, the peace her presence brought him. And he hated himself, but he was about to destroy the moment. “That’s too bad.”
She wrinkled her brow and studied him. “Why is that?” Hints of the Ice Queen colored her words.
“My employers have some...” he paused and considered his words “... strong feelings about your father. If you knew his whereabouts, they could deal with him directly, rather than put you in the line of fire.”
Portia’s gaze turned to ice. “Is that a threat?”
Tension flared between them, a volatile mix of anger and passion. He held her stare, not threatened by her icy demeanor. “It’s not a threat, Portia. It’s a warning. One I shouldn’t be giving you.”
His hands clenched at the thought of anyone threatening her. “The Solveigs want to destroy the Tremaine Corporation.”
She scoffed. “They’ve tried before. Several times.” One slender finger tapped against her lip. “The last attempt was industrial espionage, if I’m remembering correctly. We stopped them. Hard.”
His jaw tightened. “Yes, so I’ve heard. But this time... ” He tried to find the right words. “This time they know about Dizzie. And they’re pissed.” Aleks wasn’t entirely sure they were even rational about the subject. “They want no trace left of the company.”
The color drained from Portia’s face, but she didn’t flinch. “That’s ridiculous,” she said. “I’m in charge of the company now. And there are no more secret projects like my... like my sister.” She bit off the last two words.
How could she not understand what a precious gift family was? He’d give anything to see his brother again.
Not the time, Aleks.He was here to do a job, not facilitate her reunion with a sister she obviously didn’t want.
He stood and stalked toward the window, staring down at the city she loved so much. Colorful lights decorated the buildings and the traffic on the roads below painted lines of red and white. But he was too agitated to see the beauty she described.
After several deep breaths, he turned to face her. “I don’t want to be the bad guy, Portia. But I’m not going to sugarcoat it. They want Tremaine destroyed. And they won’t care if you’re caught in the destruction.”
She stared at him a long moment before she stood too. “Thank you for the water,” she said primly. “I should go. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you.” Her lips pinched with her final words.
“Yeah, you will,” he said.
With a haughty lift of her chin, she left his hotel suite for the second time that day.
Air whooshed out of his lungs when the door closed behind her.
