I turn to him, reluctantly looking up to find his gaze already on mine, reading me, breaking down my façade.
‘You lost the right to demand things from me when you lied to me and then sent me away.’
‘Two minutes. That’s all I’m asking. I’ll tell you what you want to know.’
He has a point. This is for me, not him. ‘Two minutes.’
‘Outside, come on.’
He reaches for my arm and I flinch as flames ignites under his warm palm but he leads us through a fire exit and onto a quiet, desolate terrace. It’s a side of the hotel I haven’t seen but the frenetic lights of Dubai still shine in the night around us. I break our contact and move away from him, leaning forward on the railing.
‘Your two minutes have begun.’
With a heavy exhale, he comes to mirror my pose. I inch away from him and in my peripheral vision, see his shoulders sag. ‘You didn’t let me finish last night.’
‘That’s because there was nothing left to say.’ I can’t contain my anger and rise to stand. He straightens – bigger than me in every way. But Iknowhim, at least enough to know that there are many facets to his personality and none of them intimidate me. ‘You made me promise, Gregory. You made me swear that I would accept the CPS decision, that I would see that asmyjustice. But it wasn’t justice at all. Youboughtyour own law.’
‘That’s rich,’ he growls.
‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’
‘You said yourself, a good lawyer bends the law. That’s exactly why you told me to hire John Harrison.’
‘Bendsthe law, Gregory, not fucking evades it.’
‘Curb the attitude, Scarlett.’
‘No.’ I’m leaning towards him, finger on his chest. ‘You don’t get to call the shots here. Not with me. So tell me what you came to say because you have about thirty seconds left before I walk away for the last time.’
He rakes his fingers through his hair.Damn, I want to do that.Turning my back on him, I try to focus on anything in the distance to distract me.
‘I paid off some people but it’s not what you think.’
‘Who?’
‘The CPS.’
A weight crushes the air from my lungs for the second time tonight and I press my fingertips to my lips.
‘Butnotfor the murder charge, Scarlett. Look at me.’
I shake my head but he gently tugs my shoulders, forcing me to face him.
‘Look at me.’
I shake my head again, faster. His index finger is under my chin, lifting it in a too familiar way.
‘Notthe murder charge,’ he says gently. ‘The CPS didn’t charge the murder of their own accord. That decisionisyours. That was real justice. A decision they made because the right man died that night.’
I close my eyes both to break the intensity of our connection and to help me process what he’s saying.
‘I’veneverlied to you, Scarlett. I may have withheld information but I’ve never lied to you and I’m not going to start now. You can trust me because I’m telling you this… Ididbribe the CPS to get rid of any possible gun charge but that had nothing to do with the murder charge. I swear on my?—’
‘Don’t. Don’t you dare swear on your life.’ I open my eyes to find those precious gems looking into my hazel-greens.
He nods. ‘I promise. I’m not lying about this. I flew here because I know you’ll have spent the last twenty-four hours thinking you did something wrong but you didn’t. This is the truth, Scarlett. Believe me.’
It takes three long breaths before I can admit that, ‘I do.’ But my relief is masked by the pain of his betrayal. The hurt of him sending me away. If I don’t get away from him now, I’m going to crumble.
