While the weapon had been pointed at Sinclair, I’d seen the look in the man’s eyes, nothing the mask could hide. As if I’d been the intended victim and certainly not for a robbery.
Inhaling, he closed his eyes briefly, as if my scent had intoxicated him. “Unfortunately, your answer isn’t good enough. I can see that you’re the kind of woman who needs to learn a valuable lesson.”
“A lesson? That I shouldn’t talk to criminals?”
He leaned in until our lips were only centimeters apart. “As I said, I’m prepared to do everything in my power to protect you as long as you cooperate. I assure you that being my enemy isn’t in your best interest. Do you understand what happens when that’s the case?”
If he was trying to scare me, he was doing a damn good job.
I had no idea what to say to him. He truly believed that I was working with the gunman. I couldn’t figure it out, but arguing with him wasn’t going to change his mind. “Why would I attempt to hurt you or your family, Sinclair? What would I have to gain? Are you thinking since the business I’ve worked so hard to keep is failing that I can extort money from you?”
“No, I don’t think that’s what you’re doing.”
He was terribly infuriating.
“Then what?” While he believed I was the one lying, I could tell there was much more going on behind his icy eyes. Someone was challenging his world that was completely aside from a gunman appearing in a tiny coffee shop in a not so good part of town.
“That’s a very good question and I assure you that I am prepared to find out.” Snickering, he brushed his lips across mine and I was thrown by the flurry of butterflies in my stomach, the way my pussy clenched and released more than once. The masculine scent oozing from every single pore flowed into my nostrils, the fragrance taking my breath away.
Exotic.
Woodsy.
Delicious.
“Who contacted you to lure me to your coffee shop? It’s obvious someone saw us together and used you.”
I think my mouth was gaping open. “You mean after I arranged for you to hit my dog, I forced you into taking me to the vet for what, so that after the veterinary technicians fawned all over you, I could call in a couple bad guys, laying out a plan so you could be killed? I’m sure there are much more creative and better ways to hunt you down.”
The angry words infuriated him, but too bad. Too fucking bad.
“Who?”
“No one!”
“Then I guess I have no choice but to punish you.”
I stared at him incredulously. This couldn’t be happening.
“Why don’t you tell me who you had inside your trunk.” Instantly, I knew accusing him of the same kind of heinous deed had been the wrong thing to do by the change in his expression. It was as if he’d lost all sense of feeling and emotion, the hard, cold look sending a wave of chills.
“I suggest you stay in your lane, Josette. Don’t ask questions when the answers will bring you nightmares.”
My God. He’d all but admitted there’d been someone in the trunk. “You killed him. Whoever was in the trunk you killed. Didn’t you?”
He chuckled in the same dark tone he’d used in our moment of passion. Only this was something much more sinister. “I did what was necessary to protect my family. Plus, I don’t like thieves.”
“You truly are worthy of everything the articles said about you.” I suddenly couldn’t stop shaking.
“There is much at stake in my life, people who will stop at nothing to try and eradicate my business, my family, and my life. That’s never going to happen.” He moved between the door and the bed, taking a deep breath before unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves. “No matter who the perpetrator.”
The queasy feeling in my stomach multiplied. My mouth was dry, trying to think of something to say to get myself out of the situation. “Stop this, Sinclair. If I’d been working with this person, why did he attempt to kill me instead of you? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Perhaps he didn’t. Perhaps it was merely a way in which to keep your persona of innocence while continuing to work for him. You’re a brave girl, Josette. While that’s an admirable trait, it doesn’t bode well for the situation that you’re in.”
I refused to beg. He wasn’t going to reduce me to that level. I stood my ground, taking shallow breaths and trying to keep my body from shaking. But when I darted my eyes toward the door, he laughed.
“Don’t try it, mypetit menteur.”
