Chapter thirty-five
Ashley, Pierce’s red-haired servant, silently escorts me back down the stairs. I have about a million questions I want to ask her, but I keep quiet and follow her lead.
My eyes narrow at every photo, every corner, anywhere cameras could be hiding and watching us.
She leads me to the large dining room where dinner was held on our first night here. I take in the surroundings, glad to be back in a semi-familiar place again. It feels like a lifetime ago that we were all in here, pointedly hating each other.
I trail my fingers across the ornate designs of the chairs and make my way to where I sat previously. My heart lurches when I realize the table has only been set for two.
What has he done with the rest of them?
I turn toward Ashley and find that she’s no longer standing at the entrance to the dining hall. Instead, Josh is standing there. His arms are crossed over his chest as he leans against the door frame like he owns the place. His grey slacks and white button-up shirt are in pristine condition. The twinkle in his eyes is nothing short of predatory as they trail up and down my body.
This is the version of Josh that seduced his way into my heart with his forked tongue.
“Hello, Lex.” His deep voice penetrates that traitorous part of me that still loves him. “You look stunning, as always.”
He crosses the room in a few long strides and takes the seat next to me. I flinch when his hand reaches toward mine.
“Don’t you dare,” I hiss, yanking my hand back. “You don’t get to put your hands on me ever again.”
Josh lets out a huff of annoyance. “Lex, what can I say to make you forgive me? I’m just as much a pawn to Atlas’s games as you are.”
I laugh loudly. “You’re on a first-name basis with him? Why am I not surprised? Like calls to like and all that. You’re a power-hungry jackass like he is.” I give him a look of pure hatred and grin when his eyes widen with shock.
He raises his hands in surrender. “You don’t understand. I had to, Lex! I didn’t have a choice! I had to follow the plan!”
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. “And I’m sure forcing me to kill the guy that you saw as competition was a part of his plan?” The venom in my voice makes him flinch, which only makes me feel more powerful.
“I couldn’t care less about that waste of space, believe me. Lochlan’s not the man you think he is.”
Heis,not hewas.So does that mean Lochlanisalive? I touch my dragonfly necklace and stifle the hope blooming in my chest.
Josh snaps his fingers. Ashley strolls through the door moments later, carrying a serving tray. She places two plates of salad down in front of us, then pours red wine into our glasses before hurrying off again.
I wish I could follow her out and run far from the fire in Josh’s heated gaze. I want nothing more to do with him or his lies. He’s tormentedus. Stalked us, chased us. Murdered Sammy. The man I thought he was couldn’t be further from his true self.
I stab at a tomato on my plate, wishing it were Josh’s flesh instead. “You made me kill Lochlan.”
His jaw ticks in anger as he shoves food into his mouth. “Firstly, I didn’t make you do anything. Your actions were your own,” Josh says through a mouthful of his salad.
His table manners were consistently awful, but now I only see him as a disgusting excuse for a man. In my eyes, he’s nothing but a bug I need to squash under my stilettos. I pick at my salad as he continues his excuses, ones I will certainly not be entertaining.
“And secondly, I only did what I was instructed to do.” He pauses, swallowing hard before looking at me with the most pleading, broken expression I’ve ever seen from him. “I had to follow the rules, Lex. He was going to kill you if I didn’t. He was going to kill all of you.”
I blanch at his admission, dropping my fork. His eyes are pleading and sincere. He’s always been great at playing the game and putting on whatever face got him the furthest in life. My mind and heart wrestle for dominance as I look at him.
Josh reaches out and takes my hand. This time, I don’t pull back. “Please, Lex. You have to believe me. I would never purposely hurt you. You know that. You know me,” he proclaims, his voice heavy with emotion.
Ashley walks back into the dining room carrying another large tray, breaking the moment between us.
Josh sits back and glares at her. “Not now, Ashley,” he snaps. The way he looks at her seems much too familiar, too intimate.
She jumps at the anger in his tone and nearly drops the tray. “Sorry, Sir. I’ll come back later.” She glances at him, her face full of fear. She avoids my gaze completely as she walks back out.
Ashley Sutter.
That’s how I know that name! She’s the woman he was dating when I first started working at his company. He told me she was insane and that she had stalked him after he dumped her. He filed a restraining order against her to get her to leave him alone.
