“Good morning, Mr Baxter.”
“Morning,” I mutter, unable to hide the irritation in my voice.
“How’s Leoni?” she asks, a smirk pulling at her lips.
I pause, turning to face her. Her smile fades instantly, and she sits straighter, like she can feel the storm brewing. “What did you say?” I ask, my voice deadly low.
She visibly swallows. “She seemed upset when she left yesterday and she hasn’t arrived for work yet,” she almost whispers. “I was just wondering if she was okay.”
“And why would I know that?” I snap.
I feel Anthony's presence behind me. Then his hand on my shoulder. “Shall we head up to the office, boss?” he murmurs, distracting me from my outburst. I take a breath and nod, continuing on to the lift.
I step out onto my floor, and Erik is there, leaning against my office door, smiling like a wolf in every childhood nightmare.
“Morning, brother,” he drawls. “You look tired.” I keep walking, ignoring him and dropping my bag beside my desk. I sit, then reach into it to get my laptop. “Where’s Leoni?” he asks, his tone casual.
“Not here.”
“She’s usually here by now, aren’t you worried?”
“Why should I be? She lost her brother; she’s been in and out of here.”
“Maybe I should drop by her place.”
I glance up, and he’s grinning now. “But she wouldn't be there would she, because she’s hiding out…at your place.” I don’t react. Not externally. He steps closer, his voice low. “This feelslike sabotage, Warren. Like you’re trying towinsomething that isn’t yours to win.”
I hold his eye contact, “Are you worried Daddy will be disappointed in you again?”
“It’s not me he’s keeping secrets from.”
I clench my jaw and open my laptop, trying to give off the vibe I’m unbothered. “Why exactly do you want to see Leoni?”
He folds his arms. “She confided in me, brother. I simply want to check if she's okay.”
“You’re not touching her.”
He laughs. “There he is. The dog, guarding a bone he doesn’t even want to keep.” My jaw tenses, and I rise to my feet. He steps into my space, noses practically brushing, the way only brothers who have bled together can. “You don’t get to rewrite the roles now,” Erik murmurs. “You were promised Nancy. I was promised the girl. That’s the play. Father chose it.”
I smile, cold, humourless, lethal. “You think I give a fuck about his play?” Erik’s eyes sharpen. I step closer, voice quiet enough to be intimate and threatening all at once. “We’re playing it my way, brother. New rules. New game. New players.”
His eyes narrow, confusion sparking there. “We’re not done,” he says, slipping past me, his shoulder clipping mine.
“I know, we’re only just starting.” And as he continues his long strides out of the office, I call, “You picked the wrong side, Erik. The wrong Baxter to impress.”
The line is drawn now. Erik wants to use her. My father wants to destroy her family.
And I?
I want to protect her.
Chapter Eleven
LEONI
The apartment is quiet when I wake.For a minute, I don’t remember where I am. And as I inhale the smell of coffee and cedar, the soft linen sheets tangled around me, and the steady hum of the city far below, I smile.Warren.
Fuck…Warren!
