31
‘I don’t want to see them,’ she said, refusing to take the envelope. ‘I don’t need to see them.’
Kieron tilted his head, eyes narrowing. That same twisted smile still snaking his lips.
‘Oh, how very magnanimous of you. But I’ve got more. Infinitely more. Did you know he beat up his ex so badly he nearly went to prison?’
‘What?’ Bex stared at him in disbelief. ‘That isn’t true.’
‘My sources say it is. My sources can make it true. That’s the thing about having money, it buys you the truth you need.’
A wave of nausea swept through Bex. She didn’t want to hear any more of this. She didn’t want to see the photos or listen to the false accusations that Kieron was going to concoct.
‘People won’t believe you,’ she said. ‘People here know him.’
‘Enough will. People love a scandal. Money and sex? They’ll want to believe it. Besides, the photos in that envelope didn’t need any doctoring. They are 100 per cent the real deal. You can go to the source yourself if you’d like. Or should I say sources? There were two ladies involved after all.’
His words hit her like a punch to the chest. She thought she could handle the idea that things had happened between Duncan and other women while they were separated, but she was wrong. All she’d been doing was convincing herself it wasn’t true.
‘It won’t be online posts this time either,’ Kieron continued. ‘No, I’ve got the papers involved. National press. I doubt it’ll be front page news, but you’ll certainly have some snaps of your beloved out there for the world to see in tomorrow’s paper. Make sure you get yourself a copy or two, won’t you? Though I’m bound to get spares if you need.’ Judging from the laugh that huffed from his lungs, Kieron clearly found himself amusing. ‘Funny, for someone who I’d always thought of as a rather private person, he’s really exposed himself here. If you’d excuse the pun.’
Bex’s throat tightened, her breaths growing shallower. And apparently she wasn’t the only one affected. Beside her, Ruby had started retching.
‘Ruby?’ Bex dropped to her knees, pushing her own dizziness aside as she searched the dog’s mouth for signs of something she could have picked up when she wasn’t watching. But there was nothing.
‘I know you don’t believe me,’ Kieron said, seemingly oblivious to the heaving dog only feet away from him, ‘but I’m trying to save us all a lot of heartache here. Heartache and my legacy.’
Yup. He was insane, absolutely insane.
‘This is over, I need to get her out of here.’ Bex stood back up, grateful that her breathing had returned to normal, even if Ruby was still struggling. ‘Come on, girl. Let’s get you outside.’
She didn’t want to grab her by the collar and drag her, but nor did she want her to be sick in the drawing room, not because she was worried about the floor, but because she wouldn’t have put it past Kieron to strike the dog for such a thing. He had already shown how little he valued people’s lives. Dogs meant nothing to him.
Slowly, Ruby picked up her pace and by the time they were out in the hallway, she was walking properly and the retching had stopped. Though before Bex could place the lead on her, her phone began buzzing in her pocket.
God, please let it be Duncan, she thought. It didn’t matter how much her heart ached from the knowledge of the photos Kieron had, Duncan needed to know what was happening. How he was going to be in the paper. How Kieron was going to destroy people if she didn’t do as he asked.
She pulled out her phone, ready to tell him everything, only to freeze when she saw the name on the screen. Nigel.
Her boss had told her that morning that she could take at least a week off. Why was he calling now? Maybe to tell her that longer had been approved, based on what she’d told him? She cancelled the call and turned back to Ruby, yet before she’d even rested her hand on the dog, Nigel was calling again.
‘Someone unexpected?’ Kieron said, his sneer curling at the corners of his lips. ‘Could it be your employer by chance?’
His mocking tone made her want to spit in his face, yet somehow she didn’t.
‘What did you do?’
‘Me? How am I to blame in this? You better get it though. You never know what’s happened. I’ll leave you to it. I have my own things to get on with. Housewarming parties and all that.’
Bex’s phone still hadn’t stopped buzzing. Nigel clearly wanted to get hold of her, and if a moment ago was anything to go by, hanging up wouldn’t make any difference. He’d just ring back until he got through. Still, she moved a few steps away from Kieron and the door before she picked up.
‘Nigel? Is everything all right?’
‘No.’ His answer was immediate, and Bex knew she should ask what the issue was, but she couldn’t help but glance back at the castle, where Kieron was continuing to watch her. With the smirk the widest she’d ever seen it, he offered her a little wave.
‘What is…’ she whispered back to Nigel. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I’m afraid you have to come back now. The police have got involved.’
