Stella’s eyes were furious as they searched mine, but she must have heard something in my tone that swayed her, because she dipped a nod and pulled out of my grip. Turning on her heel, she strode down the hall without a backward glance.
Time to fix this problem.
I forced my expression into concern as I faced Maddie. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head, blubbering. “No. Did you hear what she almost called me?”
Raise your voice a little louder, sweetheart,I snarled inwardly.I don’t think the people in the back heard you.
“I did. Let’s go over here and take a minute to collect ourselves,” I said, leading her away from the crowd, toward the entryway. “Here.” I handed her the handkerchief from my suit pocket.
“Thank you,” Maddie said, making a show of dabbing her cheeks.
Rage crawled up from the pit of my stomach, but I managed to train my face into a look of concerned empathy. People were still surveilling us, their eyes sharp, hungry for a scandal.
I stopped us just shy of the front door, my back to the crowd. A glance over my shoulder confirmed that no one was close enough to overhear me before I spoke again. “If you ever do anything to upset my girlfriend again, I’ll make sure everyone finds out what a vile little bitch you really are.”
Maddie yanked her head up, eyes narrowed, fake tears forgotten. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” I smiled at her, letting the silence drag out, holding her gaze until she broke eye contact.
She opened her mouth, clearly about to make a scene.
“La Mer,” I said.
Her teeth clicked shut.
I chuckled. “That was the name of the boat, wasn’t it? I’ll give it to your parents; they did a good job covering your tracks with your previous crimes. But let’s just say they weren’t as thorough with that incident in Turks and Caicos.”
She sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, no,” I said, my voice deceptively soft. “I’m not Stella or any of the other idiots you’re used to dealing with. You’re not going to bait me with this innocent act. I know all about what you did that night.” I leaned closer. “So you’re going to walk out of this door and go take a couple months off from being sociable.”
“My parents—”
“Emily,” I said, raising my voice loud enough to carry.
She shut up, peeking past me to see if anyone had heard.
I lowered my voice again. “That was her name, right? The girl who kissed your boyfriend. The one who ‘slipped and fell,’” I said, lifting my hands to put the last words into air quotes. “Buying off a coroner is risky business, because if they’ll falsify a report for money, they’ll do a lot of other things for cash, too. Like answer questions.”
Maddie’s face paled. “Who are you?”
“You can call me Mr. Strickland,” I said. “Now leave.”
Anger swept over her face. She’d been a spoiled brat her entire life, coddled, enabled—and she wasn’t used to being told what to do.
“And just so we’re clear, I don’t give a fuck who you are,” I said. “I don’t care that you’re wealthy. I don’t care that you’re a woman. If you say anything to anyone about this, I’ll make what you did to Emily look like child’s play. And I’lllaughwhile doing it.”
I grinned, mimicking a look I’d once seen Josh’s father wear, showing too many teeth, my eyes empty and out of focus, like I was staring through her to the gristle and bone beneath. Like I couldn’t wait to hear how loud I could make her scream.
Maddie turned and fled out the door.
¦ ¦ ¦
I found Stella pacing in a study (these rich-people houses were lousy with them), her hands clenching and unclenching, her eyes red like she was fighting back furious tears. She didn’t notice me at first, her gaze fixed on the carpet, and it gave me a moment to study her. Watch her long legs kicking at the skirt of her dress with every step. The way loose tendrils of hair brushed over the pale skin of her exposed back.
She hadn’t hurt Runa; Maddie had. Between what Stella said outside, that interaction with her parents, and then the scene with Maddie, I was convinced of that now. And while Stella was far from innocent, I could admit that she probably hadn’t done enough to deserve my treatment of her thus far.
