Page 139 of In Love and Revenge

Bile rises up my windpipe and I have to press a fist to my mouth to chase it away.

Dom’s words are hollow. ‘I didn’t know what was going to happen. What Ella was planning. You were meant to land a huge payout. That investment was solid. Listen, Rafe ...’

I wince hearing my name from his lying lips.

‘I don’t care about the bloody money,’ I whisper.

Dom snorts. ‘Two hundred and forty million, of course you bloody care. Don’t try to act all holy about it. You wanted that money. You wanted to show your father what you were capable of. And like I said, Thorne’s in a white-collar prison. He’ll be fine. And he’ll be out soon enough. But if any of this comes out ... Just think about it. I’m not the only one who has something to lose here. You’re involved too.’

The growl in my chest builds. The threat’s there, lying dormant in the undercurrent of his tone. Insidious and poisonous. Dom knows what happened with the Wyndham account. He’s the only one who knows the whole story. A story he swore to me he would never tell my father.

But my father’s respect isn’t the only thing I stand to lose.

Aurora.

Dom’s words send a wave of realisation racing through me like acid.

‘Fuck!’ I snap, pushing my hands back through my hair as the enormity of my other secret hits me like a sledgehammer. How it played a part in Dom’s huge fucking charade.

I charge at him, rage boiling the blood in my veins. ‘You knew all this! You were the one who put my name forward! Encouraged me to do it! “Stand up for what’s right,” you said. You bastard! You made me a pawn in your sick and twisted little game. You—’

The front door closes, followed by the scamper of claws on hard floor, and I stop inches from Dom, fist drawn back, ready to drive it into his face.

I stare at him, vibrating with barely contained rage.

Dom’s dog jumps excitedly at our legs, but his eyes remain fixed on mine, glossing over with a hardened shutter of self-preservation as he parts his lips and slowly enunciates each word. ‘Down, boy.’

I drop my fist, glaring at him as his wife walks into the kitchen.

‘Oh, hi, Rafe,’ she trills, placing her handbag on the counter, unaware she arrived just in time to stop me from smashing her husband’s nose to the back of his skull.

I break Dom’s gaze and give her a friendly smile, portraying normality and calm so well it’s like I’m working towards winning a goddamn Oscar.

‘Hi, Kate.’ My eyes drop over her outfit, specifically the floral jacket she’s wearing. ‘You look lovely.’

‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’ She laughs. ‘Oh, Freddie, get down, you silly boy,’ she scolds.

I bend, curling my palm around the little dachshund’s head and petting him. ‘Hey, boy,’ I say, earning myself a lick across the palm.

Kate calls him again and he runs over to her, his tail wagging.

‘Would you like to stay and have something to eat with us?’ she asks, bright and welcoming, the way she always is.

‘No, thank you. I have things I need to do.’ I look at Dom, my jaw clenching. ‘I’ll see myself out.’

Chapter 34

Aurora

It’s dark outside as I pad barefoot into the kitchen.

‘Here you are,’ I say, stifling a yawn as I spot Rafael, standing hunched over the dining table in just a pair of joggers, staring at the paperwork laid out on it.

I curl my hand around his bicep and rest my cheek against his hot skin.

‘How long have you been down here?’

I scan the table. Earlier today it was just my notes. Now the sea of paper has doubled. Handwritten comments are hastily scribbled on to Post-its and stuck to new email threads and client contacts I’ve never seen before.