Page 107 of Shark’s Pride

“Abs.” Rio yanked me in, holding me tighter. “Come on now. Why would he—”

“I’ve really been a bitch to him, Rio,” I sobbed. “What if he’s finally decided I’m not worth all the drama? He’s Sebastian freaking Shark. He can have any woman he wants. He certainly doesn’t have to put up with”—I waved my hands through the air—“all of this nonsense.”

“Okay, power down this jet cycle, babe.” Her stern gaze brooked no argument. “First of all, your feelings are not nonsense. Any man—any person—who makes you feel that way isn’t worth sharing the same air you breathe. Are we clear on that? All of it?”

I managed a sketchy nod. Not that I had a choice about it. My sister-in-law was small in stature but a mighty warrior in spirit. I loved her like hell for it too.

“Secondly, where is all of this coming from? I watched the news coverage of the Edge’s groundbreaking. That man adores you, Abbi. Anyone watching a TV screen last night could feel the heat from his gaze just by watching that footage—and if they didn’t, they’re a fool.” She poked me teasingly in the ribs. “And you, Abbigail Gibson, are no fool.”

I snuffled. “Thanks, Rio.”

“Oh, shit!” She spun around, and I refrained from starting my Tasmanian Devil impression. “I’ve got to get the pasta!”

She dashed over, turned off the burner, and then carried a large pot to the sink to strain the fusilli. While she worked on her “alla vodka” recipe, I decided to cave about revealing what had been going on lately between Sebastian and me.

“The man lives in a world that you and I haven’t experienced before, Rio.”

She glanced my way while stirring the noodles in the pot. “I’m not exactly surprised by that, you know.”

I leaned a hip to the counter. I needed the extra support for my deep breath hangover. Yes, I’d really pulled in that much air. And no, it didn’t feel like enough for where I was next taking this conversation. “I’m not just talking about his nice things, his fast cars, and the crystal tower he just broke ground on. He’s made enemies, sister. People want to hurt him. To legitimately destroy him.”

“Are you talking about Viktor Blake?”

“Well, yes. But I have a feeling he’s just the tip of the iceberg.” In for a penny, in for a pound. I decided to go all-in about divulging the events of yesterday. “He showed up at the groundbreaking ceremony.”

Her usually large, round eyes expanded in surprise. “Okay, now I’m surprised. Are you seriously leveling with me?”

“Yes! Can you believe the man’s nerve? He proceeded to insinuate that Bas had slept with his date in the past.”

Her face twisted. “Right in front of you?”

“Oh, no,” I returned. “He said that directly to me.” My voice kicked up at least an octave higher.

“Damn. And I was stuck in the kitchen while all of this was going on!”

I almost laughed. I wasn’t surprised Rio was disappointed about missing all the fireworks while she was supervising the chaos of our on-site kitchen.

I held up my plastic-covered index finger. “But here’s the kicker.”

“Shit. There’s more?”

“Victor made a really mysterious comment. Something along the lines of asking Sebastian if he’d told me where ‘all of the bodies are buried.’ Bas was furious. Grant and Elijah all but dragged him out of the venue, but…”

“But what?”

I rubbed my forehead with the back of my wrist. “I don’t know, Rio. I really don’t know what to make of any of it.”

“Well, did you guys talk about it? What Blake might have meant with that comment?”

“Yes. Well…”

I trailed off for a number of reasons—but most importantly because I knew this was the part I’d most regret getting into with her.

“What?” She chopped the basil on the cutting board in front of her with a little too much enthusiasm. “Don’t clam up on me now, girl. I’m on to you already. Whatever you’re going to say is going to paint your man in a bad light. Believe me, I can take it.”

She side-eyed my disbelieving glare while swooshing the chopped herbs into the simmering sauce. “Baby, listen. You’re not giving me a news flash here. They all do and say stupid shit, your brother included. I’m sure they could say the same thing about us, especially if the heat of a disagreement gets mixed in. We don’t always get it right.”

She shrugged as if it were that simple. I took a turn at indulging a wide gape. Holy crap. Was it? I was so new to all this relationship stuff—and though technically Bas was too, he wasn’t used to actually working on things either. His go-to stance was to be bossy and controlling. So maybe this was his norm. Maybe he wasn’t actually hiding anything from me. Maybe he just didn’t want to keep arguing about something he saw as ridiculous, and that was his way of putting an end to it.