Page 78 of Lethal Salvation

“Uh-huh.”

“Get out of here and figure out if you’re coming back to Hereford or not.”

Duchess felt like she’d been slapped. “Why would I not?”

“Because lover boy lives here and you two can’t stay away from each other.”

“I’d never leave the team, Bás, not when they need me.”

“We do need you, but it’s time to put yourself first for a change.”

Duchess shook her head. “That’s not how I work and you know it.”

He stepped close and tipped her chin up, so she was looking him in the eyes. He was like the brother she didn’t have. Family had always been a strange construct to her, never having that closeness but here within Shadow she’d found it. Losing her mother made her treasure it more.

“Duchess, you don’t need to make yourself indispensable to part of this team. You’ll always, no matter what, have a place with us. We’re not going anywhere.”

Tears clogged her throat and she nodded. “I know.” And she did. They had never needed her, they wanted her and while she was excellent at her job, they would cope without her. What she couldn’t discern was if she could cope with not being needed.

“Go talk to Gideon.”

He’d been in back-to-back meetings since Marsha’s death. His father had up and signed over the company to him and Damon, walking away without a backward glance. “He’s probably fired his new PA.”

“Most likely.”

Duchess decided to head to Cavendish Enterprises but wanted to stop by and clear her apartment first. She’d decided to sell it. She owned the place in Italy since her mother’s death and the restaurant there too. She knew Naples wasn’t her home, but it was a place she loved to visit. One that brought back echoes of happy memory but also held a resentment she’d never shake. In her head, her mother had chosen it over her. And while the link to her mum was nice to have, she knew she’d never live there.

She’d get a manager in to run it and lease the apartment above it. That and selling this place would give her a cushion in the future. God knew she couldn’t do this forever and she wanted a family of her own one day.

Packing her clothes and a few personal items, she labelled the boxes in a thick black marker, which she’d have delivered to the pub. Hereford was her home now but when she thought of home she couldn’t separate it from Gideon. In a short time, he’d become her safe place, but was he her future?

He had everything in London. His home, his company, which he’d worked so tirelessly for, and his brother. She could move here if he wanted but for just once in her life, she wanted someone to choose her. To put her front and centre like she did others.

Having procrastinated enough, she called a cab and made her way to the office she’d called home on and off for the past year. Tipping her head back, she looked up at the magnificent building with the Cavendish name and logo on it. She’d stopped seeing Gideon as the master of a billion-pound enterprise and begun to see him as a man she loved. Who made her feel like the centre of his world without asking her to dim her own light. Duchess had always been confident and outgoing but she was self-aware enough to know that it hid some serious insecurities about people.

Shaking off the melancholy, she headed inside, waving to Jimmy, the security guard. The ride up was long and her nerves began to jangle as if she was going to jump off the building, not go and speak to the man she loved and who said he loved her.

When the doors opened, she saw the new PA crying outside the door to Gideon’s office as she cleared her desk. She could hear him inside yelling at someone and it almost brought a smile to her face. It was so reminiscent of the scene that had met her the day she’d started there under Damon’s employ.

Stopping, she shoved one hand into the pocket of her jeans and tapped her knuckle on the woman’s desk. Big blue eyes looked at her mascara leaking down her face.

“Who’s he in with?”

“Tom Lockett, although not for long.”

“Can I go in?”

“You can swing from the lighting for all I care. That man is a pig and he can stick his job up his ass. Nothing is worth this shit.”

With that, the woman grabbed her bag and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster. Pushing open the door, she poked her head in and saw Gideon with his jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled up his forearms, and his tie undone, glaring at Tom with his hands on his hips. He looked magnificent, like a King or a warrior about to head into battle. His features swathed with determination, he looked so handsome her heart clenched.

“Get out of my office, Tom. You’re fired.”

“This isn’t the end of this, Gideon.”

“Yes, it is. You were passing on confidential information to my brother about things I specifically told you not to. That’s corporate espionage and holds a jail sentence. So go ahead and test me.”

“Fucking prick.”