Page 118

“She’s on a plane, Theo.”

My chair creaks as I lean forward. “What?”

“I put her on a flight this morning.”

“For where?” I demand. Christ, my head is hurting. It feels like somebody’s trying to drill through my skull.

“New York,” Caleb finally says.

For a moment I don’t reply. All I can hear is the distant sound of Christmas music and the rush of blood in my ears.

I drop my head into my hand, shaking it as if it might knock some sense into me.

“She left?” I whisper.

“You should have seen her face last night,” Caleb says. “She was fucking devastated, man. She’s all alone in the country and you let your brother accuse her of being the cause of every problem you have. You didn’t stop him, fuck you didn’t stop her from leaving. So don’t make this my fault.”

I drag my hand down my face.

“She should have talked to me,” I mutter. “She should have told me.”

“Mate,” Caleb says quietly. “She tried.”

“You should have stopped her from leaving,” I tell him. “You know how I feel about her.”

“Don’t put this on me,” he warns. “None of this is my doing. I did what I was brought up to do. Helped a woman who was in distress. She wanted to go home. I made sure she got there safely.”

There’s a pause.

“And by the way,” he adds, “you owe me about a hundred thousand quid.”

My brow furrows as I connect the dots. “You chartered a plane for her?” I ask.

“Yep. There were no commercial flights.”

“You actually arranged for her to get away from me?”

“I arranged for her to get away from a situation you created,” he tells me.

“You’re supposed to be my friend.” Betrayal twists my stomach. “You should have called me.”

“And said what?” Caleb asks. “The woman you love is stepping on a plane to get away from you? You lost her, Theo. You, nobody else. So stop blaming me and take a look in the fucking mirror.”

The phone on Jess’ desk starts to ring. I glance down. Reception.

They know she’s not here. They’re calling for me.

“Don’t hang up,” I mutter to Caleb, grabbing the receiver. “Yes?”

“Oh. Mr. Hunt, a gentleman and a lady are asking for you. From Carter and Lloyd.” The voice sounds nervous. Caleb’s right. I’m a dick.

I force my voice to soften. “Thank you.” It’s not his fault the legal team is here early. They’re probably hoping to get this done to get back to their families. “Please send them up.” I clear my throat. “And I’m sorry for snapping.”

I hang up and bring the phone back to my ear.

“My lawyers have arrived,” I tell Caleb.

“I heard. I’ll let you go.”