Page 10 of Dash

“When was the last time you ate?” he asked out of the blue.

His stare slid down to my hand, resting on my belly. Moving casually, I perched my fingers on the armrest. I needed to be careful. Nothing escaped Dash’s notice. Like his body, his eyes were well-honed weapons. If he scented a trail, he was likely to follow it to the end.

“My meal schedule is none of your concern.” I lifted my nose in the air in a show of haughtiness designed to redirect his attention. “Are you going to tell me why your experts randomly performed a rare test on my father’s remains?”

“Your father tipped me to his own murder,” he said in his precise tone. “He gave me reasonable cause for suspicion. My job was to find the murder weapon. The team used every diagnostic tool available to them to test for a range ofsubstances. The results verified the claim.”

“What if the test was wrong?” I was having so much trouble accepting all of this. “What if it malfunctioned?”

“After an extensive search, the team also found a puncture hidden under the hair beneath your father’s armpit. The test, the puncture, and the effect of the substance on your father’s vital organs confirmed their findings.”

I’d known that Dash would have solid proof, but it wasn’t until this moment that the full implications of my father’s murder hit me. My stomach revolted and the burning returned even hotter than before. I threw my head back and downed the rest of the water, wishing it was Wyoming Whiskey, instead.

“Thena.” The lines that burst from the corners of his eyes deepened as he narrowed his gaze on me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I lied, setting the empty glass on the table and leaning back on the couch.

The permanent furrows between his eyes deepened. God, I’d missed him. I could use a little solace at this point in my life, but I would not fall to my permanent attraction to him. I would not allow the lust in my veins to overrun my brain even as my eyes caressed his lips, recalling his kisses. Any affection I might still feel for him would remain locked inside the vault that my heart had become, even though it threatened to burst every time I set my gaze on him.

“You’re not fine.” His quiet voice held no question or doubt.

“My health is also none of your concern.” I glowered. “I’m none of your damn business.”

His chestnut irises darkened until his eyes looked black, haunted, and forbidden. Frustration radiated from him. He sat at a manspread, showcasing the fit of his fine trousers over his muscular legs. He gripped his cane’s handle so hard that his biceps coiled beneath his sleeves, reminding me of the powerthat resided in his body, in his mind.

“I disagree,” he rumbled. “Your health is my business. You’re my primary concern.”

I frowned and glared at the same time. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I need you to review the documents I brought with me.” He gestured to the table. “When you’re done, I’ll explain.”

“Explain what?”

“Why your health and your person are my main concern and…” He hesitated, so unlike the Dash I remembered, who never wavered at anything. The gulp that propelled his Adam’s apple raised my alarms even before he spoke again. “The documents will also explain why I’m now the sole heir to your father’s fortune and the new CEO and chairman of the board of the Astor Group.”

Chapter Three

Dash

Thena’s face turned so pale I feared she might faint. In contrast, her lips looked redder, glaring against her fair complexion. Her eyes widened and she flinched as she curled over her belly, looking as if I’d punched her in the gut. She slapped her hand over her mouth, and I thought perhaps she might puke right there and then.

I’d anticipated she would scream and curse me to hell and back. I’d also been prepared for her to sock me with one of the legendary punches that this strong-armed, former all-star softball pitcher had been known to deliver during her college days, and after that, at the rough-and tumble bars we frequented. But no. She didn’t do any of that.

Without saying a single word, she got up from the couch and, back straight, marched over to the table. Turning the pages, she skimmed through the documents piled there. A few moments passed before she gathered the stack, tapped the bottom ends on the polished surface, and after lining up the papers, clutched them against her chest with one hand. Stabbing her stilettoes on the floor, she headed for the boardroom’s side door. It connected to her father’s suite of offices, which I’d learned through my research was now her office.

I pushed up to my feet. “Where are you going?”

“You’ll have to excuse me.” Her voice came in too high and tight, and impeccably polite to boot. “I have a lot of reading and legal consultations to attend to.”

“That won’t be necessary—”

“Oh, but it is.” She came to a halt midstride and hurled me a smirk that chilled me to the bone. “You’re in a precarious position, Dagger. You’re about to feel the full impact of the AstorGroup’s legal might and you won’t like it. It’s about to obliterate your greed. You might want to exit this building before I have you thrown out.”

“I can’t leave and you know it,” I ground out. “The danger is imminent—”

“Ah, yes, the danger.” I didn’t recognize the bitter chuckle that rang from her throat. “How convenient. Is that your manufactured excuse for stealing all I’ve worked for and everything that belongs to my sisters and me?”

“The danger is real and stealing from you isnotmy intent.” I resented her for thinking so little of me. “You need to read your father’s letter—”

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