Page 63 of Never Broken

But amazingly, he was only my tertiary concern now. Because Langerwasonto me, and hehadmade a threat, and hedidknow everything.

But not about Maeve.

About Louisa and me.

HER

Max Langer’s icy blue eyes raked me up and down like shiny blades as he opened the patio door and ushered me outside. He wore a faint smirk on his pale lips, which still looked cool and almost otherworldly in the blue moonlight.

I swallowed hard and crossed my arms in front of my chest as if I had anything to hide in my high-necked dress, and forced myself to stay calm. “What are you talking about?”

Langer raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by my attempt at composure. “Just that you and dear Rocket Boy won’t be seeing your dentally challenged friend again for a long time, and by that, I mean ever. So you can enjoy each other’s company unmolested, if you’ll forgive the expression.”

My knees practically buckled.

He knew. Max Langer knew. How? Why? I?—

“What did you do, kill him?” I gasped.

“Oh no,” he replied, waving dismissively. “I mean, I’m not opposed to killing people, but the messy stuff isn’t usually my first resort.”

“Did you buy him, then?”

“Oh. I forgot you weren’t there when the whole ‘disrupting slavery’ thing came up. Nah, not interested. No, really, we just had a nice little chat in the garden over a glass of some of his artisan, small-batch, triple-distilled spirits, where I convincedhim that there might be a better use for his talents than blackmail. He’ll be gone by tonight.”

“What are you two up to back here?”

I inhaled and whirled around, only to see my father emerge from the other side of the house holding a glass and a smoldering cigar. I took a step back dizzily, my heart screaming in my chest hard enough to topple me. I was trapped.Wewere trapped.

Meanwhile, Langer just grinned casually. “So I found out something about your daughter tonight, Keith.” He threw an arm around my shoulder, though I was shaking so hard it was probably makinghimvibrate. “Something I found very interesting. And no doubt somethingyou’dfind even more interesting.”

Here it was. Over as soon as it started. That boy who had held me like I was the only good thing he’d ever found in this world was about to find out that with one touch, I’ddestroyedthat world. That I’d destroyedhim.That he’d be cursing my name for the rest of his short, brutal life toiling at the bottom of a mine shaft in chains and?—

“She has a very shrewd business mind. In fact, I think medicine might not be her true calling.” Langer turned to me, shamelessly looking my body up and down again while distracting my father by talking about my brain. “Never too late to switch to the school of management, you know.” He winked.

Daddy chuckled and puffed his cigar.

What?

“Well, Max—” Daddy began before looking up in surprise at a noise from deeper in the gardens. And just when I thought this little confab couldn’t get any weirder, a fourth member sprinted up the manicured garden path, launching it from weird clean into Bizarro World.

My boy had finally found me.

While Langer looked alien in the moonlight,helooked like some translucent, ethereal creature of the mist, except for the wild look of sheer terror in his eyes and the way his broad shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath, reminding me that he’d been bearing the weight of the world on them all night—and long before that, too.

And that was allbeforehe saw his master standing there.

“Sir.” He took an instant step back from the rest of us and bowed his head as he visibly probed his brain for an appropriately slavish explanation for why he was here. “I was just—uh—tidying up the garden paths before the guests noticed.” For a split second each, his eyes darted to me, then to Daddy, then to Langer, then down again, his gears turning as the poor guy tried to figure out just what the hell was going on and whether it would in any way involve him being put in chains and dragged off to die in a mine.

Daddy opened his mouth, an unmistakable remember-your-place-boy look on his face, but before he could say anything, Langer smoothly interjected. “A rocket scientistanda landscape engineer? Keith, you’ve hit the jackpot with your daughterandyour slave. You’re a lucky, lucky man,” he said with an awed shake of his head. “The three of us were just going to meet back here to talk about the best ways to improve the irrigation system on that Central American banana farm I inherited. I mean, with little Loulou’s studies in biology and your boy’s familiarity with physical sciencesandgroundskeeping, I thought they were just the minds for the job.” He glanced at my father with a disarming smile.

“But—” my father stammered, befuddled, smoke wisping around his head.

For fuck’s sake, Daddy, just stop saying things. Please. I’m begging you.

Langer stepped in again, though. “Why don’t you go grab another glass of that Anejo I suggested?” Langer nodded at Daddy’s glass, releasing me and almost bodily redirecting my father back toward the terrace. “In fact, tell the maid I’ll take another, too. We’ll just finish up back here.”

And Daddy left. Miracle of fucking miracles. What washappening?

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