Page 105 of Possession

Did that make me an even bigger liar?

I glanced over at the tall, austere man with his dark hair, brows, and impeccable suit even this late at night. Ever the controlled center of the room. The man I was trying valiantly not to let deeper inside my heart.

Trying and failing, by the way.

And his counterpoint—the gilded Jack, disheveled and straining at the confines of his suit. The man who exuded capability with an air of relaxation most of the time. He hid his pervasive undercurrent of danger most of the time, but I saw it in his eyes sometimes.

I’d seen pieces of it tonight.

Vigilant to save me, protect me, fight for me.

I understood it in Blake. There was a relationship building between us. It wasn’t tenuous any longer, but the edges weren’t quite defined yet.

The fact that Jack was so quick to jump in could be just part of his genetic makeup, but it felt like more. Like I’d finally found a friend and confidante.

Save for the lies. The lies tripped me up every damn time.

“Don’t look so dour, Blondie.”

I gave him a half smile.

“Better.” Jack shoved his laptop into his bag. “This is just the beginning. I need more. This is an impressive array of details, but we don’t have a trail back to anything. There’s no proof here.”

I goggled at him.

“I just mean, there’s no paper trail. I need you to dig harder into the diary pages. The information is here, but going to the police will be difficult. It would create a pretty amazing case against a lot of people, but how did your grandmother get all this info? That’s what I need.”

“I’ll dig deeper.”

“Not just the diary.”

My gaze dropped to my chipped nails again. “I know.”

Jack patted my shoulder. I could feel Blake stiffening beside me, but thankfully, there wasn’t another altercation in him tonight.

“Next time you’re tempted to do some recon in the city, maybe bring along a friend. One who’ll tell Danny where to go if he starts sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“I didn’t exactly offer him a roadmap of my itinerary,” Blake said drily. “Besides, Danny is Vi’s brother.”

Jack didn’t reply to that, and yet another undercurrent I didn’t understand passed between the two men.

Brothers didn’t seem to count for a whole lot when it came to turning a jaundiced eye on someone, it seemed. Then again, neither did best friends and CEOs.

On the walk to the door, Blake and Jack spoke in murmurs. I was too tired to get riled up again, so I didn’t even try to eavesdrop.

Blake came back into the kitchen and slid his arm around my back to grip my hip.

“Upstairs?” I asked.

He seemed to search my face for something, his hazel eyes wary.

“What?”

He shook his head. “It’s late.”

I sighed. “Something’s going on in that head of yours. Just spit it out.”

“I don’t spit anything out.”

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