Page 41 of Lush

“He’s the one blackmailing us.”

“Toby?”

I knew Toby better than Reese did. The two of them never liked each other for some male bravado reason I couldn’t care less about. Sure, he’d made questionable investments, and his taste in cologne was, frankly, an assault. But Toby? Calculated? Manipulative?

“That’s what my gut is telling me.”

“What about the brief I sent? There’s the Sterlings, Annabelle Asher, that weird guy from our art class in high school?—”

“It’s Toby.”

“Why?” I demanded.

“Didn’t you say that’s our deal? Report everything we know. Protect each other. Or was that a lie?” Reese’s voice went icy.

“I’m just saying if this is because he stole your toy?—”

“It wasn’t just a toy, Laurene.” His voice dropped. “It was a limited-edition collectible worth seventy-five thousand dollars.Thathe stole from me.”

“I know Toby,” I shot back. “If you said he was trying to get you to invest in a BBQ joint inside a strip club, I’d believe you. He’s not that smart.”

“You’re too dismissive of him. Guy’s a clown, but he’s not dumb.”

“What could he possibly gain from this?”

“Money, revenge, sex?” Reese glanced over at me, his green eyes full of conviction. “Maybe he’s mad about how you broke up with him. He’s a sleazy bastard.”

“It seems far-fetched and convenient. Let’s explore other options.”

“I spoke with my mother,” Reese began. “She mentioned that Tobias had been asking around about our family business and poking into Conrad. He showed up at the hospital when Conrad was in the coma. Sent flowers. Didn’t I get flowers?”

“You make him seem like a supervillain.”

Reese glanced at me before returning to the road. “Desperate people can do desperate things. Did he tell you that over half of his restaurants got shut down in the last year? Salmonella and lawsuits. I decided any partnerships Jennie didn’t end with him before were done.”

So, he just came to me and lied?

Who was telling the truth?

“You think he stumbled onto our affair? Held on to it for six years, not knowing if I’d ever come back?”Reese subtly flinched.“And now that I’ve returned, he can put his nefarious plan into motion?”

“Exactly.”

I frowned at him.

“I don’t want to be around you. If this keeps on, I’ll never be free of this, and I want to be free of you. I just want to live my life without this fucking cloud of bullshit hanging over me!”

His words hit me like a slap, and I fought not to let the hurt show.Focus on the goal, your inheritance, I reminded myself.

“I don’t want this,” I whispered, trembling. “I loved my lifein Paris. It wasmine. I just want to open my own art gallery. Being here? It’s a fucking inconvenience, but I’m doing what needs to be done. I don’t want anyone after me, and I sure as hell don’t want to be married to you. I just need us to be safe.”

“For how long?” I couldn’t ignore the pain in his sharp tone. “Until things get uncomfortable again? Until you decide it’s easier to pack your bags? Somebody else dies?”

The anger just left, leaving me all wobbly and raw; I slumped in my seat.

“Stay. Go. I don’t care what you do,” Reese said, parking in the lot of the yacht club, the marina close, and he stepped out of the car. “But I’m not going to sit here and debate when there’s a knife to our fucking throats.”

The car door slammed, the noise booming in the stillness.

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