Page 40 of Scarred Heart

“Wouldn’t that be neat?”Because yes, let her be excited.Let her focus on that and not on how strange all of this was.She could afford to be happy while I wrestled with a hundred questions, each worse than the last.What could possibly have happened?

The check-in process was seamless.Certain names earned respect in this town, and Lex’s was one of them.Hannah was too enamored of our surroundings to notice the name I gave, looking around the lobby like she was hoping to spot a celebrity.By the time we headed for the elevator, she was bouncing on the balls of her feet.“This is so cool.Everybody at school is going so jealous when I tell them.”

Instinctively, I knew this was a bad idea.“I don’t think you should do that,” I told her on our way up to the suite.When she shot me a confused look, I explained, “This is a secret adventure.What happens if they find out at school that I pulled you out to take you to a hotel to have fun?No, this is going to have to be our secret.But secrets can be fun, right?”

“Yeah.I guess so.”It seemed like I had popped her balloon.

Her disappointment didn’t last long.All it took was opening the door onto a spacious, gorgeous suite to leave her squealing.“There’s a piano!Right in the living room!”She ran to it, then turned to me.“Do you remember how to play?”

“I haven’t played in years,” I told her, and I was a little disappointed.It wasn’t like I had a lot of opportunities to practice as the years went on.Life had sort of gotten in the way.

There was so much more to admire—the spa-like bathroom and the king beds in both large, sunny bedrooms.“King-size!It’s huge!”I knew before my daughter finished kicking off her shoes what she was about to do.

“Please, be careful,” I begged, but there was laughter in my voice as she climbed onto the bed and started jumping.At least one of us was happy.

The lock on the door buzzed, signaling someone was using the keypad to enter.I left Hannah to her jumping and strode out to the living room, where Spencer just about launched himself through the door with his head on a swivel, looking for us.

When his gaze landed on me, it softened.“You’re safe.Thank God.”He reached for me, touching my cheekandtaking my hand in his.Dammit, why did he have to touch me that way?I needed space.I needed time.I needed to make sense of the past and decide how much of a place it deserved in the present.

All of that flew out the window the second his skin touched mine.

I held a finger to my lips, looking down the hall to where Hannah was still bouncing her heart out.“We’re having a big adventure,” I told him.

I motioned for him to follow me onto the terrace, where small sofas and chairs were clustered together so people could sit and admire the view of Rodeo Drive.It was stunning and would be even more so once night fell and everything lit up.

At the moment, I couldn’t have cared less.“What is going on?”I whispered, leaving the glass door open a crack so I would hear if Hannah called out.

He looked like a man who had been through the wringer.His hair was a mess, as if his fingers had raked through it endlessly.His eyes were bleary.There were sweat stains under his arms when he stretched, his hands around the railing, bending at the waist and staring at the tile under our feet.“This is all my fault.I didn’t tell you everything, and I lost sight of the big picture.”

I knew it.I knew there had to be a catch.When would I ever learn to listen to my instincts?No, I had to go and ignore them, making excuses, telling myself it was better for me to control the narrative and bring him into our lives.

Leopards didn’t change their spots.He was never going to be completely honest with me unless there was a catastrophe and someone forced his hand.It seemed like we had reached that stage.

“Are you going to tell me what it’s about?”I asked.“Do I get to know why it was so important I take my daughter out of school early today and check into this hotel under a different name?”

“Please.”He held up a hand, still not looking at me.“You have no idea what’s been going through my head the past two hours.I have to catch my breath and think.”

“You had better do it in a hurry, or else I’m taking her out of here?—”

His head snapped up, eyes blazing, jaw clenched.“No.Not until I know for sure it’s safe for you to do that.”

“Why would it not be safe?What have you gotten us into?”

First, he blew out a deep breath.“You remember when we first went out, and I told you there was somebody looking to undercut me and my business partner?”

“You mean when all you wanted was to make sure I wouldn’t spill my guts?”I rolled my eyes.“Yeah.I remember that.”

“That piece of shit has also committed arson against his opponents prior to this.”

The late morning sun was warm, but it did nothing for the sudden icy cold that washed over me.“He what?”

“Not that we’ve ever been able to confirm it was him,” he continued.“But it’s a pattern.Before dawn this morning, my headquarters were vandalized.My office was torn to pieces.”

How did that tie into anything?It sucked, certainly.“That’s awful.I’m sorry.”

He swallowed hard, going pale.“Whoever did it left behind a photo of the three of us.From the sound of it, the photo was taken while we were leaving dinner last week.”

Finally, we were at the heart of the matter.He had taken the long way around, but now we were seeing eye to eye.

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