Page 95 of Akarnae

“Too right you are,” he said, advancing towards her. “But we can’t have you spreading lies to all your little friends now, can we?”

Alex continued to back up until she slammed into a bookshelf. The man had crazy eyes, and he didn’t look like he was bluffing with that knife. She frantically looked around for a way to escape.

“What’s going on in here?”

Alex heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of Jordan’s father entering the room.

“This one was snooping,” said the burly man.

“I was not!” Alex felt safer now that there was a witness. “I got lost on my way to the bathroom. This place is like a huge maze—they need to put up signposts.”

The two men stared at her, one with a bloodthirsty expression, the other with a carefully blank mask.

“You’re acquainted with my son, aren’t you?” Marcus Sparker asked.

“Yeah, I’m Jordan’s friend.” Alex was relieved that he remembered her. “And he’s probably wondering where I am.”

Something flashed across Marcus’s face—a dash of amusement, perhaps?—before it was blank once more. “I’m sure my son can wait a moment longer,” he said, his voice as soft as silk. “He wouldn’t deny me the honour of greeting one of my own guests.”

She looked at him in confusion. “Yourguests?”

The amusement stayed on his face for longer this time. “Didn’t Jordan tell you? Surely he wouldn’t keep you in the dark?”

Now Alex was getting annoyed. “Tell mewhat?”

“Who your hosts are,” Marcus said. “My wife and I hold the Gala each year, here in our ancestral home—inJordan’sancestral home—Chateau Shondelle.”

“Youlive here?” Why hadn’t Jordan told her? Or Bear, for that matter?

“Marcus,” the tattooed man said, “I caught the girl red-handed. Let me deal with her.”

“Enough, Gerald,” Marcus snapped. “Can’t you see I’m having a conversation with this charming young woman?”

“But, Marcus—”

“Enough!”

Gerald glared at Alex but kept his mouth shut. He didn’t put the knife away though, and it glinted threateningly in the lamplight.

Marcus turned back to her. “What’s your name?”

“It’s your party,” Alex said, feeling irritated and uneasy. “Shouldn’t you know who your guests are?”

His expression tightened. “You’d do well to remember who you’re speaking with, girl.”

She shuddered at the dark look in his eyes. “Alex,” she told him. “My name is Alex.”

“Alex who?” he prompted.

Wondering why it mattered at all, she said, “Jennings. I’m Alexandra Jennings.”

His blank features transformed, showing his surprise. “Well, well, well,” he said. “I had no idea my son kept such…interestingcompany.”

Alex didn’t say anything. She didn’t understand his comment and shereallydidn’t like the calculating look on his face.

“Your mind is silent,” Marcus stated. “I’d like to know why.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” she answered calmly, despite her racing heart. Was he a mind reader? Jordan had never told her much about his parents—she didn’t know if they were gifted or not. But if his father had the ability to look into her thoughts then she needed to get away from him immediately, regardless of how ‘silent’ he found her mind to be.

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