Page 25 of Set In Stone

“What do you mean? What threats? I’ll kill the fucking bastard if he touched youagain!”

“No, he didn’t hurt me – at least not in the physical sense. He’s been calling… a lot. I thought about just having his number blocked, but I was afraid to because of what he’s been threatening. It affects both me andyou.”

I had been so angry with Justine that day for interrupting my interview with Krystina. The fear in her eyes was the only thing that gave me reason to pause. She had been crying and shaking so badly, so I had been forced to set aside my anger. She needed my support, not myfury.

“It’s alright. It doesn’t matter what his threats are. He can’t do anything to me. And I already told you – I won’t let him hurt youanymore.”

“No, no! You have to listen to me, Alex! Damn it! This is why I’ve been blowing up your phone. He’s threatening to expose us – ourpast!”

“And how would he know about our past,Justine?”

“Because…cause I told him! I had to tell him. It was part of my therapy a long time ago. And now, all these years later, I’ve barely made peace with everything. The last thing I want is a media circus. I couldn’t handle it, Alex. I justcouldn’t.”

I shook my head. If only I had looked deeper into her fears. I believed she was terrified of the press because she didn’t want to relive it. Never did I think it was because she had something to hide. Yes, I had my own personal motivation to keep the past hidden, but it was never as strong as my will to shield her. I did all I could to erase what had happened. I gave us a fresh start, devoid of anything and everything that could link us to that terrible time in our lives. Everything I did was for her. It was always forher.

A quiet beep tore me away from my thoughts. It came from the alarm panel on the wall. Someone was coming up the elevator. I glanced at the cell phone that was lying on the desk. There was a text notification. I picked it up and swiped thescreen.

4:46 PM, Hale:Miss Cole is in the penthouse elevator and on her way toyou.

4:47 PM, Me:Any issuestoday.

4:49 PM, Hale:None, sir. All isclear.

By issues, I meant with the media, but I didn’t need to explain that to Hale. He knew without my saying. He read the article and knew to be on high alert. I set the phone down and reclaimed my seat behind the desk. My muscles were tense and my nerves were shot. I ran my hands over my face and took a deepbreath.

I needed to show the article to Krystina before we left for Matteo’s party. I didn’t have a choice. In the off chance it was leaked, I didn’t want her to be blindsided by any of the reporters attending the event. My eyes darted to the clock at the top of my computer screen. I didn’t have much time to explain things to her. The doors opened at seven, and we couldn’t belate.

“Alex, I’m home!” I heard Krystina call from thefoyer.

She knew that both the alarm system and Hale always alerted me to anyone’s arrival, yet she always made her presence known upon returning home. Sometimes I wondered if it was her subtle way of ignoring the security around her. Whatever it was, I loved that my name was the first thing I heard from her lips when she came through thedoor.

“I’m in the office, angel,” I calledback.

When she came in, her arms were laden withpackages.

“Wait until I show you the dress I got for tonight!” she exclaimed withexcitement.

“Shit!” I swore and hurried out from behind the desk to help her. “Why didn’t Hale or Samuel bring this up foryou?”

I freed her arms of the shopping bags and set them on the leather sofa in the office. She waved me offdismissively.

“Oh, stop it. I’m perfectly capable,” she chided. “Here, let me showyou.”

Her cheeks were flushed with delight as she began to tear through the packages. Clearly, she enjoyed her day ofshopping.

And I’m about to ruinit.

I wanted her to continue enjoying this moment, even if it was over something as simple as a dress. She deserved it. I wanted her to have the opportunity to slip in to something new and model it for me. I envisioned her curves twirling in front of the full-length mirror as she inspected her reflection. To me, it didn’t matter what she wore. That killer body of hers could make anything looksexy.

I briefly toyed with the idea of not showing her the article until after the party. The way she was acting was so very normal, and it came at a time when everything in my world seemed to be at odds. I hated to be the one to break her mood, but I knew I hadto.

What I had to tell her could not be sorted out in just one conversation or through a few hours of heart-to-heart communication. This would take time, patience, and finesse, as I didn’t know how she wouldreact.

Reaching for her arm, I stopped her from rummaging through the packages and turned her to face me. I paused, suddenly hit with enough anxiety to film my skin with a sheen ofsweat.

“No, angel. That has to wait,” I told her. I led her over to the chair in front of my desk. “Sit down. We need totalk.”

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