Page 9 of Million Dollar High

“Will her brother testify to this?” Sam asked.

“He died of cancer two months ago.”

“Christ. Okay, send me everything you have, including the name of the clinic and the doctor who took your samples. I’ll drop everything and work on it. You’ll hear from me as soon as I have something.” He paused. “I just need to ask… How hard do you want to go on this considering she’s already pregnant?”

It was a question Noah had been avoiding since Ashley had walked out of his bathroom with five blue lines on five sticks sealing his fate. A couple of hours later, he still didn’t have an answer.

“Go do your research, Sam. Give me all the options and I’ll take it from there.”

“And I assume you’re going to have a pre-natal DNA test done, just to be sure the baby’s yours?”

Noah exhaled. “Yes.”

“Good. If you need the name of a clinic, just let me know.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks, Sam.”

Noah tossed his phone onto his desk and scrubbed a hand down his face. A million questions crowded his mind, none of them taking enough shape to demand an answer.

When he heard a noise outside his door, he sprang up, for one intensely hot second hoping it was Leia. The ridiculous idea dissolved in the next moment. Even if she knew where his office was, why the hell would she seek him out mere hours after making it abundantly clear they were over?

His gut clenched in disappointment when Maddie knocked and popped her head around the door.

“The movers will be done packing your things from the condo in the next hour.”

He nodded. “Thanks, Maddie.” After delivering the pregnancy test kits, she’d offered to sort out removing his stuff. He knew she was desperate to make up for being tricked by Ashley into telling her Noah’s whereabouts a few days before. He’d welcomed the chance to remove himself from Ashley’s presence, ignoring her pleas for him to stay.

“You also have an email from Mr. Hartford with some property details. I’ll print them out and make up a file for you.” She left after he declined her offer of coffee.

He fired up his computer. Since he was here, he might as well get some work done. Ten minutes later, his cursor was still blinking in anticipation of his password.

The stone, which had lodged itself in his gut when Leia walked away from him, had eased a little. Enough for him to see he’d been slightly irrational about the whole thing. She neededtime. He was prepared to give her time. Not long, because the idea of not seeing her again soon drove him more than a little nuts. But fuck if he was letting her walk away. He needed her more than he needed to breathe. It was as simple as that. The rest would work itself out.

He was about to reach for his phone to call her when his cell buzzed to life.

He stared at the number on the screen and cursed. “Hey,” he answered.

“Just about to have my third drink. Thought I better check in before I got too hammered to remember your phone number. I can keep going if you’re running late?” his PI drawled. From past experience, Noah knew the guy would remain sharp even after several neat bourbons.

“Listen, something’s come up. Can we reschedule?”

“Sure, it’s your dime. But I thought you’d want to know what I found out sooner rather than later.”

Noah’s temple throbbed as he pressed the phone closer to his ear. “What did you find?”

“Your girl wasn’t his first victim. Also someone dedicated a lot of time and money to cover it up.”

Noah stumbled to his feet, his instincts screaming at him. He didn’t bother to tell him to elaborate because his PI was paranoid about revealing too much over the phone. “Stay put. I’m on my way.”

4

“I’ve made reservations at Pietro’s for eight this evening.”

Leia didn’t want to pull herself out of the fog surrounding her. The fog numbed her. Made her not have to think about the next second, the next minute. Thinking meant remembering. Remembering brought sharp, blistering pain to her chest. Fog was good. She snuggled in deeper.

“Leia.”

That tone again. The one that made her feel like a disobedient subordinate. One he owned through and through and enjoyed controlling.

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