Page 149 of The Protégé

That night I lay in bed debating whether I should confront Orion about the videos, but I simply didn’t have the energy. I didn’t want to hear excuses. I saw his face clearly. Unless he had a twin, that was HIM.

Move on.

You’re worthy of an honest man who loves you.

With that thought flashing in my mind, I blocked his phone number.

I had to think of a way to sever ties with Orion regarding Musepaper. He was an investor, so I needed legal advice. I wanted to buy the Land Rover from him too. It was the right thing to do. Even though he was unfaithful to me, I couldn’t screw people over the way he did.

As my head hit the pillow, the pressure of the day snapped, flowing out of me in hot tears. I fell asleep on a wet pillow and dreamed I was lost in hell.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

ORION

Stress had wornme ragged the past week, and it was giving me a headache. I realized I hadn’t been drinking my dandelion tea. Elena had given me a box of tea bags and a bottle of honey for me to make at work.

God, I miss her so much.

I just needed one more week to complete things, and I could return to her. Then we could deal with whatever hung between us. There was a barrier wedged between us, and I needed to remove it.

I added a little honey like she always did, stirred, and sipped the tea. My body immediately relaxed. It was like I was drinking in happiness. I didn’t know what she had in the tea bag, but it always worked for me. I sat back in my office chair and enjoyed this quiet moment. Her face splashed into my vision and released the tension that had wrung my body.

I’d received confirmation that the summer camp—which my parents had funded for a long time—was now closed because of an ongoing international investigation involving sex crimes. All the directors and staff assistants who had disregarded thecomplaints of former victims were being questioned. Jasper, Connor, and his other buddies were also on the list.

He’d posted bail and was now missing. I was fucking pissed at the incompetence and oversight of the authorities. I knew he’d paid one officer. Jasper wouldn’t be hiding for long. He’d been involved in murdering Kate, and now her father knew this. As an INTERPOL authority, he’d make sure Jasper paid for killing his daughter. I didn’t need to worry about Jasper. But I also sent out an alert to my team to help locate him.

Jasper was a member of The Trogyn, but he was just a minor player in this dangerous game. There was one more character who had lurked under the radar. A man who had stood in the shadows to instigate and watch the crimes unfold. He was the worst of them all.

I had a meeting scheduled with him tomorrow when I arrived home in Providence. The plan was already set in motion, and I couldn’t wait for this ordeal to be over with.

I checked my computer for new emails and saw the response from the boys regarding my Level Six demo. They enjoyed the recent updates to Madame Sarcasm, who grew magical dandelions. Yellow ones could heal wounds and extend the player’s life force, while black dandelions were poisonous weapons that were used to kill the enemies. She whipped them out like darts and teamed up with a master thief. Together, they battled their enemies, trying to level up. Level Six of WaterFyre Rising was now complete. In the multiple levels created by the other boys, the WaterFyre was the sacred life force—produced by water and fire—that linked all the games together.

I finished my dandelion tea, then packed my things to prepare for my flight home in a few hours. I was about to send Elena a text when my phone rang.

“What can I do for you, Ralph?” I asked. “Are you ready to retire earlier, like I had suggested?”

“You sound like you’re in a good mood,” he said, sounding too serious for my liking. Ralph always had put an amusing spin on things.

“What’s up?”

“Do you know that Elena’s been suffering?”

My heart cracked. “What do you mean?”

“Do you love her?”

“Yes.” What kind of question was that?

“Who do you love more? Kate or Elena?”

I had been thinking about this. My answer had always been the same.

“Elena. I don’t understand why it’s not obvious.”

“Maybe it’s obvious to you, but not to Elena. She heard you call out Kate’s name while you were sleeping. And your reaction to Jasper mentioning Kate’s pills threw Elena off. She saw something that made her question your relationship with her. She believes you’re still hung up on Kate.”

Fuck.The revelation hit me.

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