Page 53 of Masquerade

“Calling her a cheating bitch gave me a bit of a clue, but I’d already guessed from the body language in old photos and her presence at your father’s funeral.”

“Holy hell. There was a photo of her from Dad’s funeral?” His head lifted, and his gaze pinned hers, speculation following shock in his beautiful eyes. “You acted on that assumption—forty-two.”

“That’s our agreed code for danger.”And Selina had meant you harm. “More than one photo.”

“Clever pickup.” His chin settled back on his chest, his passivity stretching her nerves to breaking point. “Any questions for me?”

“Selina was beside you on a blockade against fracking prime agricultural land a few hundred kilometres from here. You walked away before the case went to court.”

“The community won the case.”

“This is the first environmental case you’ve looked at since,” she said.

George trusted Liam, and she’d bet he knew about Liam’s past. He and George must have discussed the possibility people from the old case would be in the area. It was the most plausible reason she’d found to explain George’s enthusiasm for Liam and her adopting their siblings’ identities.

Liam’s head lifted a second time, showing her the tip of an iceberg where ninety percent of its power was hidden beneath the surface. “The first I’ve acted in.”

She chewed on his admission. It confirmed her suspicions he’d provided advice in other cases and explained his knowledgeable questions at Billy’s place on their first night in town.

“Selina joined Futureproof Mining soon after you moved south. You could say her rise in the company has been meteoric.”

“And your evidence leads you to conclude?”

“Was she screwing you to get inside information?”

Please don’t let me be right.

He stayed as somnolent as a cat. “You know she was.”

CHAPTER NINE

Kate choked on hermouthful of fruity wine. He rolled off the lounge in a single movement, deposited his glass on a side table and was rubbing circles on her back before she could catch her breath. With tears running down her cheeks, she settled.

He crouched in front of her. “Feeling better?”

“Thanks,” she managed.

---