Page 76 of The Mourning Throne
Morgan narrowed his eyes.
He’d warned Lex.
Told Lex that the Sterlings weren’t a family he wanted to cross.
Did Lex care then? Did he show ashredof concern when Kate called?
Of course not.
It happened later.
The elevator chimed, but neither of them moved when the doors opened. Morgan waited until it closed again.
“We’ve had this account long before this mess started. The deal started going through three months ago. This hasnothingto do with Kate. Gabriel had been badgering us to fly out for weeks.”
“I know,” Lex said. Too fast.
“But you don’t believe it. Why.”
Lex didn’t reply. He picked at a loose thread on his jacket, bottom lip caught between his teeth.
Morgan stepped closer, placing both hands on Lex’s shoulders.
“Breathe,” he said quietly. “You’re smarter than this.”
Lex met his gaze, throat bobbing.
“You’re not thinking straight,” Morgan continued. “Stop. Reassess. Weplan. We don’treact.”
“But what if—”
“Stop.”
Lex gave a small, jerky nod.
Morgan’s grip eased. His thumbs smoothed once over the slope of Lex’s shoulders, brushing the tension down without drawing attention to it.
“We’re here to do our job. That’s it. No one is watching us.”
Lex finally exhaled, long and shaky. His foot stopped tapping. For now.
Morgan let the moment settle before hitting the button for the garage.
“Can we go somewhere?” Lex asked. “I have a place in mind.”
Morgan didn’t ask where they were going.
He didn’t need to.
Let Lex feel like he was leading, if it helped him crawl out of his own head.
Chapter 14
In the car, Lex seemed a little more like his usual self. Radio blasting. Fingers drumming against the passenger door.
He’d put the directions into his own phone, though.
Not the car’s GPS.
