Page 96 of Perfect Order
Confusion clouds her face for just a moment before her jaw goes slack. “You think I did it. You think I gave that story to StellaNova.”
“What the hell were you thinking? Did you find out that information about him and were saving it up?”
Her lower lip trembles, but she firms it up. “That’s not what’s happening!”
“That’s the only thing that’s happening. Right now, they’re in Carys’s office discussing what kind of legal action they can take. Against you.” Instead of jabbing my hand into her chest, I turn and grip the railing.
“You’re not listening to me. Beyond trust, Kane. Do you remember that?”
“I remember the look on his face this morning, Leanne. You gutted him. Her. Who the hell are you trying to save—your sister or yourself?” I lash out. My words echo over and over again until they fill all the available space in the stairwell between us.
Leanne staggers back. I automatically move toward her, but she cowers as if I’d raised my hand to her instead of speaking a truth that I should have made her face long before now. “She’s gone, Leanne. I wish there was something I could do, something I could say to make it easier on you.” My voice falters when her spine snaps straight, but it’s the broken expression in her eyes that I need to steel my heart against.
“You won’t even give me a chance to explain. You promised me you’d trust me—beyond trust means just that, Kane. Trust even when you’re faced with something you can’t handle. I’ve given that to you—my body, my heart, my soul. It’s too bad you can’t remember that when I need them the most. Can you?”
“Leanne, you don’t understand how bad…”
Leanne doesn’t give me the opportunity to explain how badly Beckett’s wrecked at the idea the woman he thinks of as a kid sister has betrayed secrets he wasn’t aware she knew about—for a price. And betrayal isn’t something I can let stand. There was nothing I could have done to have changed the circumstances surrounding Gene’s death. The only thing I can change is my reaction to it. Just as I open my mouth to defend my actions to Leanne, she races down the stairs.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I call out furiously.
Her face is ashen, eyes enormous. “I have to go.”
“Now?” My mind whirls with what she’s throwing at me. “Are you telling me it’s not safe for you?”
Her laugh is brittle. “Focus on your now, Kane. You have other things to worry about. Despite having told me you loved me, I know where I stand—and it’s after your loyalty to Beckett Miller. Meanwhile, it’s time for me to do what I do best.”
“And what’s that?” I’m infuriated, but now I’m questioning at what. The more she talks, the less I believe it’s Leanne who harmed Beckett. God damnit, if it wasn’t forQ?za’s mask dropping down over Leanne’s face, I might get some answers. I jog down the stairs until I halt just in front of her. “Listen, Crash, it hurts seeing him—them—in this much pain.” I reach out a hand to touch her golden hair.
“I understand.” My sigh is audible. Just as my fingers are about to make contact, she scratches out, “I’ll fix this as soon as I’m safe. This, at least, I can get right.”
Then before I can ask her what she means, Leanne whirls away from me and flees. Before I can stop her, she ducks inside another floor. Damn the timing, she ducks into an elevator just as it opens, and the heavy stairwell door swings shut before I can determine which direction it goes in.
And just like that, she’s gone. I fall to my ass, wondering what the hell to do. “I just completely fucked up everything,” I say aloud. Sitting for long moments, I replay the entire conversation. Did I even give Leanne a chance to explain? No. Oh, holy hell. My elbows hit my knees and brace there. I begin rocking back and forth.
I treated her like she was a bogey—a threat. I didn’t believe in her, in our love.
And instead, I treated her like a damn traitor. Like Gene.
“Kane, he’s getting ready to leave. Do you want to meet us downstairs?” Mitch’s voice is in my earpiece.
For the first time, I hesitate. Should I stay, or should I go follow Leanne and try to work this out? I know if it was me, I’d tell me to go to hell. Deciding to give her a little time before I apologize for my harsh words and lack of understanding, I answer Mitch. “No, I’ll meet you outside the office. Give me five.”
“Right.”
Briefly, I close my eyes in agony before I jog up the few steps. I jump when the elevator pings, hoping against hope. My heart sinks when Austyn Kensington flies out. She throws a glare in my direction. “Get out of my way.”
My attempt to stop her is half-hearted at best. She plows past me into the office of LLF LLC, bellowing Beckett’s and Carys’s names.
Knowing this is just going to delay Beckett’s departure, and possibly make things worse for Leanne, I hold my post and enumerate my sins. I should have known better.
I should have believed when I distrusted.
Then why was I so quick to believe Beckett when Leanne was the one who yanked me from the dark spiral of despair? Because betrayal can suffocate the light of love out in an instance.
And I’ve been schooled in it before.
Unfortunately, I let the training I endured take over instead of the new lessons I’ve been taught.
