Page 103 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
I pace out of the living room when a light switching on down the hallway attracts my attention. My heart beats triple-time when I walk the hallway Isaac has carried me down many times the past month. Every step I take adds to the queasiness swirling in my stomach. The beautiful paintings that once graced the walls have been removed. Some are untouched. Others are so severely damaged, they're beyond repair.
When I round the corner, I halt, my heart squeezing. Isaac is in his office. He's still wearing the suit he was arrested in, but he’s removed his jacket, vest, and tie, and his crisp blue business shirt is rolled up to his elbows. I can only see the glass of whiskey in his hand since he’s facing the window that overlooks the manicured gardens below. His stature still commands attention, but his slumped shoulders and low-hanging head exposes his defeat.
After rolling my shoulders, I enter his office, stepping over first-edition books and months of paperwork scattered across the floor. I’m barely halfway across the room when Isaac senses my presence. As he shifts on his feet to face me, the anxious expression on his face morphs to fury. He’s blackened with rage.
Before I can comprehend what’s happening, he storms my way. My first thought is to flee, but as quickly as that idea transpired, it vanishes. Running won’t fix anything. I made a mistake, and I’m big enough to admit that.
Hugo places himself between Isaac and me. “Give her a chance to explain.”
My heart launches into my throat when Isaac shoves him aside. He sails across the room as if he is weightless, landing on his backside with an almighty thump. I scamper backward, only stopping when I’m pinned between Isaac’s imposing frame and the bookshelves lining his office. Although my body is shuddering with anxiety, excitement is still coursing through my veins. My inner vixen doesn’t care how angry Isaac is. All she cares about is his closeness.
When Hugo leaps back onto his feet, I signal for him to stand down. I created this mess, so I need to fix it. Hugo stops his aggressive charge, but he watches us closely with his fists clenching open and closed. Isaac won’t hurt me, but I don’t see that being the same for anyone who dares to come between us.
Isaac’s hot, heavy breaths blast my overheated cheeks with more warmth as he glares down at me in disdain. He must have consumed a substantial amount of alcohol since he left the Ravenshoe PD because not only is his breath riddled with whiskey, alcohol is seeping from his pores, suffocating his alluring scent.
I swallow, hoping a bit of moisture will help free my words from my mouth. It does—somewhat. “I didn’t tell them anything—”
“You’re lying.”
“No.” I shake my head, nearly sending tears toppling down my cheeks. “I never shared anything about you. I’ll defend you before I ever prosecute you.”
Isaac chuckles, a scary, menacing laugh. “You’ll defend me?” When I nod, he throws his hand around his barely recognizable office. “Is this defending me?”
“This wasn’t me. I was at the police department with you the entire time. I never left your side. I didn’t even know they’d been granted a search warrant.”
“Stop lying, Isabelle.” His roar startles me so much, my jump nearly spills the moisture pooling in my eyes. “Don’t you dare cry. You havenoright to cry.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, fighting to keep my tears at bay. Isaac hates when I cry, and he doesn’t need more hurt added to the already bursting-at-the-seams pain in his beautiful eyes.
Confident I have everything under control, Isaac continues to interrogate me. “No one knows this place exists except Hugo and you.” His narrowed gaze flicks to Hugo, who’s watching our exchange with cautious, wide eyes. “It isn’t even registered in my name because I wanted to ensure something like this would never happen. So, either you or Hugo told the authorities about it. Hugo has been with me for years. You’ve only been in the picture the past six months—around the same time my empire was placed under the spotlight.”
“It wasn’t me.” My knees feel like they’re going to fall out from beneath me when he glares at me, but it doesn’t stop me saying, “Maybe the surveillance team followed you here one day, or…” I stop mid-sentence, incapable of finding a reasonable explanation as to how the authorities learned about his private residence. “I don’t know who it was, but it wasn’t me.”
Isaac smirks a wickedly evil grin. It doesn’t make my knees pull together. If anything, it has the opposite effect. I’m more unnerved now than I was when I had my gun pressed against his chest.
When he steps back, I gulp down a big breath, grateful I can fill my lungs with air again. It’s forced back out in a hurry when he slings his eyes to Hugo and says, “You're fired.”
What?“Isaac, no. I’m not saying it was Hugo. I’m just saying it wasn’t me.”
My pulse quickens from the sheer closeness of his handsome face when he turns back to face me. “You've declared it wasn’t you, so either Hugo told them I lived here, or the surveillance team followed him here. Unless you’re willing to recant your confession, Hugo is fired.”
When my lips twitch, Hugo shakes his head, advising me not to fall into Isaac’s trap. Although I hate lying, I can’t let Hugo take the blame for this. With everything going on, Isaac needs someone like Hugo in his corner.
Before I lose the nerve, I murmur, “It was me.”
My eyes stray to the ground, needing to look at anything but Isaac. If he sees my eyes, he’ll know I’m lying. They’re the gateway to my soul.
“Look at me, Isabelle.” The anger beaming out of him fans the hairs stuck to my temples when I keep my eyes planted on a pile of crumpled papers to the left of his desk. He’s furious I’m ignoring him, but not as much as I’m angry at myself when he sneers, “Get out of my house before I show you just how unlawful I can be.”
He pulls away so viciously, hot air blasts my already overheated face. He strides to a bar on our right to refill his glass with whiskey. Once it sloshes over the rim, he returns to his original position by the window. I watch him in silence, begging for him to look back at me just once. He does no such thing. He's so angry he can't stand the sight of me. When an arm unexpectedly curls around my shoulders, I jump out of my skin. “Sorry.”
Hugo spins me around before guiding me down the hallway we walked only minutes ago. It breaks my heart walking away from Isaac, but I’m not sure what else I can do. Today has been such a clusterfuck of emotions, I’m surprised I’m still standing.
Halfway down the hall, glass being smashed sounds out of Isaac’s office. I stop dead in my tracks, a cold chill running down my spine. When I attempt to pivot around, Hugo maintains his firm clutch on my shoulders. “He needs time, Izzy. You both need time.”
By the time we reach Isaac’s town car, shock has truly set in. My heart sits heavy in my stomach as everything around me blurs. During our drive back to Ravenshoe, I keep my gaze planted on the gloomy sky. There's not a single star in heaven tonight—even it can feel the darkness wreaking havoc with my stomach.
After pulling into the curb at the front of my apartment building, Hugo drifts his eyes to me. They’re full of apprehension and remorse. “You shouldn’t have lied.”
