Page 72 of Hellfire

He jerked from the confronting question, then leaned forward and reset his drink on the low table. His broad shoulders flexed with the movement and bunched when he put his elbows on his knees.

“Straight to it, then? No, I’m not using your mom, Hallie.”

“How long have you known her?”

His blue eyes hardened slightly. “Since the day she re-entered Johannes’s realm, three years ago.”

He’d told me that when I was at my father’s residence, so I took it for truth. “So you locked her in her room too and she fell in love with you?” I snorted. “That’s Stockholm Syndrome.”

He linked his fingers together between his knees. “No. I actually started out as her bodyguard.”

“Mom! You were banging your bodyguard?”

“Helga!” she exclaimed.

I calmed a fraction when Avery’s touch of warning landed on my thigh. “Sorry. I’ll rephrase: you were having sexual relations with your bodyguard?”

Arnauld hid a chuckle behind his hand. “Actually, Hallie, I didn’t so much as touch your mom while she was under my direct supervision. Johannes saw that we were becoming close, and after about a year, he redirected me to other areas and replaced her personal security team.”

“The Black man who was with you at the cafe?” I asked Mom.

She nodded. “Lethabo. He was nice and pleasant enough… Didn’t say much.”

“I noticed,” I muttered, then refocused on Arnauld. “So, you crept around for three years behind everyone’s backs? How did someone not notice?”

His steely gaze locked with mine. “Can we take a walk? Around the backyard? We’ll be in sight the entire time; it’s understandable that you don’t trust me yet.”

“No shit.” Nonetheless, I stood. “Sure. But first, Avery is going to pat you down.”

“Hells—” Avery started to protest until I gave him a sharp look. He rose to his feet, sighing and uttering an apology while gesturing for Arnauld to stand.

Arnauld did what he had to do to appease me and remained still while Avery gave him a pat down for concealed weapons.

“He’s clear, Hells.”

“Thank you,” I replied, genuinely grateful.

Arnauld motioned toward the lawn. “After you, Hallie.”

I stomped down the two steps and waited for him as he did the same. Without a word, we fell into step and started our first loop of the backyard. Just like the times at my father’s manor, Arnauld didn’t touch me, and he kept a close yet spacious distance.

“I love your mother, Hallie,” he eventually murmured, cutting his eyes from the lawn to my face. “I wouldn’t have betrayed your father and come to America if I didn’t. She deserves more than how she lived in Cape Town—”

“I know that. That’s why I went there in the first place; to bring her home.”

He cleared his throat. “And I appreciate that more than you know. I’m just sorry you got caught up in the webs lying in wait for you.”

“Honestly, Arnauld, how long had the plan been in place?”

His expression turned grim. “At least two years before your mother was dragged into it. She thought she was doing the right thing to protect you. Whereas she unwittingly led you right to them. Of course she realized this soon after Johannes had her in his custody, but it was too late by then.”

We passed Mom and Avery on the deck, watching us while holding a quiet conversation, and started our second loop.

“I understand that she wouldn’t have access to a phone, computer, or mail, but did she not ask you to warn me somehow?”

“We had to trust that you got her note. On top of that, we couldn’t take the risk of Johannes finding out I was trying to help your mother stop you from coming to Cape Town. It would have put her in too much danger.”

A bite of anger cut through my gut. “She was in danger anyway. The only reason I agreed to marry Reinhardt was to stop her from getting hurt. My gut now tells me that she would have been hurt regardless of what I’d done to try and prevent it.”

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