Page 115 of Silent Vendetta (Vendetta Duet)

Alexander waved it off, crossing his arms over his chest.

Studying me.

I tried to keep my nerves at bay—was he watching my body language for any clue I knew who Hunter really was?

“You said you had a question about Hunter?” I managed to keep my voice calm.

“Where is my nephew?” Alexander asked.

I cut a fresh line down the green strip, having to tug a little to get through the thick of it. The cold, wet flesh of the watermelon slipped against my fingertips as I chopped, doing little to soothe the prickling tension at the nape of my neck.

“He had an errand to take care of,” I hedged.

“An errand,” Alexander repeated in a low tone. “What kind of errand?”

When I looked up, Alexander’s stare was fixed on me. Unblinking. And the warmth that had previously graced his eyes had vanished, replaced by a frozen detachment while he kept looking between me and the knife in my hand. With this look of…was it irritation? Because his tightened jaw made him kind of look angry.

A cold pit settled in my stomach. Just moments ago, he’d arrived with a seemingly genuine smile and fresh flowers.

Moments ago, I’d been the one to get him past security…

“I’m not sure,” I lied.

Again, he looked at my butcher knife, his body shifting slightly. Tense.

“He sure seems crazy about you.” Alexander’s voice was hauntingly calm—his words meant as a compliment, coming off like a warning.

Was I being paranoid, stressed after the ordeal I had been through? Or was my sixth sense justified in telling me to run?

I looked in the direction of the front door.

Alexander pushed off the counter, smirking when I flinched. His shoes tapped softly against the tiled floor as he walked toward the archway that separated the kitchen from the front door and brushed the bouquet with his fingertip.

“That was quite the eulogy you gave at the funeral.” He plucked a pedal from the white rose.

I eyed my phone, which sat at the far end of the room. I glanced toward the window, where, outside, security agents were positioned all around this place.

Alexander took a step toward me.

“Hunter looked worried,” he said, his tone rigid. “When you got to the part about going after the person who killed your father.”

It took me a second to find my voice. “Hunter doesn’t want anything to happen to me.”

To this, Alexander cocked his head. Took another step. “Then it was probably unwise to provoke the killer, wasn’t it?”

I stiffened, a draft crawling up my neck.

“Do you still feel that way?”

He took another step closer.

I stepped back.

“Determined to find whoever did it?”

I said nothing.

“Obsession destroyed Hunter’s life. If you’re not careful, it’ll do the same to yours.”

---