Page 49 of Falling For The Enemy (The Gilbert Curse)

“And he paid with his life!” Mallory said. “Are you sure you weren’t just overwrought with nerves? My nephew never had to force a girl—”

“Her dress was torn, exposing her breasts, and there were bruises and marks on her skin,” Dash bit out the words coldly.

Kit raced down the hall and everyone turned toward him as he walked into the kitchen. Rory’s eyes met his and he knew she was looking to see if he’d known these details. He hadn’t. He was repulsed to hear the specifics of her brutal attack.

“Kit, I’m glad you’re here. They are trying to make the death of your brother his own fault,” Aunt Mallory said. “As if his death meant nothing or was okay.”

“I’m sure they aren’t saying that,” Kit said. “There’s a lot of confusion about that night.”

“Isthere?” Rory asked, her tone steeled and sharp. “There is also come confusion about who you are. Is it Kit Palmer or Kit Orr?”

The fact that Mallory didn’t like Dash had been obvious since the moment he’d walked into the kitchen. Dash had come over to Mallory; and Rory had for one brief moment seen a side to her brother that she’d never glimpsed before.

“Mallory Orr...you’re Kit’s aunt?” he asked. It had taken a few minutes to clarify, while Rory stood there in shock. She half listened to the two of them and realized that Mallory and Dash had met before. But Kit hadn’t ever met her brother before this year.

As unrealistic as it was, she had hoped he’d be shocked by everything. But he wasn’t. He had known about all of these connections. She wanted to ask if he knew his brother had attacked her. If he’d made love to her knowing that the man who’d caused the drama that night, which had led to the car accident that had stolen ten years of her life, was Declan.

But she didn’t.

Shecouldn’t.

Rory wanted to be alone when they talked. She needed to look into his eyes and hear what he had to say. Listen for the truth amid all the stories he’d told her since the moment they’d met.

God, she’d played right into his hands, hadn’t she?

“Kit? I asked who you are,” she said in a strangled tone.

She was struggling to hold herself together. Oh, how she wished she could be smart and cool the way that both Dash and Mallory were in this moment. But that was impossible. Kit seemed at a loss and there was a hint of sadness... Was there? Or was she just looking at him and seeing something her heart desperately wanted to?

“I’m legally Kit Palmer but I was born Orr. I had to change my name after you and Gilbert International destroyed what was left of Orr Industries. I couldn’t get a business loan nor would anyone even talk to me about working with them.” Kit’s voice was totally flat and emotionless. Simply stating facts.

“See,” Mallory huffed out. “You want to blame Declan for everything that happened butyouruined us.”

“Declan ruined you,” Dash said. “He behaved horribly when he was told he’d be given a job in Boston. He and your father didn’t want that. They wanted to run the factory here. But economically it wasn’t feasible.”

Her brother elaborated on the business dynamics, but Rory didn’t understand it or care. She couldn’t stop looking at Kit. She’d heard what he said but the truth was so much more. He might have had to use a different name in business, but once he’d slept with her he should have told her.

“Rory?” Kit asked.

“I don’t care about the business stuff. I hate that you lied to me. That you didn’t one time tell me who you really were. Even after I told you what I went through,” she said to Kit. Not even looking at Dash or Mallory because they hadn’t hurt her the way that Kit had.

“I didn’t want to hurt you again,” he gritted out. “How would it benefit you to know I was related to the man who’d hurt you so deeply?”

“It wouldn’t have, but you should have told me,” she said. Dash came over and put his arm around her. “You should have been honest when you first got here.”

“I couldn’t. All my life I’d been told one version of the events of the night of the gala. The version we’d heard. Dash’s actions I had seen firsthand, so that was the only part I knew for certain.”

“What had you been told about the gala?” Dash asked.

“That my father and brother went there expecting to be announced as the new owners and head of the factory,” Kit replied. “But instead your grandfather told them they were out and he was closing the factory.”

Then he shoved his hand through his hair and shook his head. “But I now know that wasn’t true. Going through my father’s papers I found a letter from your grandfather with an offer for them to be transferred to the Boston offices and given generous salaries.”

Kit turned toward his aunt. “At the time, I assumed you were not aware of the letter. But now I’m not so sure.” He narrowed his eyes at Mallory. “Didyou know about the offer?”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t what had been promised. They were meant to own the factory, not still work for Gilbert.”

“Aunt Mal, we’ve made a similar offer to some of our workers in other situations,” he reminded her, then turned back to Dash. “Given that, I wanted to ask you and Conrad about the gala itself and what had happened to Rory. I didn’t know...we didn’t know...that Dec had behaved that way.”

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