Page 77 of Heart of Stone (Dark Billionaires)

Kate nodded. “Your kitten needs you home, Warren.”

He leant back against the bed, lowering his eyes and squeezing her hand. “Tomorrow.”

The orange wash of the streetlights sailed over her face as Brax drove the three of them home. Kate rested her head against the cool window, letting the car’s movement jostle her about. The way onwards was recovery, surely. The past few weeks had been fraught with worry and terror, but that hurdle had been crossed now. The barrier had been overcome. They were on the home stretch.

They had to be.

An incoming call on the car’s Bluetooth had her eyes flying open. Brax answered it with a curt, “You’re on speakerphone.”

The answering voice was just as polite. “Take me off speakerphone.”

Well then.

Kate shared a look with Alison as Brax tapped a button on the interface to direct the call to his earphones. “You’re off.” There was a few seconds of silence before he interrupted the caller. “Wait,now?”

She let her imagination loose with the other side of the conversation. “Yes, the projectile diarrhoea has struck now. It’s even on the ceiling.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, we’ll never get it out,” Kate’s imaginary voice said.

Brax agreed that this was bad news. “Fucking hell, just do what you can. I’ll be there ASAP.” He tapped his ear to hang up.

“Is everything okay?” Sarah, who had been well enough to join them today, asked from the front seat.

With his jaw firmly set, Brax managed to nod. “It’s nothing to worry about, but I’ll need to drop you all off at the house instead of coming in with you.”

At home, the three of them were ushered into the house by the security guard with resting bitch face. The most attractive of the security guards, Saf had said. Kate was doubtful. The front door had barely closed before Brax high-tailed it out of the driveway, the reverse light painting the brickwork white.

Mattie’s familiar voice rang through the ground floor. Kate caught enough words to know he was talking through his headset with someone in-game, and she had a mind to join him.

“Kate?” Alison asked quietly. “Do you mind if I have a word?”

“Of course,” she replied, surprised.

“Come.”

Kate obeyed, saying goodbye to Sarah—who headed in the direction of Mattie’s voice. Alison, meanwhile, directed Kate up the stairs and into Warren’s bedroom with a somewhat apologetic expression.

“I don’t want to be overheard,” she explained. “And there’s security cameras downstairs.”

“Yes, I imagine they’re currently getting a front-row seat toHellfire Citadel.” Seeing Alison’s blank look, Kate waved her hand. “It’s a thing in the game we play. What did you want to talk about?”

Alison’s cheek hollowed inwards on one side as she bit it. “You know I was a midwife.”

“I do.”

“For thirty years.”

“Quite a long time.” Longer than Kate had been alive.

A nod. “It was, but it’s afforded me quite a lot of experience in midwifery in general.”

“Right.”

Alison patted her face, just along her cheekbones. “You have darkened skin pigmentation around your cheeks, Kate.”

She shrugged nonchalantly, not seeing the issue. Was this what Alison had wanted to discuss? Kate’s new tan? “I must’ve caught the sun.”

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