I shove my plate away and stand, using my wineglass to reference her. “I like the scar on my face, Mother. I think it makes me less perfect. I think that’s far more appealing for the image I want to convey.”
“I’m just saying that you could benefit from my counsel.”
“It’s too late for that.”
Her expression droops while shock registers on her features, eyes dropping to the delicious spread of food in front of her. She hasn’t touched her wine or the cheese piled on her plate. She’s chosen to focus on me instead of indulging in whatever ritual she created while I was gone. Lord knows, she had so many. The damn woman is full of rituals.
Before she can say anything, I shake my head and leave the dining room, jaded by her input. Her interference feels like an aptly timed attempt at her getting what she wants. Perhaps she even influenced my father’s decision a little bit, hoping to gain his favor. After all, she did admit to playing the game just to stay under his care.
A sigh carries me up the stairs toward my bedroom. I gather some needed items and head right out the front door, marching across the lawn to get to the cottage. I’m sick of my family. And I’m only doing this for Nana. So, I might as well just move in with her.
* * *
The engine of my BMW roars when I pull up to the pier. Alex hops into the passenger seat and straps herself in, smelling like vanilla and sex. I can only imagine what she’s gotten up to with Parker lately. When she texted me to pick her up from Thasos instead of her house, I found it odd. But seeing that ship looming on the horizon put everything in place.
She’s just collecting her benefits. That’s all.
“You’ve been neglecting the business,” I say coldly while popping the car into gear. “It makes you look bad, Alex.”
She sighs. “You’re right.”
Her agreeable disposition catches me off-guard. I try not to let it show, choosing instead to focus on the directions my navigation system is giving me. We’re pulling into a lavish driveway flanked by gorgeous flowers when Alex grunts while patting her jeans.
“Fuck,” she groans. “I left my gun behind.”
I shake my head. “That’s mistake number two.”
“Two? What was the first mistake?”
“Staying where none of your documents are secure.”
She frowns. “How do you know where I’m staying?”
“Just get out of the car, Ms. Alex.”
The doors rise and allow us to exit, leading to me marching toward the front door with my gun pointed at the ground. Without her armed, it makes me extra paranoid about being the face of the collection, but she slides in front of me before I can knock. Turning around with a grumble is all I can manage to do to keep myself from cursing her out in front of a client.
Alex screws the whole thing up. She accepts less than is owed, without even bothering to fight for the full amount. When we get into my car, an unmarked green SUV swings out from behind the house and races toward us. I whip the car out of the driveway and slam the gas, speeding narrowly out of a situation that could have gotten us killed.
Again.
For the millionth fucking time.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Alex?” I snap when I reach the highway. My eyes flit to the rear-view mirror repeatedly while I speed along the two-lane road. “It’s like you have had a death wish ever since your mother bit it.”
“Watch your fucking mouth, Soren Pershing.”
I pinch my lips together. That was a low blow even for me.
“Someone is after us,” she insists with a controlled tone. “We were set up again. We’ve been getting set up each time.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t secure your shit.”
She shakes her head. “Everything is either in the notebook, which stays on me—” She plucks the book from her bra and shows it to me. “Or it stays locked up inside my head. Get it?”
“So, you just happened to send me a copy of the collections due, huh?”
“You’re my partner. Aren’t I supposed to trust you?”