Secrets & Submission

“We still need the safe,” Kam tells her. “The tape, specifically.”

“I know where it is,” Trish answers and then says, “I can take care of that.”

It dawns on me, that murder isn’t something that’s unfamiliar to … as he called it, the circle.

Heels click behind me, and Ella enters the room at the same time my phone buzzes and then buzzes again. I glance down to see my text never sent to Cade. He’s sent me two messages in the meantime, though.

Cade: Where are you?

Cade: The exchange hasn’t happened yet. We’re still waiting for him to arrive.

Dread washes over me, knowing this isn’t over yet. “Z?” Ella whispers and Kam ignores her, unrolling the old carpet in the corner of the room. Trish has already left.

“Ella, don’t—” I attempt to shield her, but what’s done is done and there isn’t much I can hide from her as she walks in.

I brace myself for her emotions to overwhelm her, but she only glances at the body and then back up to me.

“You could have told me. But it’s okay you didn’t.”

“Kam,” I start, not withholding my anger that he would go behind my back.

“Not me—” Kam answers from where he’s crouched on the floor, hands in the air at the same time Ella tells me.

“Trish didn’t know that I didn’t know,” she comments softly, again looking behind me. “She wouldn’t tell me what he had”—she pales staring down at the lifeless man before looking back up at me—“but I know who he is so I’m pretty sure I know what you saw.”

I swear I can feel her heart break at this moment. Tears prick her eyes as she stares up at me.

“You don’t need to worry about that, my jailbird,” I murmur, vaguely aware that Kam is listening. Gripping her chin between my fingers, I force her to look up at me.

“You still love me?” she asks, her hand reaching up to the center of her chest and it dawns on me that the ring I gave her last night is there. Just beneath the deep red silk.

“Of course I still love you …” I trail off and take in a steadying breath, hating that there’s any doubt at all from my Ella. “I don’t want you involved in this and you should worry that you disobeyed me.”

“I didn’t,” she says and perks up. “You said I could accompany Trish.”

I’m speechless for a moment, staring down at her knowing she is once again topping from the bottom. “We’ll discuss this later,” I tell her and then kiss her gently. Then another kink in the chain dawns on me. “How did you get away from your security detail?”

“Silas?” she says and I nod, swallowing down the disappointment that she outsmarted the fuck out of me. “I left Silas by the powder room in the east wing on the first floor.”

“Go now, back to him. And you will text me once you are back with him. You will say nothing at all about what happened and you will go back to your seat and wait for me, is that understood? No … going around my rules or loopholes.”

My cunning, beautiful girl has the nerve to smirk at the last line. “Your ass will pay for that, Ella.”

She bites down on her bottom lip and it slips out easily as she murmurs, “Yes, sir.”

“Kiss me,” I command her and she does. As if there isn’t a worry in the world.

“Now go.” I send her off and she waves at Kam, telling him goodbye as well.

It’s only when she’s gone that I breathe out deeply, staring down at the unanswered messages from my brother and then to my left, to the dead body Kam has dragged onto the rug.

“Since I seem to be playing your game by your rules … How do we cover this up?” I ask.

Kam’s on his knees at the edge of the rug and I join him on the other side. “He lost a hell of a lot of money,” Kam explains with a grunt as he rolls the body up in the rug while I help. “As of two hours ago, his wife left him because she discovered the mistress he’s had on the side, along with the bank accounts being emptied. I’m guessing the cops are going to think he either ran off with the money to a remote island or killed himself.”

He says it so nonchalantly.

I look down at the body, his lower half now wrapped in a rug. There’s no way this guy could have killed himself like that.