Lia knew that was the truth. In all his dealings with her Gregorio had been nothing but honest. Even when the two of them had spent the afternoon in bed together Gregorio hadn’t made any false declarations or promises—before or after.
‘Now, I really want you to leave, David.’ She searched agitatedly through her shoulder bag for her door key.
‘What if I don’t want to?’
Lia looked up sharply, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she realised that David had moved and was now standing much too close to her in the hallway. Uncomfortably so. There was no charm nor an ingratiating smile on his face now.
‘One of Gregorio’s men is sitting in his car outside this building,’ she challenged tensely.
David raised is brows. ‘He has men watching you?’
‘Protecting me, yes.’
‘Protecting you from whom? Me?’ David questioned when Lia gave him a pointed glance. ‘You never used to be paranoid, Lia,’ he scorned.
‘I never used to be a lot of things that I am now.’
‘So I’ve noticed. And not all of those changes are for the better,’ David assured her. ‘But de la Cruz and his men aren’t here. There’s just the two of us.’
Lia was aware of that. Very much so. And she didn’t like it one little bit. Didn’t trust or like David one little bit.
‘I said I want you to leave,’ she repeated through gritted teeth.
‘Wouldn’t you like to know what really happened the night your father died?’
‘What?’ Lia gasped as she stared at him with wide eyes.
David returned her gaze challengingly. ‘I said—’
‘I heard you,’ she dismissed agitatedly. ‘What I want is an explanation of what you meant.’
He shrugged. ‘I was with your father when he died.’
‘I... But... There was never any mention...’ She gave a shake of her head. ‘I was the one to find him—slumped over his desk in the morning.’
‘Our meeting was lawyer/client confidential.’ David shrugged. ‘When he suddenly collapsed... Well, as I said, I don’t handle sudden death well.’
‘He had a heart attack in front of you and you just left him there to die?’ Lia reached out to place her palm on the wall for support as she felt herself sway.
‘He died almost instantly.’ David’s mouth was tight. ‘There was nothing anyone could have done.’
‘You don’t know that!’ Lia stared at him incredulously. ‘You all but killed him!’
‘Your father died of a heart attack,’ he maintained evenly.
‘But heart attacks are usually brought on by stress or shock. Did you do or say something to cause his heart attack?’ Lia was having difficulty keeping down the waves of nausea churning in her stomach.
‘Invite me in and I’ll tell you exactly what happened.’
Lia didn’t like the smug expression on David’s face. Smugness caused by the fact that he knew she would want to know exactly what had happened the night her father died. That she needed to know.
But to do that David had said she must invite him in to her apartment.
Did she dare to be alone with him in there?
CHAPTER TEN
GREGORIO TRULY BELIEVED what he had told Lia: a man could no longer call himself a man if he ever raised his hand in anger to a woman. But right now he was very angry. With a red-hot, blinding anger.