Sage wasn’t sure why her stomach dipped at that piece of news. But at least it helped her drag her gaze from the man standing statue-still before her. ‘This is still wrong.’
She heard the clink of ice against glass in the background, and her heart sank further. If Ben was drinking, then the likelihood of him listening to reason was diminishing even further.
‘It’s sweet that you see the world in black and white, baby sister. It’s not.’
‘Then tell me what you’re trying to prove,’ she challenged with more than a hint of anger.
‘I’m causing him more than a moment of discomfort. I worked my ass off for him, and he didn’t even know I existed. Maybe now that he knows what it feels like, guys like him will stop looking down their noses at people like me.’
The snippet she’d read online about Xandro’s beginnings in the rougher parts of New York rose in her mind, dragging with it speculation as to whether the piece of property he was pursuing was connected with his past. A look in his eyes told her she wasn’t about to find out right now.
‘Ben, tell me where you are.’
‘Sorry, Sage, but no.’
She closed her eyes, her insides trembling at the resolution in his voice. ‘Please—’
‘No. He’s not going to win. I’m sorry I’m not around for you, but promise me the first chance you get you’ll contact the cops—’
The phone left her fingers, the rest of Ben’s words fading as Xandro took it from her. ‘She will do no such thing. Neither will I where you’re concerned. For the time being. But you’ve had your fun, Woods. Take things a step further at your peril.’
She caught Ben’s snort. ‘Your threats aren’t going to work on me.’
Xandro’s jaw clenched for a single moment. ‘Very well. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ He hung up, and calmly offered her phone back to her.
‘Why did you do that?’
‘The conversation was going nowhere,’ he responded brusquely.
She looked down at her phone, torn between calling Ben back and leaving things be. She raised her head as she heard Xandro’s footsteps.
‘Wait!’
He turned and raised an eyebrow at her.
‘What happens now?’
He shrugged. ‘Nothing. He’s had confirmation that you’re with me. He knows I’m not bluffing. Let him stew over his new reality.’
Another odd sensation dragged through her belly. ‘You’re not going to let me go, are you?’
His mouth lifted in a facsimile of a smile. ‘No. He’s been radio silent for three weeks. But he’s just shown his hand by reaching out to make sure you’re all right. You’re his weakness.’
‘But you heard what he said. He’s not going to return your things.’
‘That would be a shame,’ he replied. He turned towards the door again.
/> ‘So, you’re just going to leave me here?’
‘Of course not. Until I get my property back, where I go, you go. That is your reality from now on.’
Her mouth was still parted in an undignified O when he walked out and shut the door decisively behind him.
* * *
She could’ve gone after him to demand a definitive explanation of what he meant. But Sage desperately needed to regroup.
When her parents had thrown down the gauntlet—compliance or disinheritance—she’d painfully taken the latter option. This time, Xandro had ensured she had no option that she could in good conscience live with except the one he wanted. Had she been watching this drama unfold in someone else’s life she would’ve been marginally impressed by his machinations.