Surprise Bidder

“You thought I was born to wealth?”

She nods.

“I wasn’t.”

“Then how… did you…?”

“Get rich? My worthless father found me and took me in when I was sixteen. He said he wanted to leave his company to family. He wasn’t just going to hand it over to me, though. He wanted me to learn all the ropes. He made me work hard.”

“Oh.”

“I thought of running away. I even thought of killing him for letting my mother and my sister die.”

Leah draws in a sharp breath.

“But I stayed and I worked hard and I learned. I endured. As it turns out, I had everything it took to be a good businessman. I was even better at it than my old man, which he didn’t like, of course.” I sip my coffee. “Still, when he died, he left me his company. I sold it and started my own. That was how I got revenge for my mother and sister.”

Leah lets out a deep breath. “That’s cold.”

“Didn’t I tell you the first time I met you that I’m not a good man?”

“You said you weren’t a hero,” Leah corrects me. “Which is strange, because you try to help everyone.”

I frown. “Not everyone.”

“And you are a good man. Just because you couldn’t forgive your father doesn’t mean you’re not. After all, forgiveness is something that’s earned.”

After everything I’ve done, she still thinks I’m a good man. Interesting.

“What?” Leah asks when she notices me looking at her curiously.

“Nothing.” I take another sip of coffee.

For a moment, she falls silent, no doubt thinking of her next question.

“Was your father a member of Ambrosia, too?”

“No,” I answer as I put my mug down. “It was his friend who recommended me to the Club.”

“I see.”

“But apparently, he and Elias were friends. You remember Elias, don’t you? He’s a member of the Council, the governing body at Ambrosia.”

Leah’s nose wrinkles. “I don’t want to. I don’t like him.”

“By the way, I tried to talk to him yesterday before we left for our trip, but he wasn’t home,” I tell her. “I’ll talk to him again when we get back.”

“I can go with you,” Leah offers.

I give her a puzzled look. After what happened the last time she was with Elias, she still wants to face him?

“I thought you didn’t like him.”

“No. But if it will help my case…”

“It won’t,” I tell her. “I told you he doesn’t think highly of women.”

“Right.”

“Besides, he’s a dangerous man. For all I know, he could be a murderer.”

Leah’s eyes grow wide. “What?”

I tell her about the Lawson case just because I want her to be careful. Now that I know she’s carrying my child, I feel even more protective of her. Hell, I want to ground her all over again.

“Wow,” she says when I’m done. “There is a lot of nasty stuff going on at that Club, isn’t there?”

I nod.

“It makes me wonder why you’re still a member.”

“It was convenient,” I answer.

But is it anymore?

“Well, I promise I’ll be careful,” Leah tells me. “I’m not going to go hanging around the Club or hunting a murderer.”

I touch her cheek. “That’s good to know.”

She turns her attention back to the ocean. I pat her hand.

“That’s enough depressing talk for one day,” I say. “It’s only morning. Why don’t we shower and then have some fun, hmm?”

Leah grins. “Together?”

“Why not?”

I intend to spend as much time as I can with her today.

–

And I did.

Right now, Leah is with Sylvia and Giselle at the back of the plane, all of them happily chattering as if they’ve been friends for years. Yesterday, though, she was all mine.

And boy, did we have fun.

We went snorkeling in some shallow, beautiful waters. Leah was wary at first, but the doctor gave her the go signal. We sailed to a nearby island, watching dolphins along the way, and had a picnic. We had a hand and foot spa together. We went for a dip in the ocean before sunset, then watched it on the beach. Then we had a candlelit dinner on the beach. After that, she went straight to bed and slept until morning. I was able to get some good winks myself.

A short but worthwhile getaway.

Now, though, it’s back to work and back to a murder investigation. Plus I still have to talk to Elias about Leah’s condition. Maybe I’ll do that as soon as arrive.

Or so I was thinking. The moment the plane lands, though, I see Thomas and some guards from Ambrosia waiting for me. Leah sees them, too, and she grips my hand in fear.

“Are they going to take me away?” Leah asks me.

“No,” I say to her even though I’m not sure.

I’m confused myself as to why they’re here.

“They’re probably just here to provide us with updates and security. Maybe there’s been a development on Lawson.”

The plane stops. The door opens and Thomas comes on board with one of his minions.