For a long moment Kip stayed quiet, then he replied, “I want her to be embarrassed, to lose it all. Corey Jones was supposed to kick her out, or…” He thought for a moment. “If I could have it I’d have her embarrassed and called out in front of a lot of people she desperately wants approval off. And then, I still want him to kick her out.”
“It would be me, too. If something happens to her, it’ll happen to me.”
A smile crossed his face, but when I asked him what it meant, he didn’t answer.
“So, after the police got you out… What happened?” He asked instead.
“Mom moved us away. Dad lost custody of me and all rights to seeing me. It took until I turned sixteen for me to find out that he’d also been charged with negligence, but mom didn’t follow the case enough. He lost everything, but… I don’t know.”
He arched a brow. “You don’t know what?”
“I expected him to reach out to me anyway. He used to be rich. He knew people. Why did he just give up? Didn’t he care?”
He pressed his lips together, then sighed. “Ever considered that your mother had her fingers in that? She has a lot of rich friends and she knows shady people.”
Sadly I had to admit he was right about that. “Masquerade.”
He blinked at me.
“The Society of Silvercrest has a masquerade every year. Everyone is there, and it would be perfect to expose her…”
The grin that came onto Kip’s lips was positively evil. “Wanna help?”
I’d never wanted riches anyway, and I couldn’t care less what Silvercrest thought of me, so… “Yes… It would be a pleasure.”
Kip
I didn’t like that she’d recognized me by a mere glance at my tattooed knuckles.
I especially didn’t like it because once she let go of my hand she was much more reserved. The girl with the shining eyes that I’d picked up at the prep school was gone.
We left the diner and she followed me over to my truck, her eyes going over it as if she’d not seen it before. “Okay, so how do we want to handle that?”
She waited while I wondered how best to go. Now that I’d seen her, been close to her, and kissed her, I wanted more.
No matter how much I wasn’t the dating type, and wouldn’t even be after I cleared my own name, I wanted to do that with her. Hell, she was everything a guy could wish for, and I didn’t need much more time to know that for sure.
“What did your mother say to you about the affair? Or didn’t you confront her?” While that was the last topic I wanted to talk about, it would be perfect for us to show up as couple and then visit the masquerade together… Which then would fulfill my ultimate revenge fantasy.
“I didn’t confront her. I saw the evidence in bed. But I have a feeling she wouldn’t have admitted it to me, and had I asked her about the stains on her back, she’d have pretended Cory had been home.”
Yeah, I thought so, too, and didn’t doubt Belle’s need to just ignore what she’d seen instead of confronting it.
“How long have you been sleeping with her now?”
I cringed at the question, but then swore to myself that it wouldn’t happen again and that I’d never lie to Belle about it. “Three months at her home, two at the Country Club before that. It’s why I didn’t even think you’d be here. When you met me in front of your house yesterday I realized you were home and… I couldn’t resist talking to you again. Your reaction in school showed me how much you missed me, too. I’m glad I didn’t recall you and me having fun wrong.”
“You took care of me. I usually didn’t see my parents much, neither before nor after the kidnapping, and my nannies never cared much. They played games and all. You read to me, and played games with me. You watch he’d over me while I slept, making sure there were no monsters. I would have followed you everywhere. You were my friend. You were the one person who ever took time for me, and who didn’t get bored of me. You paid me attention for me, and I craved that ever after. I was young, didn’t know what it meant to have found someone you truly cared about, but you were my first real friend. I think you were one of the only ones I ever truly had. Of course, I was happy seeing you again.”
“Even with all you’ve been told about me? All the lies?”
She lowered her lashes, her expression vulnerable, and I wanted to gather her in my arms. “I knew how you’d treated me, and although I partly didn’t trust my memories anymore surrounding everything, I knew how we’d been in that house.” She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “I couldn’t forget that. Couldn’t forget you.” Her gaze met mine and although it felt like she was asking for something, I didn’t dare to step in.
“I will always be your friend,” I whispered, unsure of where the words came from. “And I’ll always protect you from the monsters.” Like your mother. I didn’t say that out loud, but didn’t think she needed me to, either.
I also knew that even if Corinne Jones would fall from her almighty horse, Belle would be fine.
After all, I assumed her father would sweep in, making sure he could make up for all the lost time with his only child.
“Will you?”
Her voice was small, almost child-like, and I reminded myself that she’d not been living on
