To hell with it, I had to tell the truth. My sigh was exaggerated and loud. “I knew, Brody. I’ve known exactly where Nina has been staying, and Cecily knows because her little ass was snooping. I left a file on the coffee table downstairs. It wasn’t in the same place as I left it and Nina’s address was in there.”
His eyes narrowed. I could barely hear him but was still able to make out his controlled anger. “You lied to me?”
My eyes focused on everything around Brody but not on him. I couldn’t make eye contact. “I didn’t lie per se. I just didn’t tell you everything.”
His gaze cut through me like a knife. “I can accept almost anything, and I have. I’ve accepted who you are in total, but I will never be with a liar.”
“I didn’t tell you because you were going to try to be my knight in shining armor. I didn’t want you to get hurt, or worse.”
His eyes blazed, and he snapped. “Bullshit! Don’t play me for being stupid! I know you’re planning something heinous! That’s why you didn’t tell me. At the very least we should have talked about it.” He pointed to his scar. “You see this? I was the one who almost died! I at least deserved the truth.”
My own righteous indignation rose up. “You don’t think I know that? Don't you think it hangs over my head or like a weight around my neck? Nina is going to pay for everything she’s done; I promise you that.”
His glare was angry and unwavering.
“Had I told you my plans, you would have tried to talk me out of it.” Brody didn’t say a word. He just watched as I walked away to my closet and pulled down a locked metal box. “I told you from the jump; I was going to deal with Nina.” I opened it and pulled out my revolver. “You and I both know how this is going to unfold.” I holstered it at the back of my jeans.
He gritted his teeth then breathed in deeply through his nose, I think to keep from strangling me. “You know, we have something special, but you are determined to sabotage it. I’ve finally come to the realization that I can’t do this. I will not be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t understand the basic damn rules of one. It’s clear being here these last couple of months hasn’t advanced our relationship as much as I’d hoped. Gina, I’ll never accept dishonesty from you.”
I was finally able to meet his eyes. They were mixed with anger and sadness. This was it. This was the moment our relationship was going to end. My chest was tight, but my eyes were hard. “I never asked you to. I’m cold-hearted, but you knew that already. I do what I have to and nothing less. There’s no point in arguing about it, so I’m done.”
“Understood.” His voice was cold as he finished putting on his shirt.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m coming with you. We may not have a future, but there is no way you are leaving this house without me. After the dust settles, I’ll be on the first plane back to the United States.”
“You are not coming with me. I have a niece to save, an empire to claim, and a cold-hearted bitch to kill.”
“Let me refresh your memory; I’m Brody Windham. You don’t intimidate me, nobody can.” He walked over to his bedside table and pulled out a revolver. I hadn’t known it was there. “Just to be clear, you have absolutely no say over what I do, absolutely none. Whatever privilege I afforded you is gone.”
“W . . . what are you going to do with that?” What was Brody doing with a gun? Did he even know how to use one? My expression must have said it all because he answered my question before I had a chance to ask.
“I typically fight my battles in the boardroom, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know my way around hardware. How do you think I met Jamal? Maybe if you weren’t so self-centered, you would have known that.”
Chapter 20
Nina Lee-Xiou Manchetti
Cecily didn’t want to seem like a dumbstruck teenager, but she was positive that’s exactly how she was coming across.
Not one single coherent thought managed to form in her brain. It wasn’t until her mouth went dry that Cecily realized it had been hanging open in the first place, probably from the moment she’d first laid eyes on her mother up until the elevator opened to Nina’s floor. Luckily, Cecily was walking behind her and therefore, Nina couldn’t witness how foolish she’d looked.
Once everyone arrived at Nina’s suite, Cecily was finally able to get her bearings enough to speak. Her voice trembled. “Thank you for seeing me, N . . . Nina.” She stuttered not knowing what to call her. Should she have said, Ms. Lee-Xiou, Mrs. Manchetti, or Ms. Nina? Was Nina disrespectful considering she was her mother? Hopefully, all of the awkwardness would go away once they started to get to know each other.
Nina didn’t just walk into her room in designer stilettos, Cecily thought it was more like a glide. Or, was she floating? Everything about her was perfect including her salon-styled hair—not a strand
