Page 54 of An Eye For Illusion

His slight chuckle causes a tiny piece of my heart to settle after a long ass day of emotional wreckage.

“What do you mean dangerous?” I spit out before he even says hello.

He pauses and then I hear typing. “Well, the dictionary says dangerous means ‘likely or able to cause harm or injury.’”

“Smartass. You know that’s not what I meant. What kind of danger are you talking about?” My words are rushed, partly because I’m concerned and partly because of the wine.

He chuckles but offers no further explanation, which pisses me off. If we’re in danger, I have every right to know.

“I hardly see the humor in this situation, Colin. Sounds like we could be in real danger, and you’re giggling like a schoolgirl about it.”

“Jade, if you or your father were in danger, I would’ve called you immediately.” His tone is harsh. I can’t blame him, I’ve all but told him he’s not taking our safety seriously.

“Of course, you would. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I’m just…I don’t know…concerned. You shouldn’t put yourself in danger, either. I can find another way if I need to.”

“You’re concerned for my safety?”

I can hear the smile in his tone, and my heart flips like I’ve never felt before. I place my hand on my chest, willing the traitorous organ to calm down.

I clear my throat, unwilling to give away how I feel. “I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt on my account.”

“This is deeper than I initially thought. It’ll take some time to get to the bottom of it. I need you to be patient.” His tone is professional.

He doesn’t understand how dire this is for me or how little time I have to end this engagement and ensure Elliott Moore is removed from my life as well as my father’s.

I second guess telling Colin about how Elliott threatened me. Now would be the time to tell him, but when I open my mouth, a small squeak comes out and the words stall on my tongue.

Instead, I say, “I only have thirty-four days. I need this to be over before then.”

“Thirty-four days until what?” he asks, genuinely confused by my admission.

“Until the wedding, Colin. In thirty-four short days, I’ll be Mrs. Elliott Moore, and my life will be forever changed if you don’t find something to get me out of it.” I hate the desperation I hear in my own voice.

I hear what I can only describe as a growl on the other end of the line.

“That won’t happen, Jade. You’ll have your reason. I need to go. I have calls to make.” I’m startled by his response and struggle to find the words to respond, but he beats me to it. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

I look at my phone when the call ends.

Did I tell him too much? Maybe I should’ve told him the whole story this time. The image of walking down the aisle to Elliott pops into my mind again. There’s no fucking way that’ll happen. I pour myself another large glass of wine and settle into my plush chair.

Chapter 19

Jade

I push my sunglasses higher on my nose and pull the scarf I have over my hair tighter. It isn’t lost on me that I most likely look like a crazy person and doing a terrible job of staying hidden.

Elliott just turned the corner of the sidewalk, going down an alleyway on the main strip. I hurry my steps to keep up with him, but not enough to risk him noticing me.

I blow out a frustrated breath. This is a lot harder than it looks in the movies. It’s way more stressful than I thought it would be, and I’ve only been trailing him for about an hour. How the hell does Colin do this for a living?

Despite my inability to understand his career choices, I’ve grown tired of waiting for Colin to come up with something to get me out of this dreadful arrangement. The day I spent picking out napkins, silverware, place settings, and all the other shit I couldn’t care less about reinforced that I need to hurry this along.

I realized back at our engagement party that Elliott will have just as much stake in my company as I do. That can’t happen. I needed to find a way to discredit him even then, but after he threatened me, all bets were off.

You don’t mess with my family and get away with it.

Every time I’m in Elliott’s presence, a gnawing sensation grows in my gut. It’s only grown stronger with every day that passes. I need to get to the bottom of what Elliott is up to. Not only for my own sanity but for my father’s. He’ll demand to know why the man he trusted to marry his daughter would betray us like he has.

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