Page 26 of Peyton's Price

Matthias seemed lost in thought for a long time. She thought he wasn’t going to answer when he finally spoke.

“Except he did. Admittedly, getting that much out of him wasn’t easy. Liam is what my mother liked to call a tough nut to crack—as you’re well aware, I’m sure. But don’t downplay your role in the Caislean’s success. Liam was quite upset to lose you to Silicon Valley…”

He waited for a reaction that didn’t come, which made her wonder. Why did it seem like he was trying to tell her something without actually saying it?

She shrugged defensively. “I helped a little. But my role wasn’t that significant.”

A tide of self-pity rose up as she pictured Liam’s face in her mind. Even now, he was riding to her rescue, fixing all her problems and leaving her more broken than ever because of it.

“I wasn’t a big part of Liam’s life,” she repeated tonelessly.

Those icy-blue eyes gleamed in the dim light. “Well, for someone so insignificant, he certainly spent a lot of time talking about you.”

Peyton sucked in a steadying breath. “Are you still in touch?”

“On and off. Mostly off. I thought I’d heard the last of him after our last conversation. But then he called me about you.” He leaned forward with something like a smirk on his face. “I bet Caroline loved that.”

“You know her, too?” Peyton was unsurprised when he inclined his head. Caroline Wentworth being friendly with a slaveowner made a lot more sense than Liam knowing him.

“Caroline is the one who introduced us. She’d been courting me as an investor in her father’s hotel chain, and she brought Liam along to an event in the hopes of impressing me with her connections. I’m sure she regretted that later. I never did invest in the Wentworth chain.”

She’d been listening without expression, but a sudden thought made her eyes almost bug out of her head. “You didn’t invest in the Caislean, did you?”

Oh, God. Please don’t let it be true.Don’t let the hotel I’ve poured my sweat and tears into have been helped by this man’s blood money. It would destroy Maggie, and even Patrick, if they ever found out.

“No. Liam never asked, and I never offered.”

She hung her head, too emotionally wrung out to hide her relief. When she recovered enough to look at him, he was obviously trying not to laugh.

“Peyton, I’m starting to think you don’t like me.”

She bit her lip to keep from speaking the cutting remark she was dying to make.

Wiping all traces of mirth off his face, he set down his knife. “All right, it’s time for the serious conversation. Integrating into society after this kind of trauma won’t be easy. In cases like yours, when you’ve been in a high-price auction, it’s even harder. Sometimes, the slaver keeps track of the merchandise with the buyer, particularly when they think they can make another sale to him or her down the line. Staying out of sight when you’re back in Boston will be critical.”

The sudden no-nonsense twist in the conversation gave her confused mind whiplash.

“I’m sure Liam will have a plan in place,” he continued after a pause. “You may not like hearing this, but it’ll be simpler to let him have his way. At least then, I don’t have to worry about you getting snatched up a second time. Liam would burn down the hotel before he let that happen. Just make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid like marry you too soon. That would be sure to make the papers. You don’t need that kind of attention.”

“What?” Was Matthias having a stroke? She wasn’t following him at all now. Why would he think Liam would want to marry her?

His fork tapped the table. “I know there’s quite a bit I’m leaving out. You’ll have to excuse me. I’ve never met one of my acquisitions before. Priya usually took care of them, explaining how everything works. Between you and me, she enjoys it. It gave her a purpose…a sort of higher calling.”

Matthias frowned. “No doubt Priya has a checklist of recommendations and guidelines. I should have asked her,” he said, trailing off as if he were thinking about calling for the woman.

“You don’t meet the people you buy?” Peyton seized that detail like a lifeline.

“Bought. Past tense. I don’t do it anymore. And no, it wasn’t necessary to meet them. You’re an exception. However, you didn’t come to my attention in the usual way.”

“What’s the usual way?”

“Priya,” he answered. “When I still indulged in the practice, she took care of all the details. She chose who would be bought, took care of their purchase, and facilitated their eventual departure or secured them a position somewhere. There’s never been a reason for me to meet them.”

Peyton tried not to gape. She shook her head to clear the muddied thoughts. “Never? But then you…then you didn’t have sex with the woman you bought?”

“It would be pretty hard to have sex with someone you never met,” he pointed out.

Peyton forced her hand flat against the pristine white tablecloth. “Then what did you do with them? Are they a part of your staff?”

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