Page 5 of Liars and Liaisons

I told him he shouldn’t come back. That they wouldn’t accept him.

It’s the cruelest thing I’ve ever done even if I did it for his own good. At least, that’s how I justify it—words spilled from shock, fear, and teenage spite. It was like I’d skipped the denial stage of grief entirely and gone straight to anger—something I’d never let myself truly feel before because my mother had told me it was wrong.

But where Kal’s concerned, I’ve been holding on to it ever since. Even when he’s tried reconnecting, or sent money, or lured me to this creepy little island under the guise of employment, anger is the one emotion I understand around him.

“Not that I adhere to the law anyway, but if you want a cease and desist to hold any weight,” Kal says now, those eyes still lighter than I’ve seen them, “maybe try using a lawyer who wasn’t disbarred three years ago for faking his bachelor’s degree.”

Indignation rises in my chest. “I—” Cutting my sentence short, I rock forward with the interrupted breath, considering. “He said he was the top criminal lawyer in Delos County.”

“And you just… believed him?”

“Am I supposed to go around, questioning everyone’s backgrounds and intentions? Who has the time?”

He shakes his head, his face growing somber. “There are some whose intentions you should be aware of.”

A lump grows solid in my throat, making it difficult to swallow.

Past that, a quick flash of something garners my attention. Drawn by some sort of magnetic force, my eyes flicker to the back corner of the room, past the stage and the buffet tables, through a curtained archway leading to another part of the hotel.

I only catch the tail end of the tall, imposing figure. His lean frame slips through the parted red fabric, and I register cool, dark brown hair peeking out from behind a black goat mask. One I’ve seen before in photos, kept safe among a myriad of others in a curio cabinet at an estate in the mountains. Its massive horns and pointy ears curl over his head, and there’s a space cut out so only his mouth and stubbly chin are visible.

A sick, scalding shiver races down my spine. Familiarity crackles beneath the surface of my skin, humming with its sudden surge of desire.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I say, sliding my hands behind my back and stepping away from Kal. “I’ve got a very pressing matter to attend to.”

Kal doesn’t speak as I retreat. Just stares with that same cold, calculating look on his face.

I hate how much it looks like our father’s.

Making my way through the crowd, I pause just once, glancing over my shoulder at where I left my brother. He’s been joined by his wife, and he turns in a small circle at the edge of the dance floor with her in his arms. Her dark brown hair spills down the open back of her black cocktail dress, and when he dips her, I hear her laughter from where I’m standing.

When she looks at him, the stars are no longer in the sky above us. They’re in her eyes, and they burn bright for him. The love that bleeds from her pores is palpable, and it almost relieves the pinprick of guilt I feel in my gut for not letting him in. Not letting him be a part of my family.

I can almost justify my decision in the end because Kal Anderson got the love he deserves even if he was brought up without it. Even if he’ll never get it from some of the people he clearly aches to have it from.

The silken fabric of my sheath dress swishes against my legs as I power-walk through the back of the ballroom. Passing the wooden bar in one corner, I’m almost out before I feel a slender hand wrap around my bicep, forcing me to halt.

“Where are you going?” Cora asks, her golden irises scanning my face for visible signs of distress.

Behind her, Alistair Wolfe keeps his glacial gaze trained on his girlfriend, ready to catch her if she tries to run off. The tie tucked beneath his dark gray suit matches the exact shade of Cora’s hair, and a distant part of me wonders what it’s like to have someone be so in love with you that they want to carry a piece of you anywhere they go. Even if they’re spending the night plastered to your side.

Nate James certainly didn’t have that issue. Our breakup was swift and clean, and he disappeared from my life as quickly as he’d seemed to enter it.

“I just want to get some air,” I tell my cousin, gently peeling her fingers from my arm. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

She narrows her eyes. “If I find out you’re sneaking off to finally have some rebound sex before I’ve even vetted the guy, I’ll—”

A snort bursts from me. As fucking if. “I promise not to run off with strangers.”

“Well, maybe not justanystrangers. I don’t want to scrape another relative off the walls, you know?”

Choosing not to comment on the callousness of that statement, I give her a quick nod and start back toward the open doorway.

I pause just outside, glancing up and down the narrow hall as I try to imagine where Nate might have gone. A plain white sign bars the massive staircase leading to the next level of the hotel.

VIP EVENT IN PROGRESS.

A pinch in my gut pushes me forward, and I slip beneath the velvet rope, climbing the steps slowly, gripping the iron railing in one hand. At the top, there are a host of doors leading to various guest rooms, but only one is partially open, revealing a dimly lit suite, complete with a fireplace and fancy furniture.

---