Page 40 of Earn Me

I see what you did there, de Laigny.

By the time she made it to the private dining room under Keiran de Laigny's reservation, she had been able to spot about eleven of the cameras he had secretly installed three years ago. And she also had no doubt those weren't all of them.

The man who insisted on escorting her from the entrance turned to her with a smile. "We hope you enjoy your stay with us, Ms. Becks. Please use theCallbutton if there's anything you need. We'll inform Mr. de Laigny of your arrival. Good day."

The attendant closed the door behind her as she entered the room, and the first thing she saw was a figure emerging from the shadow—-

Shit.

Bex was not afraid to have a gun pointed at her, but she was annoyed with herself for not seeing this coming. Keiran de Laigny stood across the room, his weapon trained steadily at her forehead, his shuttered expression giving nothing away.

"Who are you working for?"

"You know the answer to that."

"Bullshit."

Three years ago, this woman had almost ruined his wedding night by sending a message to him from Cadence's half-brother. But now that Marchetti had as good as confirmed the truth last night?

Keiran's finger went to the trigger. "Viktor's dead. So don't lie to me again."

"I'm not." Bex's gaze didn't waver. "But you're not the only one with blood debts."

Fuck.

Keiran dropped his gun back into a secret pocket in his jacket. How the hell did Biancardi get to be so damn good at collecting these debts? Even in death, Viktor's reach extended far beyond what any normal man could hope to achieve.

Bex raised a brow at Keiran. "Not gonna apologize?"

Keiran took the seat at the opposite end of the table. "You'd have done the same thing in my position."

"Touché." Her lips curved into a smile that held no warmth. "We're all just monsters playing by the same rules, aren't we?"

"Why are you here then?" Keiran demanded, already tired of the word games.

"Same reason Marchetti is here." She perched on the edge of the desk, perfectly at ease now that she was no longer held at gunpoint. "We've all been keeping an eye on Cadence. Have you not realized that by now? When you walked out on your marriage, good riddance. A girl like her doesn't deserve you."

"We're from the same world," Keiran bit out, hating the truth of it.

"And so I knew better than to involve someone who's innocent...and should've stayed innocent." She shrugged. "But...it's all water under the bridge. Marchetti is a happily married man, so I'm guessing it changed his list of priorities, made him care more if you two are heading towards happily ever after or never again. Me, still the same. Hearts break all the time. But they only stop beating once and for good. So I'm here because of the Quinns."

Keiran tensed. "What about them?"

"They've figured out you'refamigliaand powerful enough to help save their asses from their enemies. So now they've started telling everyone you're their son-in-law."

"Fuck." The word exploded from him before he could hold it back.

This was exactly the kind of reckless move he'd expect from Marvin Quinn. A desperate grab for protection, with no thought to the danger it would bring to his own daughter.

"Their enemies will be knocking on your door soon. Thought you'd appreciate the heads up." Bex slid off the desk, straightening her skirt. "Oh, and last advice—"

"I didn't ask for any," Keiran cut in sharply.

"You should start thinking of telling Cadence the truth. Women have a feel for these things, believe it or not. And if you want to know what I feel—-"

"Still not asking for any advice."

"Tick tock,de Laigny. You're running out of time. You either come completely clean or it will be too late for you to save your marriage."

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