Page 224 of Mine Again
“Perhaps not,” Hale says smoothly, “but Luca would have been watching. Anyone else daring to give you attention would have been enough to enrage him.”
The tightening of my face betrays me. He’s right. Luca had been watching, furious the moment Sebastian drew near. Furious enough to pull the fire alarm and clear the room.
Hale notices. His smile stretches wider, savoring my reaction.
“Such a shame I couldn’t see it myself. But imagining his rage was more than enough. It kept me entertained for hours.”
My stomach twists. He delights in manipulating people for his own amusement, no matter the damage it causes. Worse, actually. He ruins lives and feeds off the destruction.
My skin crawls. It’s beyond disgusting; it’s monstrous.
The eggs on my plate are cooling, congealing into a slick yellow mass. The buttery smell turns rancid in my nose. I push the plate away, my appetite gone.
“And that was worth five million dollars to you?” I demand.
I want to claw that smug smile off his face.
The number seems obscene. Five million tossed away like spare coins, just to see me dance on a string. I feel marked, like a chip slid across a gaming table.
“I’d have given him more if he’d managed to slip you his number and make you promise to call,” he goes on lazily. “Who knows? Perhaps he could have convinced you to run off with him. His charm was always lethal. His whole persona made girls go wild.”
Heat prickles across my skin as I remember Sebastian’s intense blue eyes, his easy grin, and bottomless confidence… the way my pulse had leaped with one look.
He hadn’t even needed to make an effort. One glance and I was flustered.
God, was I really that pathetic?
I remember the thrill of being singled out. For a moment, it made me feel special. But it was the same tired routine he used on anyone, and I, starved for attention, lapped it up like a fool.
“My father would have killed him,” I snap, sharper than I intend.
Hale shrugs, unbothered. “Possibly. But my cousin was always a gambler. Gambling with his life was when he was at his best.”
He inclines his head as if recalling him fondly, then lets his voice drop with relish.
“When your father was murdered, it gave me a whole other idea… raising the stakes, so to speak. The timing of his death was perfect with the Venom going to Brazil. Everything played right into my hands.”
Unfortunately, me most of all. I walked into that trap with arms wide open.
He rubs his hands together, excitement flickering across his face.
“Can you imagine Caruso’s devastation if Sebastian had married you and taken you away forever?” Hale throws his head back, sick laughter spilling out and filling the room.
This man is deranged.
“And how much was that worth to you?” I ask through clenched teeth.
“A hundred mil.” He waves his hand as if one hundred million dollars were pocket change. “More than enough to pay off his debts to the Russians and gamble some more.”
My mouth falls open. A cold rush floods my chest, like ice water seeping through my veins. Betrayal punches me fresh in the gut.
Was anything about Sebastian real?
Did a single word, a single touch, mean anything? Or was every kiss a transaction, every smile a paycheck earned?
I was nothing more than a price tag. A number.
The knowledge burns, hollowing me out until all that remains is the shame of having walked straight into his trap.
