Текст книги "Kian"

Автор книги: Tijan

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

Erica still had to finish something up with the camera guy so Wanker and I were waiting by the door when the reporter came over. She smiled, looking up from her phone. “You did so well. Honestly, you were amazing. I checked, and your interview is already trending on social media.”

I nodded. She was saying words, and they had meaning, but I was hollow. Nothing was getting inside and staying there. It was all bouncing around and then leaving me again. I supposed I would care later after I could process what I just did.

“And most of it is positive,” she kept going, scrolling through her phone again. She was beaming down at it. “With Erica’s name on it, I know you just made her career.” She paused to glance up, and waved to my eyes. “And those are breathtaking. You’re going to be a hit.” If our station can do anything further for you, please let us know. We just want to support you.”

Wanker grunted.

She glanced to me, frowning slightly. “What?”

“Nothing.” Wanker said as his hand curled around my shoulder, and he pulled me to his side.

For right now, he was shielding me from her. That much registered with me. I leaned against him, so damn thankful I had gone back to the apartment. She gave us another smile and wandered back to Erica and the camera guy.

Wanker muttered under his breath, “Oh, yes. I’m sure they’d love to support you, and reap the benefits from it, too.”

I closed my eyes. “We had to use someone.”

“I know. Erica said they were the best ones to work with, but still. They’re using Erica, her friendship with you, and you most of all. I’ll be happy when all of this is over.”

I looked up, the corner of my mouth turning down. “You don’t get it.” I pulled away, facing him directly.

“Get what?”

I shook my head. “There’s no going back, Wanker. This is it for me.” I gestured to the camera and where I sat moments ago. “I did all of that for one reason. I need to make things just a tiny bit better. That’s it.” I wasn’t dumb. I knew how people would react. I was known. I’d always be known. “I did that to maybe get people to do things not as much. Not hate me as much. Not bother me as much. Not want to call me names when they see me in person as much. That’s it. I’m not fooling myself. It won’t all go away, but I want some of it to go away. Just a little part of it.” That was all I could ask for, that was all that would realistically happen.

“What about you and Kian?”

I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“I saw the looks between you two. You’re together.”

It wasn’t a question. He knew, just like he had known before.

I let out a sigh. “When did you figure it out?”

“When you both came to the apartment—”

I waved that off, shaking my head. “No, not that.”

“Oh.” His head straightened up, and his shoulders rolled back. “I knew you had a secret. You didn’t like crowds or people in the beginning. I figured something happened. You looked a little more like your old self our freshman year, but not enough where I’d put two and two together. I mean, who would? That case was talked about in every house, and why would I question a girl who looks a tiny bit similar to her?” His glasses slid down, and he pushed them back up. “Your contact fell out one day.”

“My contact?”

He nodded. “It was real quick. It came out in the library when we were studying. You took off right away, and you kept your head down, but I saw the color of your eyes. It’s unmistakable.”

I frowned, remembering that day. “That was a year ago. You’ve known for this long?”

He never said a word.

“Yeah. I mean, I understood why you were keeping quiet.” He lifted a shoulder before looking at Erica over my shoulder. “I was going to tell her. I had it all planned out, then a story about you came on the television. It was a coincidence. They were running those stories more often back then, but I watched it differently that time. I knew you and I put myself in your shoes. I got it. I did. I knew why you were hiding, but Erica started going off about you. She thought there was more to the story, how you must’ve manipulated the whole thing and I knew I couldn’t say a word. She wouldn’t have understood back then.” He paused, skirting from me to her and to me again before saying, “She still doesn’t, you know.”

“What?”

I went still. Erica had said she was okay with it, understood why I lied…but she got over it so quickly. I was surprised, but I didn’t wanted to press my luck.

He nodded, taking off his glasses. I noticed the bags under his eyes then.

He murmured, “She’s trying to be a supportive friend, but she’s hurt.”

Erica was shaking the reporter’s hand and then the camera guy’s. Everyone was smiling. They seemed almost giddy. I didn’t see a hurt friend, but if Wanker said it, it was true. He knew her the best.

“Well, shit.”

“Erica loves you. She’s hurt that you lied to her, but she understands why you lied.” He peered over my shoulder, also watching the woman he loved. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think it will take much to make her feel better. Probably an extra few words about how your friendship means the world to you.”

“It does.” She was family. I realized that now. “It really does.”

“Tell her, and she’ll love you forever.” His voice dropped, filled with pride. “She’s a good person like that.”

I looked up at him and saw the love for her in his eyes. “You need to tell her how you feel.”

He looked down, meeting my gaze. He let out his own sigh. “I know. Maybe one day. Maybe when I think she’ll return the words.” His hand squeezed my shoulder. “I’m going to wait outside, talk to the officers, and see where they suggest we head to now.”

I nodded as he slipped out the door, and I didn’t wait for long. Erica came over right after. She saw Wanker leaving. Although sounding out of breath, she was glowing. “Where’s he going?”

“He left, so I could tell you how much—”

“Ah.” She held up a hand, stopping me. Her head bobbed up and down. “I got it. And I know what you’re going to say, but you don’t have to.”

Well, damn.

She added, “I was hurt, yes, but I get it. I do. After hearing what you said just now, how could I not get it? I’m just hurt that you were hurt and felt like you couldn’t trust me, if that makes any sense.” A rueful grin appeared, and she rolled her eyes. “Not to toot my own horn, but I did good with that interview. I was on point, and now listen to me. Bumbling idiot”—she pointed to herself—“right here.”

And I wouldn’t have her any other way. “Thank you.”

She reached for my hand and squeezed it, then pulled me in for a tight hug. She held me close. “You are so beautiful and kind and amazing, and I just wanted to tell you that.” She let me go and fanned herself, blinking rapidly. “I can’t cry, not in front of those two behind us, but Jo,” her hands fell to my arms. “When you took your contacts out, I couldn’t believe it! That was amazing.” A fond expression entered her eyes. “Thank you for trusting me.”

I was the lucky one. She had no idea.

“Okay. For real. We have to go or I’m going to break down.”

I nodded. “I’ll be right behind you. I need to check my phone quick.”

She raised her voice, calling over my head, “Thank you for everything, guys!”

They waved.

I wanted to see Kian. He was next on my list to make sure everything was right between us. I called him and texted. There was no response before the interview. Checking my phone now as Erica went to the door, a lump lodged itself in my throat when I saw one simple and solitary text message.

Outside.

There was something hot and delicious about that one word, but I was also nervous as hell. If he was angry, if he was disappointed, if he was hurt—I couldn’t think about those scenarios.

I followed Erica outside, but leaned close once the door shut behind us. “He’s here.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Who?” But she leaned her head close, dropping her voice. “Kian?”

I nodded.

She glanced at the door. “Let’s go before they do. They’ll use him being here for part of their package.”

“Package?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes narrowed a tiny bit. “The interview went live, but they’ll use this footage in their own package, too. I’m sure they’ll broadcast it tonight.”

“Oh.” That made sense. “Okay.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll spin it in a positive way.”

The two officers were standing next to the door. Wanker was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets. All three of them regarded me. There was no Kian, but he was here. He was somewhere. I could feel him.

I started for the corner, but paused. “Erica?” I looked at her.

She waved me off. “Go. Be with your man. I’m going to get drunk to celebrate.”

That was all I needed, and immediately, the warmth of knowing I’d see Kian shortly filled me up. I started walking around the corner.

“Uh…” Wanker started to say.

Erica hushed him. She said, “He’s here. She’s looking for him.”

“Uh…” One second. “Oh!”

“Miss Emory.” One of the officers cleared his throat. He was behind me, following. “We should get in the car.”

I didn’t stop. I knew Kian was here.

“Ma’am?”

I was almost to the corner. The interview was done. I did what I had to do. It was time to see Kian again. A low buzzing sensation started in my stomach. I couldn’t wait to see him. I couldn’t wait to be in his arms once again.

“Miss Emory, I’m going to have to insist that we go back to my car.” The officer was beside me now.

He was moving forward, and I felt him closing in. He was going to try to stop me. At the same time, his hand lifted for his radio. Then I rounded the corner.

There he was.

There was no car. Instead, he wore a leather jacket, and he was waiting on a motorcycle. The kickstand was out, his bike resting on it. His face was hidden underneath a helmet, but it was him.

I started for him, not thinking anymore. I was done thinking.

“Miss Emory,” the cop started again.

I went to Kian. As I walked toward him, I felt it in me. I didn’t know when it happened. I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but he was there. A helmet was in his hand and I knew it was for me. I reached for it, starting to pull it on. He stopped me. His hand fell onto mine, and he turned my face up to his. He stared at my eyes and after a moment, a soft grin tugged the corner of his lips up. A look of pride filled his gaze, and it swelled in me too. I really was done hiding.

His hand fell from mine and as I pulled on the helmet, the cop sighed. “We’re supposed to keep you safe all day today. We’ll follow you then?”

I swung my leg up and climbed behind Kian. My arms wrapped around him.

He spoke for me, “We’ll be at my hotel.”

I stopped listening. He told the cop where we would be. They would come. They’d do their job, be around me so the public couldn’t hurt me. They did it before, and they’d do it again. Until things settled down, they would continue doing so, but I wasn’t considering them anymore. After the interview, saying my side, and having Kian waiting for me, everything would be okay.

It had to be.

He had come for me, and when I went to him, I knew right then and there… I was in love with Kian Maston.

If someone told me three years ago, as I was covered in blood and sitting in the back of an ambulance while watching Edmund’s covered body being wheeled past me on a gurney, that I would be riding on the back of a motorcycle with Kian Maston, I would’ve laughed my ass off. From the hysteria, the absolute perplexity of it, that both of us would be infamous, that we’d be hiding under black motorcycle helmets, and that I would’ve just realized I was in love with him—I would’ve laughed, cried, and punched whoever told me that.

But here I was.

Kian’s hand would cover mine whenever we stopped at a stoplight, waiting at an intersection. It was completely ludicrous, what we were both doing, but I didn’t care. If we were together, the media would never stop. If we went our separate ways, maybe we would have a chance for a normal life, but I couldn’t walk away from him. That was all I knew. It’d been this way for a while, ever since he came back into my life. I hadn’t been able to stay away, much less walk away.

We went back to his hotel. I was tense going in, but no one was there.

Seeing my look, Kian chuckled. He still held my hand, and he tugged me farther inside. “When I saw the interview, I asked everyone to leave. They went to their own rooms for the night.”

“The whole night?”

He nodded. A shadow fell over his face. He asked almost tenderly, “Is that okay?”

I couldn’t talk. My throat closed up, but I moved my head up and down. It was more than okay.

Feeling his gaze on me, I felt shy for some reason. My cheeks warmed, and I glanced to the floor, fingering the bottom of my shirt and tugging it down. This was ridiculous. We had sex. I just went on national television and bared my soul, but now, after realizing I was in love with him…

I eyed the floor beneath my feet. Could it swallow me up? Was it too ludicrous for me to wish for that?

“Jordan?” Kian moved closer, his voice dipping low.

I mustered up a smile, looking up. God, he was gorgeous.

His eyes were intense and focused on me. His lips were pressed together. I remembered how they’d felt and tasted before, how his hands had caressed me and trailed over my body, how his body had felt on top of mine. Every little caress, ministration, kiss, tender touch from him—I was remembering all of it in one overwhelming moment. Had I loved him this whole time? Had I not known it?

“I did that interview today.”

“I saw.” His finger touched beside my eye. It was the slightest of touches. “You took your contacts out.”

“I needed to be all of me. I felt it was the right thing to do.” Even more emotion swept up and lodged in my throat. “I didn’t do it just for me. I did it for you, too.”

His voice dipped even lower, so soft. “How so?”

“People think I seduced you. That’s always bothered me. It wasn’t just that they blamed me. It was that they were putting the wrong spin on it. You didn’t go in my house because you were mindless or brainwashed, like you were under my spell or something. That’s beneath what you did. You went in and saved me. That was it. There was nothing else to it.”

“Jordan.” His hand lifted back to me, but he held it still.

I sucked in my breath, knowing he was going to touch me. I was ready for it. I almost closed my eyes, waiting to relish the feel of his hand on me again, but he pulled back at the last second. I looked up to find him staring at me with a wondering look on his face.

“What?” Had I said something wrong?

His head gave the slightest shake, but he still moved back another step. “Nothing. I…my parents hate what I did. My sister, too. Justin raped her, but when she heard what I did and the real reason behind it, she was angry. How could I save you and not her? She’s been resentful ever since, but just now, hearing you…thank you.”

“What for?” My lips parted from confusion.

“I’m not the hero.”

“You saved me.”

His head clipped from side to side. He didn’t move, but I felt him retreating even further. “I’m the bad guy. Don’t you get it?”

“What kind of bad guy saves people?”

“The kind like me. I didn’t do it out of the goodness in my heart.” A stricken look passed in his eyes. “I didn’t give a shit about anyone until you came to school. I didn’t care about any girl, any friend, or even my own family members.

“People hurt people. That was my motto. Everyone and anyone deserved what was coming to them, but you came to school, and all of that went away for me. You were good. You are good. It would’ve been the worst goddamn thing to happen. You matter. Your life. Your soul. Your heart. Everything about you matters: the breath you breathe, the tears you cry, the smiles you give, the sound of your laughter, how your mind thinks, the values you hold dear.” He was fierce. “They don’t matter, Justin and Edmund. You gave. They took. They hurt. You heal. You are worth both of them, a thousand times over. You, Jordan. You are worthier than anyone I know, including me. You are pure. You don’t use people. You don’t have hidden agendas. You don’t misuse your friendships. That’s all I saw while growing up, until you. What you say, you mean. There is nothing hidden with you. You are good.”

I frowned, gazing up at him.

“Edmund was evil, but I’m still a bad guy. I just hurt someone who was worse than me. That’s all I did that day. I can’t let you turn me into some hero that I’m not.”

“Stop.” My head was buzzing. “So what if you’ve done bad things? So what if you were a shitty person at some point in your life? That doesn’t define you. You did a good thing. Saving my life, that was good. Don’t twist that. Please.” My chest was aching. “If you say that wasn’t a good thing, then what am I? If you cheapen what you did, you cheapen me. Don’t you see that?”

His mouth opened, but no sound came out. His eyebrows furrowed together.

I was good.

Saving me was good.

Therefore, that made him good.

It was so simple in my mind. I didn’t want that taken away from him or me.

I choked out, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about the interview. It happened so fast. I just wanted a chance at a normal life.”

“My publicist told me.” Some of the intensity lessened a bit, and he gave me a rueful grin, raking his hand through his hair. “She thought you were going to throw me under the bus.”

“What?” I started to shake my head. Never.

He nodded, stopping me. “I know, and it was a good move. You needed your message to be out there. I get it. But when they find out that we’re together…” he started, holding off.

My stomach churned. I knew what he was saying. “I’ve worried about the same thing.”

“What then?”

“What we are isn’t—” But I was wrong. It was their business. I’d just gone on national television and projected how it was. We were no longer just the two of us. “Maybe we could—”

“You told your story,” he said.

I held his gaze, frowning slightly.

He added, inclining his head toward me, “Maybe we could tell our story now?” He gestured from me to him. “That is, if we have one?”

My tongue was heavy, lying on the bottom of my mouth. Oh, yes, we had a story. It was one that I couldn’t quit reading, no matter how hard I tried.

“Tell people that we’re—” I stopped.

This was it. This was the talk.

My cheeks were hot now, but I had to say it, “That we’re together?” I wanted to avert my eyes, but I didn’t. I held fast and watched him back.

He nodded, his rueful grin slipping to something intimate, one that started an excited flutter in my stomach. “We are, if you want us to be?”

“I do,” I blurted out.

“Good.” His shoulders lifted, as if a weight had disappeared. “I want that, too.”

“You do?”

He moved toward me, and his hand touched the side of my face. He tilted my head back, his eyes so tender. “Being with you last night was the best night I had ever had.”

“Really?”

He leaned down, so his forehead was resting on mine. He gently moved his head up and down, rocking me with him. “Yes. And it meant more than you could ever imagine.” His hand dropped and rested over my heart. “I don’t know when it happened, but I fell for you.”

My heart clenched.

He said, “I was angry that day because Justin wanted you back, but I wanted a chance with you. I didn’t want him to take it from me. I saw Edmund hurting you then, and I blacked out.”

I reached up and grabbed his hand, my fingers curling around it. “You testified in court—”

“I know.” His forehead was heavily resting on mine. “I told the court exactly what happened. I saw you, went in there, and all I thought about was saving your life. That’s what I said, and to an extent, that’s what I remember. I didn’t testify that I wanted to kill him. When I kicked open the door and saw his knife on your throat, I knew I would use it against him.” His eyes held mine. “He was going to take your life, so I took his instead. I’m still a murderer. You can’t pretty that up.”

I shook my head, my hands cupping his face, and I raised my lips to his. “Shut up.” I touched his mouth, and I closed my eyes. I was going to show him how good of a person he was.

As he slid inside me for the second time that night, my hips moved down on him, and I held still. I saw the lust darkening his eyes before his gaze skimmed down my body, lingering on my breasts. His hands went to my hips, and I began to move, up and down. I started the pace, and I kept it.

This was what I wanted. How fast, how hard, how deep—it was all me.

Kian moved with me, sitting up to kiss my shoulder and trailing his mouth up to my throat. His other hand left my hip to cup the back of my head. He tipped my head down, and his lips were there. He was waiting for me.

His mouth moved over mine as I kept rolling my hips forward, backward, and forward again. My mouth opened, and he slipped inside, sweeping around my tongue. He was starving for me. A rush went through me, hardening my nipples.

I would never get enough of him.

That night, both times and a third time later in the morning hours, that time was our sanctuary. We created our own universe, and no one could intrude.

When I awoke again, I lay still. The early morning was creeping toward us from underneath the curtains. I glanced at the clock and saw it was around six.

Thud!

Hearing that, I sat up. My heart pounded a little bit harder, and I frowned, hearing a second thud. That was what had woken me up. Someone was inside Kian’s suite.

Slipping out of his arms, I grabbed one of the robes. I pulled it on, but a flash caught my eye from the nightstand. His phone had a message. I touched the screen just to see if it was someone important. If it were, I’d wake him up, but I couldn’t see whom it was from, so I left it alone. It wasn’t my business.

Hearing a third thud, I turned toward whomever or whatever it was and snuck from the bedroom. The intruder was trying to be quiet. A feminine curse sounded next.

I was forcing myself to keep calm. Kian had an entire team of lawyers and publicists. It could be any of them, and a voice in the back of my mind told me to wake him up, let him deal with this person. My feet weren’t listening. They kept moving across the plush carpet, barefoot and padding silently down the hallway. I approached until I was against the wall that separated myself from the kitchen, where the person was.

I held back for a second.

“Shit. Mother of—” She hushed herself, groaning out loud. “Seriously, the least he could do is have a good rose or even a merlot.”

My eyebrows pinched together. She was looking for alcohol?

“Fuck it.” She kept grumbling, “I’m ordering. Thank you, little brother, for your American Express.”

My eyes got big. I sucked in my breath. This was Felicia Maston.

Memories from her during the trial flashed through my mind. She was gorgeous. I remembered that from Fosston. Two years older than Kian, she looked similar with sleek dark hair. Her eyes were blue, and she had modeled briefly. She suddenly stopped modeling one day, but after hearing Kian’s explanation about Justin, I wondered if my ex had been the reason for her career’s demise. Had he broken her?

Realizing that I was about to come face-to-face with Kian’s sister, a whole slew of nerves broke out. I almost felt like throwing up, but it was what it was. If Kian and I were going to be together, I shouldn’t be scared of talking to his family member.

She was ordering mimosas to be delivered to her bedroom, which wasn’t in Kian’s suite. It was a few doors down. She sounded so chipper until she hung up the phone. Another curt curse left her lips before she swung around the counter, and there I was. My hand was flattened against the wall. It was obvious that I had been eavesdropping with my head folded down. My teeth sank into my lip.

“Oh!” She reared back, her hand flattening against her chest. “Shit. I didn’t expect a chick to be here. My brother doesn’t usually let them sleep over…” Her voice faded, and she tilted her head to the side, getting a better look at me. “Wait a minute.”

I geared myself. It was coming…

Her eyes lit up in recognition, and her head lifted backward. “Holy shit. You’re…” Her mouth fell open. “He’s actually boning you now? I can’t—” She shook her head before laughter peeled from her. “Oh my God.” Her shoulders started to shake with more laughter.

Apparently, I was funny, just from being here. “How did you get in here?”

She kept laughing. “I’m a Maston, honey. I can go anywhere I want just because of whose blood is in me. It’s the same with Kian. He can go anywhere, do anything…do anyone.”

The nerves were leaving me. Irritation was taking their place.

She held up a hand and wiped at the corner of her eye with the other one. “I can’t get over this. I mean, it’s you.” Her hand gestured to me, up and down. “I…just…whoa.” The amusement was lessening, but she wiped at her eye once more. “My parents are going to flip.”

My teeth ground against each other. Kian’s sister was a bitch. I forced myself to be nice. I had to try. “It’s nice to formally meet you.” I didn’t hold my hand out.

Her eyes flicked down, but she didn’t hold hers out either. “Yeah. You, too. I guess.”

“Guess?” A hard edge slipped out from me.

Her eyes shot to mine now. Oh, yes. She heard that from me.

She swallowed and nodded. “Let’s just cut the bullshit between us. I’m not trying to be hurtful here, but you’re a joke.”

Forced laughter spewed from me this time. “Really?”

“I’m not saying that to be a bitch, even though I know I can be.” Her eyes rolled upward, searching. “Like, eighty percent of the time, I’m an ungrateful and self-righteous pain in the ass. I’m spoiled. My parents pay for everything for me. I’m having an affair with a married guy, and I’m a closet alcoholic.”

“Closet?”

She lifted a shoulder, her head bobbing up and down. “I’ll give that to you. I’m pretty in-your-face about being an alcoholic, but I’m not any of those things right now. I’m being a good person when I say that you’re a joke.”

A hard boil began deep inside me.

Her hand flattened against her chest. “I’m to blame for most of this. Did Kian tell you about Justin?”

My neck was stiff, but my head clipped forward a little bit.

“Kian felt horrible about what happened to me. He wanted to rip Justin’s head off his shoulders. I wanted that, too. Our dad forbade it. It would’ve messed up a multimillion-dollar deal, and I hadn’t helped the matter at all. I cried to Kian every night for so long. I pleaded with him to go and kill Justin. I wasn’t thinking about Kian or about our dad. I was being selfish. I hurt, so I wanted everyone to hurt.”

My eyes glanced back to the floor. I murmured, “That is understandable. Justin raped you.”

“Yeah.” Her tone was wry. “Our family didn’t see it that way. I’m telling you this to help you understand Kian’s head. He saved you that day from Justin, but it was really me he was saving. All the aggression he had toward Justin came out on your foster father. I’m to blame for most of this shit. Me.” She mused to herself, “I almost wonder if it would’ve happened to any girl, and if you were just the lucky one?”

I lifted my head, feeling dislike and loathing for this person standing in front of me.

“You don’t use people. You don’t have hidden agendas. You don’t misuse your friendships.” I heard Kian’s voice again.

His sister was hateful. That was what was going on here. She was angry. She wanted to hurt him by hurting me. I wasn’t just some girl.

“That’s all I saw while growing up—until you. What you say, you mean. There is nothing hidden with you.”

I murmured, “You’re wrong.”

She stopped. “Oh, honey.” A genuine laugh barked from her.

That word again. It was condescending.

She added, “I’ll admit that I came here to be a pain in my brother’s ass. I saw your interview, and I had to come and congratulate him. Me being nice to him is how I piss him off. If he’s talked about me, I’m sure he’s told you that the two of us don’t get along, at all actually. He kicked me out of the hotel a couple of weeks ago. Well…” She paused, grinning to herself. “He kicked me out of the city, but he did the impossible, or I thought it was the impossible. I had to come and give him his dues.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The interview, how you went on TV and proclaimed to everyone how much of a hero he was. A job well done for Kian. He got you to do the interview, right?”

I shook my head. “I spoke the truth. That’s all I did.”

“Oh…” She was so damn sympathetic.

It was making me want to rip the hair out of her head.

Her entire demeanor changed. Her eyes were haughty. “He’s not said anything about the family business to you?” Her voice dropped to a quiet murmur, like she regretted to break the news to me. “The business, the same business that my father wouldn’t risk endangering when Justin raped me, is the same for Kian. My dad was furious when Kian killed that guy. My mom and I knew why he did it, but our dad didn’t. He kicked Kian out of the family—‘unofficially.’” She lifted her fingers to make air quotes.

“It’s been that way since Kian went to prison. Dad had such high hopes for him, and my brother flushed those hopes down the toilet, but time’s passed. Kian’s realized what a mistake he made, and since he got out of prison, he’s been trying to find a way back in. He’s still out of the family, though.”

Her eyes rolled to the ceiling. “Unofficially. What a joke, huh?” She winced. “Sorry about that word. I suppose that’s harsh. You’re not the joke. My brother is the joke. My brother was told that he had to change the investors’ minds about him. If he didn’t, no billion-dollar job for him.”

“What are you talking about?” My hands curled inside the robe’s sleeves. I tugged down on them as hard as I could. I hated hearing anything she was saying, but I had to wait. I wanted to hear everything before I clawed back at her.

“No convict is going to be the CEO of the Maston Empire.” Her lip curled up. “Could you imagine that? What would that do for the stocks? My dad’s company would crash the stock exchange all on its own if Kian took his place at the head of it, but that’s what he’s been angling for since he got out of prison.”

I didn’t believe her.

“But,” Felicia gave me a bright smile that looked hideous, “that’s all over now. The public loved Kian before, but the investors didn’t. All that’s changed now. I mean, he got you to go on national television and proclaim that all he did was save a girl. Is that how you put it? Damn. With an endorsement like yours, you just handed Kian the family jewels again.