“Fuck! Fine. Yes, it’s a boot print. Can I get dressed now, or do you enjoy making me feel like a piece of meat?”
Finally, Dax relents. His eyes rove over my body before settling on the towel twisted in my white-knuckled grip. “Go. We’ll be right here waiting.”
I don’t waste a second. Why the hell did Charlie let them come upstairs? Who am I kidding? Dax could charm the pants off a nun. Koko should have had my back at least. Damn.
I stumble and yank at my clothing, studiously ignoring my scarlet reflection in the mirror. My blush is body wide, and it’s hard to tell if it’s embarrassment or fury that paints my skin. I’m pissed at his highhandedness, but shame is the biggest emotion churning through my veins. No one should have seen those bruises. I faked the pain away for days. I hid them from everyone and yet it takes Dax Nagano only hours to see everything I’ve worked so hard to hide.
I choke on a bitter laugh. I’d hoped for compassion — a stupid hug — from that man last night. I imagined a world where he saw me as a person and not a piece of shit from the Vale. What a joke. After today, that man wouldn’t be able to see past the fact that I’m so unworthy—so low—I already have the stamp of a man’s boot onmy back. Just another arsehole’s doormat.
When I’m dressed, moth-eaten t-shirt and all, I inhale deeply, take the envelope out of my back pocket, grab my stuff and march back into the hallway with my chin up and shoulders back.
I dump my filthy clothes beside my bag and face Dax and Aiden, noting neither strayed far from Charlie’s oversized pink sofa.
“I assume Charlie let you come up?”
“Charlotte Loane married to Maleko Loane. Commonly they go by the names Charlie and Koko,” Aiden explains like a walking encyclopaedia of who’s who in the Vale.
“Maleko…Mal?” Dax’s voice raises a little in what sounds like alarm. Aiden nods, but his expression is closed. Dax makes a weirdhmmsound and continues his questioning. “And Charlie is the redhead downstairs?” Aiden nods. This time Dax smiles. “Yes. She said you needed to rest and to keep you up here as long as we need,” Dax informs me, his smile transforming into a smirk. Aiden shakes his head, but there’s a twitch of amusement at his mouth too.
“She’s probably got Koko listening at the door with his machete, so I wouldn’t be too damn cocky about it, but fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Dax holds his hand out, directing me to an armchair as if this is his house and we’re not all outstaying our welcome.
I rub the dry envelope between my thumb and forefinger, unsure of whether or not to hand it over. Is this the right time? The right company? “I know you trust Aiden, but I was told only to…um…I need to see you alone.” I shoot an apologetic glance at Aiden, who has been nothing but professional to me, and leave it for Dax to tell him to scoot.
“It’s okay. Aiden is the only person I can trust. We both know what we’ll find in that envelope. You can hand it over now,” Dax assures me, reaching out his hand.
Looking down at it, I’m surprised to see what had once been crisp and white, now bears dirty smears, creases, and fingerprints. Dirt and blood. I glance at it one last time before leaning acrossCharlie’s coffee table and giving it to Dax for a second time. This time, though, he opens the seal and pulls out the paper within. There’s a whisper of sound, like the confession of a sin, as a thin sheet of white paper slides out with what appears to be two long lists written upon it.
Dax’s face pales. He nods at Aiden. “I mean, I suspected…but seeing it…”
He scans it, his eyes flicking from left to right and then reads it again more slowly. He scowls. His lips pinch so tight that I’m certain it hurts. Whatever is in that envelope makes him unhappy.
“Have you read this?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No.”
“Did Tom tell you what was in here?”
“No.” I state my response in a calm clear voice, but something in the speed and urgency with which he asks the questions makes me curious about what is written there.
“Good. Very good.”
Aiden sucks in a hard breath and forces it out through his nose. The room fills with the hiss of his disappointment and frustration.
“The real question is, how did Tom get it?” he asks, staring over Dax’s head. “Why did he have it at Olive Tower and what were his plans for it? Your brother is the only one we can trust to answer those questions.”
Dax nods solemnly. “Then we better pray he wakes up.”
Their conversation is private, I know that, but I can’t stop myself from asking about the only other person there last night who might have the answers they’re looking for.
“What about Ben? He was there. He knows about the envelope; you saw how desperate he was to get it. Can’t you ask him?”
The two men snap their attention to me as though only just remembering I’m here.
It’s Dax who explains.
“We don’t know if he’s…uh…the problem. We can’t be sure he knows what this is, or that he’ll tell us the truth about who he was meeting. It’s a complicated situation, Jules, and one you don’t need to worry about. Thank you for protecting this. You have no idea of how much good you’ve done by keeping this hidden.”
