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I don’t know why finding her now is suddenly so important, but it is. There was something about her demeanor that put me on alert in a way I haven’t been in a long time. And I learned long ago to trust my gut. Listen to my senses.
Which is what leads me to the annex of elevators and a very frosty Katherine staring down the blond-haired man who bid against us. He radiates scorned lover. Lover Boy is trying his damnedest to stare down his nose at her, but in those heels, she’s the same height he is.
As we approach, she starts to turn away from him, her finger reaching for the elevator buttons, but he grabs ahold of her arm, spinning her back toward him.
My muscles tighten, and I lengthen my stride.
“Take your hand off me, Tyler.”
“Your mother is not going to be happy you made such a spectacle of yourself.” He speaks with an English accent.
Her lips screw tight like she’s about to unleash her fury on him. But then they flatten, and her chin lifts a fraction of an inch.
I’m familiar with that move.
Cool disdain.
“All I did was stand there,” she points out.
Why is her logic-bomb so fucking hot?
I stop next to them, my hands itching to grab the guy by the back of his neck and shake him.
He must see me out of the corner of his eye because he turns his hazel glare to me and then to Gabe. I stare pointedly at his hand, where he’s still gripping her so tight there will undoubtedly be an impression of his thumb on her skin.
He makes a sound somewhere between a snort and a scoff. “Why am I not surprised?”
“You’re the only one who can answer that,” Gabe says.
“The lady told you to remove your hand.” Normally, I don’t even have to make the threats. My look says it all. But this guy apparently has the self-preservation skills of a mosquito. I glare at his hand. “I suggest you do so before I remove it from your arm.”
There’s a momentary pause and he looks like he wants to object. But he drops his hand and returns his attention to Katherine.
“So what was it?”
She looks like she’s just about had enough of him and of his verbal abuse. I pride myself on knowing everybody who’s anybody in the Upper East Side. It’s my job to pay attention. To know who’s a threat and who isn’t. Which is why it’s strange that this man is not on my radar. Because he and Katherine obviously know each other. And while I know Katherine and her family, he’s an unknown. And in my line of work, unknowns are dangerous.
“What was what?” she asks.
“Wasn’t rich enough for you? Not enough of a bad boy?”
I start to show him just how bad I can be when Katherine turns and jabs the down button. How does she manage to look vicious and elegant at the same time?
“It was never about your money, Tyler.”
“So you’re fucking them, then.”
The elevator doors open, revealing an empty car, polished brass panels and soft overhead lighting.
His crass words hang in the air.
Katherine’s eyes flash at the shorter man and then, chin still held high, she steps onto the elevator. After selecting her floor, she cuts him to pieces with an icy glare.
Fuck.
There’s something about this woman. Maybe it’s breeding or perhaps years of tutelage, but whatever it is, a single look from her can make a man’s balls crawl up inside him and wither.
“Not yet,” she quips just as the doors close.
