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STELLA:
Of course. Try to sleep. We love you. xxx
NAT:
Love you xxx
ME:
Love you guys too xxx I’ll call you tomorrow.
I swipe at my eyes as the screen blurs. No more tears, not tonight anyway. I can’t think, let alone speak to anyone. I drag the faux fur throw off the back of the sofa, wrapping myself in its comforting weight.
My phone lights up with an incoming call. Vince’s name appears. I send him straight to voicemail. It rings again, so I do the same. He’s the last person I want to speak to this evening. A baby? Of all the things he could have done or said, nothing could cut me deeper. After six attempts, he finally gives up. I switch off my phone and drop my head back against the sofa cushion.
Tomorrow is a new day.
I have appointments to look at some apartments. I have my friends, my health, and my job. I’m not a trader, but Gabriel pays me well. I’m an independent woman. I’ve got this.
I close my eyes and try to ignore the painful tightness in my throat and vice-like grip around my lungs, unable to shake the feeling my world is caving in.
CHAPTER 8
GABRIEL
The burn starts as my arms cut through the water. I hit the end, twisting before pushing off to begin another lap. The water is tepid and refreshing. One other person joins me, but we ignore each other, lost in our own worlds. Few people are up and in the pool at five-thirty. The fifty-metre pool is one reason I chose this apartment building, that and my brother’s company built it.
Last night has left me drained. For all my love for my brother, he’s never understood the physical effect being around that number of people has on me. He thrives while I’m smothered.
My mind wanders back to Leah and the previous evening. I called Caleb as soon as I got in.
“All hell broke loose after you left,” he says. “Leah’s two friends came back in and gave Vince and his girlfriend a piece of their mind.”
I can understand her friends. I wanted to give Vince a piece of my mind, too.
“What happened?” I ask.
Caleb gives me a rundown on how Leah’s friends went nuclear on Vince’s ass.
“Then Tristan’s security threw them out.”
“Who?” I ask.
“All of them,” Caleb adds smugly. “But it’s okay. I got the girls readmitted before I left. Vince and his girlfriend have a lifetime ban.”
I grin. Karma can be a bitch, and my brother is a vindictive bastard when his friends are hurt.
I hit the side again, my fingers gripping the edge as I bring myself to a stop. My mind races over Leah’s predicament. I drop my head back and stare at the ceiling, watching the ripples of light as they bounce off the hard surface. My ears encased, the whooshing of the water calms my frayed nerves.
My feet hit the bottom of the pool and I place my palms on the side, hauling myself out of the water and onto my feet. My arm and shoulder muscles protest at the seventy-seven lengths of free-style I forced on them. As my trainer taught me many moons ago, I stretch them out, not wanting to limit my movements for the rest of the day.
I grab my towel and head for the showers. My mind racing with possibilities. I’m a fixer, and I think I have the perfect fix.
CHAPTER 9
LEAH
It’s ten before I drag myself out of bed. I switch on my phone and make the mistake of listening to Vince’s voicemails.
