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In the letters he left for Colette and Ariana, he explained why he named her sole heir, about her being a closet author, and other reasons compelling enough to make her sisters extend an olive branch. But when it came to her, his only message was a warning about Roth. Why didn’t he tellherwhy he changed his mind and left his fortune to her? Did he really think there was nothing left to say between them? Why deprive her of a final goodbye that would give her the closure she needed? Questions that would never be answered cluttered her mind, but she banked them for the moment.
“Thank you, Thea. I don’t deserve you.”
There was a weak chuckle on the other end. “Your father compensated me well. You, even more so. I’ve always considered it a great honor to serve your family.”
She swiped at her eyes. “Get some rest. I’ll be in touch.”
Thea said goodbye on a broken whisper. She hung up and stared out over the runway as her mind raced with implications. She assumed the lawyers, a personal assistant, or some other automated service had sent the letters to her sisters, but Dad needed someone to monitor them to see if his prediction came to pass. Who better than a housekeeper who saw her every day? He anticipated her sisters’ reactions… and Roth’s. Her father planned as meticulously as the son-in-law he never accepted. Had he planned for multiple outcomes, or was he so sure of himself that he planned for just the one?
“Mrs. Roth?”
She turned and saw that Mo and Johan had given up on waiting and were standing a few feet away.
“Is something wrong?” Johan asked.
“No,” she said and hunched her shoulders against the strong wind.
As they followed her back to the jet, she felt their eyes on her, but they didn’t ask questions, for which she was grateful. She locked herself in the bathroom at the back of the jet and checked her reflection to make sure her mascara wasn’t running.
As with so many things nowadays, she didn’t know how to feel. Even though she was relieved that Thea was on the mend and insisted on staying by her side, she worried that Thea’s loyalty would put her in even more danger. There was so much she didn’t know. Her full attention had been on Roth and the evil deeds he was trying to keep buried, but her talk with Thea swung her attention in the opposite direction. What other tasks had her father appointed to his housekeeper over the years? She had firsthand experience on how cold and callous her father could be, but that paled in comparison to what he did to Roth. He dismantled Roth’s companies and ground them into dust, so there was no chance to rebuild. She had no illusions about her father. He was no saint, but she also didn’t want to discover he was a monster too. Was blackmailing Roth the only illegal thing her father did, or was there another side to him she didn’t know about?
She ran her hand through her windblown hair and took in her pale cheeks and turbulent hazel eyes. Why was it that these two men she loved more than anyone else kept so much from her? Neither of them had been completely honest with her. The fact that Thea didn’t blame Roth indicated that she knew Maximus had crossed the line, and Roth was justified in his reaction. How was she supposed to take that?
When she walked back into the cabin, she wasn’t pleased to find Roth had arrived. She planned to take a seat as far from him as possible, but Sarai nabbed a two-seater at the front of the jet and piled the seat across from her with luggage. Jasmine had no choice but to take the seat across from Roth in the cluster of four in the back of the plane.
He was talking on the phone and writing something in one of those flip notebooks that old school reporters used to carry around. He didn’t look up as she sat, but tapped the pen as he listened to whoever was on the other end. Why was it that he was never the one talking? Wasn’t he the boss? Shouldn’t he be issuing orders? Why was it that he was always receiving information instead of giving it?
When his eyes flicked up, she shut her laptop and slipped it into her workbag as the plane began to move. Roth sat back-to-back with Sarai, who was on her phone and typing madly on her laptop as she spoke in Arabic. Mo and Johan sat across the aisle from Sarai. Mo was already nodding off while Johan sipped from a steaming cup. She switched her attention to the window and the other planes jockeying for position. As Roth finished his call, she tried to keep her expression serene, but knew she wasn’t pulling it off successfully. When she was in his proximity, the last thing she felt was peaceful.
She waited for him to say something and set the tone for the flight. Beneath the table, her hand balled into a fist. If he brought up their midnight fuck, she might take a swing at him. She felt the heavy weight of his stare, but he didn’t speak. That irked her. She wanted to release some of her pent-up frustration, and there was no one better to take it out on than the reason she was in this mess to begin with.
The plane left the runway. It seemed to take ages for them to climb and then level off. Even as she gathered herself to make the opening volley, Sarai left her seat and squatted beside Roth. He leaned toward his personal assistant so he could hear her, but his gaze was on Jasmine. She resolutely ignored him and took in Sarai’s black on black look—black skinny jeans, boots, a ribbed knit poncho, and an oversized scarf. How Sarai managed to make a poncho elegant, she would never know.
When Roth nodded, Sarai rose and focused on Jasmine, her concerned expression clearing to be replaced with warmth. “Did you get to see the castles today?”
“Yes.”
“The verdict?”
It galled her to say it with Roth listening, but she didn’t want to lie. “Phenomenal. Better than I imagined. It was inspiring.”
Sarai beamed. “Inspired you for book five?” She laughed when Jasmine glared. “You know I can’t help myself.”
“Actually, you can,” she said testily.
Sarai gave her a wan smile. “Yes, but I don’t want to. I wish I could have gone with you. Next time, I will.”
For the first time, she noticed Sarai’s eyes were glassy from lack of sleep. “What happened?”
“Too much.” Sarai sighed. “But it’s over. I’m going to put on my headphones and eye mask and call it a day. When we land in Bulgaria, you can tell me about your adventure.”
When Sarai turned away, she met Roth’s steady gaze. “What happened?”
“Complications.”
“What kind of complications?”
“It’s done now,” he said dismissively.
