Page 88 of The Billionaire Who Saved My Cat From The Mafia

I stop and spin around to face her.“Almost?Iamavoiding you, Harper.Because I have nothing more to say to you and you need to go.No one wants you here.”

Her grin disappears and her eyes narrow.“What did you just say to me?”

“You won’t be working for us.No one trusts you.Whatever you’re up to and whatever you want, you’re not getting it here, so it’s time to say ‘fair winds and following seas’ and get yourself on outta here.Is that clear enough for you?”

I’ve stunned her, but she regains her composure quickly and displays a sweet, innocent smile—a totally fake one that turns my stomach.Before I can start running again, she traces a finger down the center of my chest.

I recoil.

“I still love you, and if you were honest with yourself, you’d admit you still love me.”

I’m literally about to upchuck in my mouth.

I laugh and shake my head.“Negative.You never loved me.And though I convinced myself I loved you, I now realize it wasn’t love.Whatever it was, it’s long gone.”

“Please, please let me explain!I… I got scared and I freaked out, Special K.I couldn’t think straight.I’ve regretted it every second of every day since.”

“Right.Regretted it so much that I never heard from you until you wanted a job?”

She throws up her hands.“That’s just an excuse for me to be close to you—don’t you get it?When I saw Evander in London before Christmas, everything came bubbling to the surface.How much I regretted what happened.How I can’t live without you.”

I stare at her for a second, and then start applauding.“And the Academy Award for most nauseating comedy performance goes to Harper Dunn-Spence!”I laugh.“You’ve missed your calling, Captain.Good luck in your new private sector career in the thee-ah-tuh.”

She tosses her hair back.I was always a sucker for that move when we were together.I was a fool.“I get it,” she says.“I hurt you, so you’re hurting me in return.”

“No, I don’t think that you doget it.If you did, you’d already be gone.”

Her mask is slipping.Her smile morphs into a sneer.“You decided you never loved me, huh?And some other woman has come along to teach you what love is?”She laughs.“Whatever.Of course, you’re not still single.That was a miscalculation on my part.Look at you—maybe not the liveliest dinner party date but definitely the hottest.”

“We’re done.”I walk away.Unbelievably, she still follows, sticking to my side like a bloodsucking tick.I’ve been so focused on Harper that I hadn’t noticed what was happening off past the barn.

I turn and do a double-take, not sure what I’m seeing.

It looks like my sisters-in-law are riding four across, headed toward the paddock.I’ve never seen them riding together.Summer and Phoebe, sure, because they’re both lifelong horsewomen.But Victoria and Emma?Not so much.Andneverwith Summer and Phoebe.

Something about the set of their shoulders and their determined expressions reminds me of the opening scene of “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”In my head, I hear the iconic theme:“Oooh-eee-oooh-eee-oooh… DUM DUM DUM.”

I wonder what they’re up to…

They dismount, and Harper waves wildly at them.“Hello!You look like you’re having fun!”

“Yo,” Summer says in her don’t-fuck-with-me voice.

I arch an eyebrow at her.They meant it when they said they don’t trust Harper.It’s nice to know that my family supports me.Better than nice.I’m damn lucky to be a MacLaine.

With Harper distracted, it’s my opportunity to end the encounter.I run toward Cal’s, leaving Harper in the capable hands of the MacLaine women.

I’m the first in the conference room, followed quickly by my brothers.“Little brother calls an emergency meeting?”Declan plops down in a chair and puts his bare feet on the table.

“Get your Hobbit-assed feet off my twenty-thousand-dollar conference table,” Cal growls.

“Holy shit, those are ugly,” Finn complains.“How does Summer handle it?”

Evander looks horrified.“Have youneverhad a pedicure?”

“No, but I still have my balls, so…” Declan snorts at his own joke.

I sit down and immediately launch into it.“So, here’s your hypothetical mission objective: You need to disappear.And I mean disappear right the fuck now, from Yosemite Ranch.How would you do it?What steps would you take and in what order?Where would you go?”