Page 151 of A Story of Love

Lori frowned. “Wait. You went back? And what do you mean by that time?”

**

Fast eyed the love of his life with no small amount of concern, not quite sure how she would take this next part.

“I want you to promise me something, Lorelei.”

“What?” she asked, suspicion glittering in her eyes.

“Promise me you won’t be angry at me.”

“How can I possibly promise that?”

“Just say it.”

She gave him a look of profound feminine exasperation. “Fine. I won’t be angry.”

“The first time I went to Parker was the same day I returned to London from the house party.”

“You what?”

“Don’t get angry,” he reminded her.

“What did you do, Fast?”

“I told him you wouldn’t be working for him anymore and—”

“You what?”

“You’ve already said that, sweetheart.”

She glared.

Fast resumed his story. “I told him how he’d put your life at risk. I demanded to know what hold he had over you”—he winced at her shriek but went on— “when he refused to be cooperative, I had to… persuade him.”

She stood and would have walked away if he hadn’t caught her arm and yanked her back onto his knee. “You aren’t allowed to leave,” he told her sternly, hoping to cow her into submission with his lordly frown.

It didn’t work.

“Just what did you do?” she demanded, thoroughly uncowed.

Why lie? “I beat him until he confessed.”

“You beat him?” she shouted, and then, “Wait. Until he confessed to what?”

“That he had passed Briarly off to publishers as his own book.”

“What?”

He flinched and hissed through clenched teeth, “Sweetheart, you are three inches from my ear.”

“Who—how—” This time when Lorelei jumped up off his lap, Fast let her go.

She paced back and forth across the small room. “I’m too angry to speak right now,” she said, “You go on.”

“Parker sold your book to Anthony Hayes over at Hayes and Sons. Once got that information out of him I went over and, er, convinced Hayes that it was in his best interest to give me back the manuscript.”

Her lips parted and her eyes went wide. “How did you do that?”