London Bound: New Adult Romance (Chase Brothers) (36 page)

Everyone in the room froze. Natasha stood with her mouth agape. Reginald’s face was a mask of contorted fury, and out of the corner of her eye, Abbie could see Alexi’s stricken face as he stilled in the doorway.

No. No no no no no.
She tried to swallow. Tried desperately to breathe, but even her lungs were frozen. It was only when the room started to spin that she managed to drag in a breath.

It wasn’t true. She’d just gotten caught up in some family dynamics that were frankly none of her business. The man Reginald was talking about, that wasn’t Alexi. Except when she finally had the faculty to move her head and glance in his direction, he stared at her, a mask of horror and guilt stamped on his face.

Oh no
. There had to be an explanation. It couldn’t be. “Alexi, is this true?”

He shook his head, his eyes wide with horror and grief. “Abbie, I need you to listen to me for a minute.”

She could see the truth in his eyes. But she didn’t want to believe it. She needed the words. “Is it true?”

“Yes, but—”

She shook her head. “No. You’ve been keeping this from me.”

“I tried to tell you then…I couldn’t find the right time…” His voice trailed.

“No. When you have something important to tell someone, you just do. You don’t lie to someone you care about.”

“Abbie—” He reached for her.

“Alexi, don’t.” She shook her head trying to think. “I-I need to go.”

With her shoulders back and her head held high, she strode out of the living room into the foyer. She took her coat from the hall closet.

As she slid it on, Alexi tried to hold her coat for her. “Let me help you.”

She deliberately stepped out of his reach. “No, thank you. I have it.” She didn’t meet his gaze.

He ran his hands through his hair. “Abbie, don’t do this. I can explain.”

“Do what? Refuse to be lied to? You swore to me there was nothing else to tell me. And though I find it impossible to think you could ever hurt anyone, clearly you’re still hiding something. I’m not dealing with secrets or lies anymore, Alexi.”

He reached for her hand. “Look, I’m coming with you. Just give me a minute. We can talk.”

She tilted her head up to meet his gaze. “Alexi, I need you to tell me. We already covered this. No more secrets. No more lies. What is it you’re hiding?”

His hands shook and he shoved them into his pockets “Abbie, I’m sorry, I can’t. I—”

She held up a hand even as she felt her heart tearing into pieces. There wasn’t anything he could say that she wanted to hear. She tipped her chin up and leveled a stare at him. “I’m leaving.”

* * *

After watching the woman he loved walk out of his life, Lex stalked back into the living room and rounded on his father. “Are you fucking happy now? She’s gone. She won’t ever be coming back. Thanks to you, I blew it.”

His father glowered at him. “Don’t you mean thanks to you? You’re the one who shoved that nonce off the top of the stairs. You’re the one who let Xander take the blame. And you’re the one who didn’t tell your little girlfriend.”

Even as he balled his fists to strike the old man, his mother shouted from behind him, “That is enough. Reginald! You might be angry with Lex, but you had no right. He’s your son. Don’t you think he deserves some kind of happiness?”

His father’s face turned first red, then purple. “My son? My fucking son? No son of mine would have sold a company that’s rightfully mine out from under me. No son of mine would wait and let me find out by reading the fucking Times!”

Lex had had enough. “You forget, Old Man, that you were the one who pushed me into a corner. You’ve been threatening to cut off my trust fund ever since Uni. I had to make another way for myself. And I did. I don’t need you or the fucking money.”

“Stop being a spoiled brat, Alexi. Do you know how this makes me look in the industry? A multimillion dollar deal like that, and it happened under my nose. You signed a non-compete like every other employee.”

Lex chuckled mirthlessly. “What? You think that’s not the first thing I thought of? I’m not a fool. Take Back the Night is in no way related to any of the software you build at CET. And I had my lawyer look over my non-compete specifically. It stated that I would not enter or engage in any business that is in direct conflict with the Chase technologies umbrella. CET has no lifestyle products, direct apps, or games in any way related to the entertainment space or sector. And also in my non-compete, it states that any and all documents or code authored by me is property of CET. Well, you’ll be happy to know I didn’t write a stitch of that code. Oh, I meticulously reviewed it, and it’s my brainchild, but I didn’t write it.”

His father vibrated with anger. “You’re a slippery git aren’t you?”

“Well this git just earned his freedom.”

Reginald stepped into his space, and for the first time, Lex realized he’d edged out his father in height by an inch.

“You think this is over? You’re still not touching that trust fund.”

Lex merely shrugged. “The good news is, I don’t need it. I can actually work for myself doing something I love. And be paid handsomely. In case you hadn’t heard, I’m rich. Not as rich as I would be, but honestly, I don’t need much.” He glanced at his mother who’d gone pale. “Besides, you can’t keep it from me forever. I have plans for that money. There’s a youth center in Brixton that would be happy to have the funds.”

In that moment, as his father glared at him, Lex saw how much the old man despised him.

“I knew I should have sent you off to school with your brother. I was a fool then to listen to your mother. After all, she was the reason there was a scandal to begin with.”

His mother’s gasp of shock made Lex contemplate beating the older man to a bloody pulp again. Grief tore through him as he said, “You leave her out of this. Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage today without going after Mum too? Why can’t you just care about our happiness? I love Abbie, and you did your level best to run her off.” The admission tore through his chest and left him bereft. For several seconds, he wasn’t sure he could breathe.

His father raised an eyebrow. “I’m talking about how your little deal has crippled my reputation, and you’re talking about a girl?” He scowled. “I should have seen then what I see now. You’re not worth it.”

Lex glared at his father’s retreating back as his mother sobbed quietly behind him. When he turned to face her, he tried to soften his voice. “Mum, are you okay?”

His mother’s hands shook as she placed them over her heart. “Lex, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know he would be home or how angry he’d be. I would have warned you.”

“How could you know? I knew he’d be pissed about the sale, but I never thought he’d say those things. Dredge up the past like that. I mean you should have seen the look on her face.” He shoved a hand in his hair. Fear chased the disbelief. Then the dread settled in around him. Abbie was really gone. His heart squeezed. In the back of his mind he’d known this would happen when she found out. But he’d dared hope. After the dread came the panic. He wouldn’t ever get to hold her again.

His mother’s hands trembled as she reached for him. “Lex. Maybe we can fix this. Maybe if you told her what happened that night.”

He shook his head with enough force to bring his hair onto his brow. “No. I lied to her. She has no reason to ever believe anything I say. I’ve fucking lost her.” The hollow thud of his pulse drummed between his ears as his knees wobbled. He’d really lost her.

“This is all my fault.” His mother paled and braced herself on the arm of the couch before she sank into it. “I was so selfish I couldn’t see the devil and protect my own children. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret not protecting you enough. I wish I’d been the one to do it. I dream about it every day. I wish I could resurrect him just so I could have a mother’s pleasure of tearing his wretched flesh from his bones. I would kill to protect you.” Tears rolled down her face. “I would die to protect you.”

Lex winced. He didn’t need her reliving her guilt about what that asshole had tried doing to him and his brother. “No, Mum. This isn’t your fault. I should have found a way to tell Abbie. I know she has trust issues. Dad’s right. I’m the one who blew it.”

His mother’s dark brown eyes shimmered with tears. “You really do love her, don’t you?”

“Yes. I do.” But that didn’t matter now.

Chapter 38

Abbie rolled her shoulders as she trudged up the stairs to her flat. Through the door, she could hear Sophie and Tamsin laughing about something. She briefly considered going out somewhere so she wouldn’t have to explain, but she was exhausted and just wanted her bed.

Her hands shook as she thought of Alexi and what his father had said. She couldn’t believe that he’d deliberately killed someone. He might be keeping things from her, but he wasn’t a killer. She knew him well enough to know that. So what the fuck was going on? What had happened?

When she opened the door, Tamsin gave her a cheery smile. “So how did it go with mummy? Does she love you as we all do?”

Abbie’s glance skipped over her friend’s sunny wholesome smile and landed on Sophie’s concerned one. Mimicking Tamsin’s accent, she said, “Mummy was lovely, but Daddy was a pill and sent me packing. He aired all the family’s dirty laundry. And said some horrible things about Alexi.”

Sophie’s face fell. “Abena, I’m so sorry. From what I’ve heard, his father is awful.”

“That he is.”

Tamsin looked back and forth between them. “So what did the old geezer say exactly?”

Abbie didn’t know how much to share. He might have lied to her, but his business was still his business. She didn’t want to be the one to put him and his family in the crosshairs again. “Turns out, Lex is still lying. Protecting some family scandal.”

Sophie’s eyes went wide. “A scandal? Honey, that’s what Google was invented for.”

Abbie winced. “I dunno. That feels somehow icky. I—”

Sophie handed her the laptop. “Look, you guys have been through enough. You can either get to the bottom of it, or you can let him go. Sooner or later, you have to make a choice. You’ve been looking for a reason to run from him. Any reason. And while lying is a legit reason to not be with someone, you haven’t exactly been all in. You’ve been waiting for him to disappoint you like Evan did. And he’s a different guy.”

Tamsin shrugged. “I’m shocked to say it, but Sophie speaks sense.”

Sophie swatted her with a pillow. “Shit, I hate that he makes you hurt, but maybe he hasn’t told you everything because he knows you’ll run.”

Abbie shook her head. “No, that’s bullshit. He could tell me anything. I wouldn’t judge him.”

Sophie wrapped an arm around her. “But how is he supposed to know that? You’ve run from this thing the moment there was trouble.”

“I’m not running. I’m just…thinking.”

Tamsin tapped the laptop. “Well, think fast. Because you seem happy with him. The faster you guys work out your issues, the sooner you get to the making up portion of the fight. And I want a play by play.”

Sophie laughed, and Abbie turned on the laptop. Alexi wasn’t Evan. She knew that. Alexi had always taken care of her. Treated her like she was special. Taken his time with her. The girls were right. If she wanted him, she needed to trust him. Which meant finding out what he was trying so hard to keep buried. But she wasn’t going to dig it up. She didn’t want some bullshit spun story on the Internet. She wanted him to tell her. She wanted him to trust her. But what would she do if he wouldn’t? Could she walk away from him?

Chapter 39

Lex turned off the video of the interview he’d done with BBC One that would air tomorrow. In less than twenty-four hours, he’d be a multi-millionaire. All on his own, without a dime of his father’s money. And he’d have no one to share it with. Not that Nick hadn’t already called to gloat over how good they looked on television. But the person he wanted to share it with was Abbie. But he’d ruined that. She wasn’t coming back.

With the ringing of his doorbell, he checked the time. Ten thirty. It was far too late for a delivery. He’d just talked to Nick, so maybe it was Gemma needing someplace to crash. When he opened the door, his heart seized. Abbie stood on the threshold, sopping wet under her leaking umbrella.

Automatically, he held out a hand and helped her onto the barge. “Abbie, what—”

She put up her hands. “Wait, before you say anything. I have to say I’m sorry. I ran. I couldn’t take the secrets, and I ran. I have no idea how to trust anymore.” Her tears mingled with the rain drops and streaked down her face. “I’m so sorry. I should have just stayed and listened, but I was scared that I was stepping back into an old pattern of lies. I—I shouldn’t have run. I always run. I don’t want to run anymore.”

Lex watched her expressive face as she cried, and explained, and babbled. Her eyes widened, and she nervously licked at her lips with the tip of her tongue. She rubbed at her temples like she always did when she was having a full scale meltdown, and he loved her.

She’d
chased
him
down. She’d recognized the pattern and she’d broken it all on her own. She’d come back to him. Without thought, he pulled her into his body and kissed her, cutting off her stream of consciousness. With her still-dripping umbrella and her soaked-through coat, and with rain dripping off the ends of her braids, he kissed her with all the pent up frustration and shame and love he had. He loved her. More than he deserved to, more than he dared to, but he loved her.