“Tristan, what are you doing here?”

He sat down at the head of the table and grabbed my hand. “I came to see you. After everything you’ve been through, your father thought it’d be good for you to see a familiar face. Plus, he felt it’d be a great idea for you to go on a vacation. I have family in Ireland and told him I could take you there.”

I forced a smile. “Ireland? Wow, that’s really sweet of you, but I should probably be getting back to work. My producer is dying to get me back in the studio.”

The door to the room opened and the maid brought in another bottle of water and a glass of wine for Tristan. She set my bottle of water down in front of me and lifted the lid that covered my plate. “Bain sult as,” she said sweetly.

I stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

Tristan laughed. “She said enjoy. It’s Irish.”

Act normal. Picking up my fork, I stabbed a piece of broccoli and put it in my mouth. “I didn’t know you knew how to speak Irish.”

She lifted the lid over his food and retreated from the room. “I know how to speak seven different languages. It’ll come in handy when I take you overseas. There’s so much to see and do over there. You probably won’t want to come back.”

“It sounds amazing. Too bad I can’t stay over there forever,” I laughed. The more he talked about Ireland, the more I started to believe he was the one. For the entire time I’d known him, he’d never mentioned anything about Ireland, other than the times he spent there in college.

“Do you want to go for a walk after lunch?” he asked.

I finished my food and guzzled down the second bottle of water. “Sure, if we can. The men here don’t like to let me walk around freely. It’s like a prison. I guess they’re afraid I’m going to run away or something.”

“Why would you want to do that? This place is amazing.”

I shrugged, pretending to be baffled. “I don’t know. Maybe they think the media will try to get in somehow. You know how they like to follow me.”

“That’s probably it,” he agreed. “They’re just being protective of you.” What a load of bullshit. They were being protective all right, but it wasn’t for my safety. “Ready to go for a walk? I saw the gardens when I pulled in. I know how you like stuff like that.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

He pulled out my chair and opened the back set of doors that led down a long hallway. Gesturing for me to go first, he followed closely behind, putting his hand on my lower back.

“I hadn’t seen this part of the house. How do you know where to go?” I asked, gauging his reaction.

“Just a guess,” he said.

Did he really think I was that naïve? Obviously, he’d underestimated me. Once we got outside, I could breathe easier. I half expected one of his suited men to follow us around, but there was no one in sight.

“How are you holding up after the whole Nick thing? He took it pretty hard when you called it off.”

To avoid his stare, I bent down to smell one of the wild roses. “I know, but it was all pretend. I never wanted him to fall for me. We only did it to ward off the stalker.”

“Yeah, I know. Who do you think came up with the idea?”

Furrowing my brows, I glanced up at him. “He did, didn’t he?”

Tristan snorted. “Nah, I did. I was going to confront you about it and see if you wanted me to help you out. But . . . he did it first.”

“Oh wow, he never told me,” I replied, getting to my feet. Was that what Tristan wanted me to believe, or was it the truth? If the roles were switched, it made me wonder where I’d be now.

His gaze darkened. “Why would he, when he had you right where he wanted you?”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your idea?”

He shrugged. “Would you have chosen me instead? You almost kissed me that night. I remember it, even if you don’t.”

Back then, I was attracted to him and I probably would’ve picked him over Nick. Now, I was thankful Nick approached me first. “That was a long time ago, Tristan. And it’s not like the plan worked anyway. Dane still killed Scott and shot Nick. If it was you in his place, you could’ve been hurt.”

“I’m not like Nick, Hadley. No one would’ve gotten past me. I could’ve protected you.” His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, eyes narrowing when he focused on the screen. “I have to take this. Are you okay out here?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, waving my hands. “Go.”

Turning on his heel, he rushed inside and answered the call. It made me wonder who it was.

I stayed outside for another few minutes before retreating indoors. Everything was quiet. There were a few sounds coming from the kitchen when I walked past, but it was probably Ingrid. I strolled past another room and then stopped when I realized it was a fully stocked library with floor to ceiling bookcases. It was breathtaking.

Sneaking inside, I skimmed over the bookcases in awe, grabbing one of my all-time favorite classics, Pride and Prejudice. Walking into the sitting room connected to the library, I sat by the window and opened the book. If I couldn’t literally escape, I would find an outlet somewhere else. I cracked the book open and froze when that familiar Irish voice growled from behind a closed door. There was no mistaking who the voice belonged to anymore.

Sliding out of my seat, I tiptoed to the door that connected to another room.

“Why the fuck is he coming today?” he argued.

Another guy answered, but I didn’t recognize his voice. It wasn’t Connor and it wasn’t Shades. “He said he wants to spend time with Hadley before she leaves for Ireland.”

“Cad a pian goddamn an asal,” Tristan replied angrily. What the hell does that mean?

“What do you want to do about it?”

Tristan huffed. “You know what to do. Make it look like a suicide. With Hadley’s death, it’ll be believable.”

Clasping a hand over my mouth, I held in my cries and backed away slowly. I had to find Connor so he could warn my dad. When I turned to make a run for it, I shrieked as an arm grabbed me around the waist. “What are you doing? Let me go,” I shouted.

It was Shades.

The door to the room opened and Tristan walked out, followed by the other person he had told to kill my dad. His eyes were cold and detached, very unnerving. Tristan looked at me and then at Shades. “What the fuck’s going on?”

Anger boiled in my veins. How could the playful, easy-going Tristan I’d known for the past two years be such a murderous bastard? Gaze narrowed, he stepped toward me and looked into my eyes.

“I saw her sneaking out of the sitting room,” Shades reported. I tried to jerk out of his hold, but he gripped me harder.

Tristan studied me and I refused to back down. The time for playing along was gone. “You know, don’t you?” he asked, speaking with his Irish accent.

How could he have fooled us for so long?

I lifted my chin defiantly. “I know you’re a lying son of a bitch. If you hurt my father, I’ll kill you myself.”

A wide grin spread across his face. He didn’t even look like Tristan anymore. “It looks like you and Connor are closer than I thought. I don’t like it.” He beckoned the other guy forward with a wave of his hand. “Find Connor and make sure he doesn’t come back.”

“Tristan, no!” I cried, jerking my arm away from Shades. He grabbed me around the waist and slammed a hand over my mouth.

The other guy grabbed Tristan’s shoulder. “Sir, he’s your uncle. Your father is the only one who makes those decisions. I can’t condone it.”

Tristan’s eyes blazed. “Do you see my father here?” he growled through clenched teeth. “This is my territory and what I say goes. Now do as I say, or you’ll be next.”

Nodding, the other guy marched off and disappeared from the room.

“What should we do with her?” Shades asked. I elbowed him in the ribs and he grunted.

Tristan glared at him and then at me. “Take her to my room. I’ll deal with her personally.”