“What the fuck is that smell?” Carl snarls as I slowly try to open my eyes against the stabbing light.

His hands start undoing the belt around my wrists. You’d think I’d be happy to be getting out of this closet, but I’m so tired that all I feel is numb.

“Did you piss yourself?” he asks with anger, and when I nod my head, he yells, “You better clean this shit up.”

The belt is finally off, and my hands are free. I grip my one wrist in my hand and stand there, scared to move, until he tells me to get out. Before I can go upstairs, he makes me clean the floor where I had been going to the bathroom. I finally look at my wrists to see they’re covered in blood from the broken skin where the leather was cutting into me.

When I get upstairs, Pike is sitting on my bed, but I’m too embarrassed, so I ignore him and go straight to the bathroom, shutting the door, and stripping out of my soiled clothes. Before I get into the shower, I look in the mirror to see the black eye Carl gave me. I step into the spray of water and fall apart.

After I finish my shower, I wrap up in a towel and go back into my room. Pike is still on my bed, so I grab some clothes and go back to the bathroom to get dressed. Coming out, I finally look at the bruises on his face as he reaches his hand out. I walk over to the bed, take it, and let him pull me down and hold me. I stay in his arms, the only comfort I feel life has to offer me right now, and close my eyes.

I was locked in that closet for two days with nothing—nothing but Pike, who snuck down each night to talk to me through the door so that I wouldn’t be alone. Knowing that he would do that for me makes me want to hug him harder, so I do.

“Thank you,” I mumble against his chest.

“What for?”

“Staying with me at night.”

“Like I said, no matter what, you’re my sister,” he says, and I respond with, “And you’re my brother.”

BENNETT LEAVES TODAY to go back to Dubai to start an overhaul on the production plant, gutting it and replacing everything with the same equipment that is used at the other plant he has here in the States. When I told him that I was meeting with the caterers today, he had his assistant call and hold his plane so he could go with me. The idea of having him and Declan in the same room causes my nerves to go a bit haywire. Especially when I just saw Declan for coffee yesterday.

He continues to press me about Bennett, and I’m confident with my performance as he seems to be under the assumption I’m not all that happy and that I’m only keeping up the façade for the sake of appearance. But I don’t want there to be any awkward exchanges today when we meet up with him at his hotel, so this is where it turns tricky. I’d like to keep both men apart from each other, so the added fact that Bennett is linked with Cal, Declan’s father, isn’t optimal. It was never in my plan to target a man like Declan, but so far, he’s the one that has taken the bait. I just need to be careful with handling this situation. One little slip could be disastrous, and I’ve invested too much time to make a fatal error.

“Are you ready, honey?” Bennett asks as he walks into the living room where I’m sitting.

I stand, straighten my pencil skirt, and walk over to him. “Yes. I just need to grab my coat.”

“We’ll drive so that you’ll have the car with you when you leave. Baldwin will pick me up to take me to the airport.”

“I hope it wasn’t too much trouble to delay the charter,” I say as I slip on my coat and grab my purse.

“No trouble at all. I just hate that I have to be gone again with it being so close to Christmas.”

We leave the apartment and head down on the elevator.

“By the way,” he says. “I spoke with my parents. They want us over Christmas Eve for a dinner party they’re hosting.”

I cringe inside at the thought of spending time with those assholes, but I smile anyway, saying, “Okay. I’ve been meaning to call your mother, I’ve just been a little scattered with everything else going. And now you’re leaving again.”

He takes my face in his hands and kisses my cheek. “It’s only temporary.”

“I know.”

“It’ll be busy for a while, but once everything is up and running, it’ll slow back down.”

The elevator opens and we make our way to the parking garage. We take the Land Rover, and when we pull out, we’re greeted by more snow.

“It’s supposed to get bad later,” Bennett says.

“I’ll be sure to get home before it does.”

“I can hire another driver if you need me to.”

Cocking my head at him, I smile, saying, “I survived before without a driver, Bennett. I’ll be fine.”

Baldwin will be accompanying Bennett on his trip this time, so he won’t be around to drive me. One less person I have to worry about.

“With me gone so much and this brutal winter we’ve been having, it worries me knowing you’re driving around in this mess.”

Laying my hand on his thigh, I assure him, “I’ll be fine. You worry too much.”

He takes my hand in his, kissing my knuckles, and says, “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I can’t help but worry when I’ll be a world away.”

I lace my fingers with his and relish in the fact that this new purchase will have him so far away for a longer span of time, allowing me to work on Declan. It couldn’t be a better situation. With Bennett and Baldwin gone, I’ll be able to come and go as I please without having to explain.

When we pull up to Lotus, the valet opens my door and helps me out.

“Watch your step, miss.”

“Thank you,” I say before Bennett walks around to take my hand and lead me inside.

I show him to the private dining room that Declan had the flowers in earlier this week, and when we walk in, Declan is there talking to the chef.

“Nina,” he says with a smile, and my nerves float to the top of my stomach. He takes my hand, giving me a chaste kiss on the cheek, and then greets my husband. “Bennett,” he says with a firm handshake. “It’s good to see you again.”

“I hear my wife is keeping you busy.”

“She knows what she likes,” Declan chuckles and Bennett joins him. “But she hasn’t fired me, so I guess I’m doing something right.”

“Don’t get too high on yourself just yet,” I add with the sass I know Bennett loves but, at times, can irritate the hell out of Declan. He takes it well, never losing his grin. I want to make him jealous, but it’s a fine line with Bennett here, so I’ll make sure to gauge Declan’s body language and not push him too far.

Declan introduces us to Marco, the chef I’m considering for the party, and we then take a seat at one of the tables.

“So, Bennett, Nina tells me you’ve been slammed with work lately.”

“That’s a massive understatement, and to be happening this time of year is less than ideal,” Bennett says and then reaches over to hold my hand that’s resting on the table. “Fortunately for me, I have an understanding wife.”

Just as I give him a smile, we are presented with a sculpted Caprese salad.

“So how did you get into steel production?” Declan asks, and I remain quiet as they talk.

“At the time, I was acquiring and renovating vacant buildings when I came across a manufacturing plant that was going bankrupt. I was able to purchase it at a bargain, keeping the owner from going into insolvency. I flipped the place, and next thing I knew, we were up and running, gaining a solid client base.”

“From the ground up,” Declan states.

“Just like your father,” Bennett adds.

I watch Declan’s jaw flex as he grinds his teeth. He takes a sip of his wine and then says, “You two must be proud of yourselves,” with a condescending tone, possibly taking Bennett’s remark as a stab against the fact that Declan is, in a sense, riding on his father’s coattails by going into the family business. But I know Bennett, and no such suggestion was meant on his part.