Shadow Bound
Page 77
When Kori walked into the living room, she wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at her phone. Staring at it. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
Instead of answering, she dropped onto the couch across from me and handed me her phone.
On the screen was a picture of a framed photograph on an end table. It was a photograph of Meghan. And me.
“Okay, that’s not what it looks like,” I said, but she waved off my explanation.
“Don’t bother. You don’t owe me an explanation, and you never swore not to lie. But now I need the truth.”
“About Meghan?”
She shook her head and gestured back and forth between us. “About this. About us. I’m not a Reader—though Jake does have Readers. I can’t tell you who they are, so just…don’t lie to him—but I know you were telling the truth last night. You didn’t know I was under orders to do whatever you want. But today, you’ve been lying.”
“It’s not what you think,” I insisted, setting her phone on the coffee table.
“Look, I don’t care who you were screwing before two days ago. I don’t care how long the two of you have been together, or how cute and sweet she looks, or what kind of jam she spreads on your fucking toast before she sends you off to analyze systems every morning,” Kori said, and I had to glance at my watch to verify that it had indeed been more than twenty-four hours since she’d agreed not to cuss for a day. “What I want to know is whether or not what happened in the wine cellar means anything to you. If not, fine. No hard feelings.” But now she was lying. I could see it in the line of her brow and hear it in the tone of her voice. “But if that meant something…I need to know.”
“Yes, it meant something,” I said, and she studied my expression so intently I felt exposed, like she was seeing more than I meant to be saying. “It meant a lot. And that’s not me.” I pointed to the image on her phone, and Kori rolled her eyes. “Seriously. That’s my brother.” I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, preparing to say the part we never voluntarily told strangers. “My twin.”
“You had a twin?” she asked, and I nodded, but I couldn’t tell whether or not she believed me. “Seriously? Because now you sound like the subject of a made-for-television movie.”
“I can’t help what it sounds like. Twins are actually a pretty common natural phenomenon.”
Kori laughed. “No wonder your ego’s the size of Texas. You think you’re a born phenomenon.” She glanced at the picture again. “Identical?”
“Fraternal. But we always looked a lot alike.”
“Okay…” She wanted to believe me. I could see it. “But your brother’s been dead almost seven years, and Liv says this picture was taken an hour ago.”
“Olivia sent you that?” It was from Meghan’s apartment. It had to be. Thank goodness she and Steven were staying at her parents’ house.
Kori nodded. “That, and an offer from Cavazos. He’ll ‘make every reasonable effort’ to buy my contract from Jake if I take you to him.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. “Is that what you want?”
“Hell no. I’m not leaving Kenley. And Jake wouldn’t sell my contract anyway—not if I take you across the river. Cavazos is getting desperate.” She picked her phone up again and stared at the picture. Then she looked up at me, and this time she was studying me for a different reason. “He looks just like you. Like you look now. But this has to be at least seven years old. Right?”
I shrugged. “I’ve aged well,” I said, and when she smiled, I exhaled in relief. “Kori, the wine cellar meant a lot to me. I understand if you don’t believe me, but…I wish you could. I want more of you.”
She stiffened, and I wanted to take the words back.
“I didn’t mean that as any kind of order. I’m not asking for anything,” I said. “But I am offering…whatever you want.”
“Ian, I don’t know where this is going.” She looked like there was more she wanted to say, and there was definitely more I wanted to hear. “I don’t know if it can go anywhere. So if that’s really you in the picture, you should just—”
“That’s not me. And this can go wherever you want it to go. Your marks won’t always stand between us.” I let her think that was because I’d soon have a mark of my own, but I’d never been more determined to find a way to rid her of hers, and her next words only underlined that fact.
“No matter what happens, Jake will be in the way,” she said. “That’s how he likes it—his hand in every pie, so that even couples who’ve been together for years know that’s only because he lets them stay together.”
Chills were building at the base of my spine, spreading icy fingers out from there. “How the hell does he justify dictating the terms of his employees’ private lives?”
Kori shrugged. “Why would he bother justifying it?” she said, and my chills became a river of ice flowing up my back and down my legs. “If a match doesn’t benefit him in some way, he’ll dissolve it.”
“If you want to be with me—even on a trial basis—I’m not going to let Jake Tower stand in the way of that.” Since I was painting fantasies with a palette of lies, I might as well paint something nice for her. For us. “That’ll be the first contractual demand I make—Tower and his people have to keep their fingers out of my personal life.”
Instead of answering, she dropped onto the couch across from me and handed me her phone.
On the screen was a picture of a framed photograph on an end table. It was a photograph of Meghan. And me.
“Okay, that’s not what it looks like,” I said, but she waved off my explanation.
“Don’t bother. You don’t owe me an explanation, and you never swore not to lie. But now I need the truth.”
“About Meghan?”
She shook her head and gestured back and forth between us. “About this. About us. I’m not a Reader—though Jake does have Readers. I can’t tell you who they are, so just…don’t lie to him—but I know you were telling the truth last night. You didn’t know I was under orders to do whatever you want. But today, you’ve been lying.”
“It’s not what you think,” I insisted, setting her phone on the coffee table.
“Look, I don’t care who you were screwing before two days ago. I don’t care how long the two of you have been together, or how cute and sweet she looks, or what kind of jam she spreads on your fucking toast before she sends you off to analyze systems every morning,” Kori said, and I had to glance at my watch to verify that it had indeed been more than twenty-four hours since she’d agreed not to cuss for a day. “What I want to know is whether or not what happened in the wine cellar means anything to you. If not, fine. No hard feelings.” But now she was lying. I could see it in the line of her brow and hear it in the tone of her voice. “But if that meant something…I need to know.”
“Yes, it meant something,” I said, and she studied my expression so intently I felt exposed, like she was seeing more than I meant to be saying. “It meant a lot. And that’s not me.” I pointed to the image on her phone, and Kori rolled her eyes. “Seriously. That’s my brother.” I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, preparing to say the part we never voluntarily told strangers. “My twin.”
“You had a twin?” she asked, and I nodded, but I couldn’t tell whether or not she believed me. “Seriously? Because now you sound like the subject of a made-for-television movie.”
“I can’t help what it sounds like. Twins are actually a pretty common natural phenomenon.”
Kori laughed. “No wonder your ego’s the size of Texas. You think you’re a born phenomenon.” She glanced at the picture again. “Identical?”
“Fraternal. But we always looked a lot alike.”
“Okay…” She wanted to believe me. I could see it. “But your brother’s been dead almost seven years, and Liv says this picture was taken an hour ago.”
“Olivia sent you that?” It was from Meghan’s apartment. It had to be. Thank goodness she and Steven were staying at her parents’ house.
Kori nodded. “That, and an offer from Cavazos. He’ll ‘make every reasonable effort’ to buy my contract from Jake if I take you to him.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. “Is that what you want?”
“Hell no. I’m not leaving Kenley. And Jake wouldn’t sell my contract anyway—not if I take you across the river. Cavazos is getting desperate.” She picked her phone up again and stared at the picture. Then she looked up at me, and this time she was studying me for a different reason. “He looks just like you. Like you look now. But this has to be at least seven years old. Right?”
I shrugged. “I’ve aged well,” I said, and when she smiled, I exhaled in relief. “Kori, the wine cellar meant a lot to me. I understand if you don’t believe me, but…I wish you could. I want more of you.”
She stiffened, and I wanted to take the words back.
“I didn’t mean that as any kind of order. I’m not asking for anything,” I said. “But I am offering…whatever you want.”
“Ian, I don’t know where this is going.” She looked like there was more she wanted to say, and there was definitely more I wanted to hear. “I don’t know if it can go anywhere. So if that’s really you in the picture, you should just—”
“That’s not me. And this can go wherever you want it to go. Your marks won’t always stand between us.” I let her think that was because I’d soon have a mark of my own, but I’d never been more determined to find a way to rid her of hers, and her next words only underlined that fact.
“No matter what happens, Jake will be in the way,” she said. “That’s how he likes it—his hand in every pie, so that even couples who’ve been together for years know that’s only because he lets them stay together.”
Chills were building at the base of my spine, spreading icy fingers out from there. “How the hell does he justify dictating the terms of his employees’ private lives?”
Kori shrugged. “Why would he bother justifying it?” she said, and my chills became a river of ice flowing up my back and down my legs. “If a match doesn’t benefit him in some way, he’ll dissolve it.”
“If you want to be with me—even on a trial basis—I’m not going to let Jake Tower stand in the way of that.” Since I was painting fantasies with a palette of lies, I might as well paint something nice for her. For us. “That’ll be the first contractual demand I make—Tower and his people have to keep their fingers out of my personal life.”
