Upset? That was the word he landed on? I was somewhere far north of upset.
“Is it a good idea for you to see Spencer right now?” Iris asked. “Perhaps, we should talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” I said coldly, and she flinched as though I’d slapped her. I had trusted Iris, but she had been lying to me since the moment we met. I knew that now. There was no one in this house I could trust, and the sooner I got out of here, the better.
“I’ll call the driver,” Tod said.
“I can drive,” I stopped him. “I’m sure you’ve got all sorts of ways to track me.”
When he didn’t counter my assumption, I knew I was right. All of London was my cage. He could find me anywhere here. No wonder Kerrigan had run to other countries. How had she finally escaped him? Where was she now?
I ignored the tiny voice in my head that told me I knew where she was—or, I had at least narrowed it down to two possibilities. People didn’t just vanish. Something had happened to her. I’d suspected that for a while. Was she dead? Locked away? A tiny voice in my head whispered there was one more possibility.
I ignored it.
I was not crazy. There had to be an explanation for all of this. I would uncover the secrets. I would find the truth. I focused on that as I grabbed Eliza’s hand and dragged her toward the garage, avoiding Iris’s pitying gaze and Tod’s calculated glare. It didn’t matter what he said or what she believed.
I was not Kerrigan Belmond.
Right?
Chapter Two
Like most wealthy families, the Belmonds had several cars in the garage. I bypassed the Maybach, not wanting to call the driver Tod employed and not feeling like it was my right to take it. Eliza remained silent as we walked past the empty vehicles, but her eyes were wide with surprise. I understood how she felt. There was a difference in being told someone had billions and seeing it for yourself. The garage said everything that words couldn’t. I paused and considered Iris’s car, a sleek Mercedes, but before I could ask myself if I was angry enough with her to take it without permission, Giles shuffled in behind us. He cleared his throat casually and held out a Chanel clutch. Judging by the uncomfortable pinch to his features, he had already heard what happened.
“I assume you’ll want your license and some money,” he said, taking his glasses off to wipe them on a handkerchief.
It was a surprisingly thoughtful gesture, but I knew better than to let my guard down. Giles hadn’t been present for my confrontation with Tod. The fact that he was here now, suggested he’d either heard about it or been informed of the row.
“Which car is hers?” I asked him.
Giles tilted his head toward the final row in the garage toward a yellow coupe. “That one is yours.”
Yours.
I did my best to ignore the implication in his words. Instead, I strode toward it, Eliza and Giles following close behind me. Kerrigan Belmond drove a canary-yellow Porsche 911. I stared at it for a moment, willing myself to remember seeing the vehicle before. If this was mine, I would remember it. Between the color and its sexy sports car lines, it wasn’t the type of car that was easy to forget.
“The key fob is inside it,” Giles told me. “Try not to wreck it again.”
Again.
So that’s how she drove: recklessly. Why didn’t that surprise me?
“I’m a very safe driver,” I said back to him coolly.
If Giles understood what I was really saying, he ignored it. “I doubt he’ll buy you another after last time,” he warned me, sticking to the charade Tod had started in his office. “When can we expect you to return?”
“Does it matter?” I snapped.
“I merely want to set up an appointment with Dr. Baker for you.” He paused as if waiting for me to fight him on this.
My stomach flipped over at the thought of visiting Kerrigan’s doctor. Surely, he wouldn’t go along with this ploy. I could talk to him. There were codes of conduct. I could file a complaint if he wouldn’t listen. I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I thought you made my schedule.” I shrugged. “Whenever.”
“Once we know more about the funeral, I will arrange it.” His response was stiff. There was a moment’s hesitation, and I half expected him to say something. Instead, he smiled tightly and left.
Eliza exhaled loudly next to me. “What the actual fuck?”
“You can say that again,” I muttered. “Let’s get out of here.”
“No arguments from me.”
I slid behind the wheel of the Porsche, tucking the small clutch next to the console. I pushed the ignition button. It roared to life, purring loudly in the quiet garage. It took me a few seconds to locate the garage door opener on the dash. I released a grateful breath when the door began rising. Eliza watched me with dark eyes, not saying anything as we pulled carefully out of the garage into an evening shower.
The gate to Willoughby Place’s private drive was open. Was I supposed to see it as a sign of good faith? I was being allowed to leave. How big of Tod Belmond and his posse. Still, I wasn’t going to squander my good fortune. The farther I got from him and his lies, the better. Not that I had any idea where to go. Rain lashed the windshield as I slowly drove the streets of Hampstead. I didn’t know London. I’d been driven during most of my time here, and even if I did have a handle on the city, I didn’t belong anywhere. I hadn’t cried since I left the house, but my eyes ached from earlier and my skin was tight where my tears had fallen.
“Should we go back to Bexby?” I asked Eliza.
“Do you want to?” she asked carefully. “Maybe we should just pull over and talk.”
That was actually a great idea. Maneuvering my car to the side of the street, I put it in park and stared ahead. Darkness chased the twilight, autumn already cutting the days short. Time was running out, and I didn’t know what to do.
Eliza didn’t say anything as we sat there. When I couldn’t take the silence any longer, I searched for something to say that would cut through the tension that had formed since our hasty departure. But there was only one thing I kept coming back to.
“Do you think I’m crazy?” I blurted out.
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” she admitted. I threw a scorching look at her and she continued on quickly, “I mean, I think this situation is mental, and you are part of this situation. So…”
That was a yes if I ever heard one.
I sighed, closing my eyes, and thought of a better question. “Do you believe them?”
“I don’t know them,” she said firmly. “But you do, so I guess what matters is do you believe them?”
I wanted to shake my head, but it wouldn’t move. I swallowed as I found myself unable to speak.
“It’s okay,” Eliza said softly. She tilted her head to meet my eyes. “Hey, can I smoke in this bitch’s car?”
I couldn’t help laughing as I nodded. “Go ahead.”
I appreciated that she hadn’t lumped me in with Kerrigan. She hadn’t said your car. It didn’t mean she believed me, but it made me feel like I was still Kate to her.
Eliza rolled the window down just enough that rain wouldn’t get in and lit her cigarette. She held out the opened pack. I started to decline, changed my mind, and took one. If there was ever a night to do something out of character, this would be it. But I didn’t light it.