Chapter 8
1089 Words
Lucas looked at her like she had slapped him in the face.
“Erica is not my wife,” he said, keeping his voice low and his jaw right. “I have no say in what she wears. But you are my wife, Katherine. There are a lot of men in this room and you come out dressed like…this.”
Katherine looked at him for a moment, trying to see if it was a joke or if he was actually being serious.
He was.
“Goodness, Lucas.” She laughed. “So you argue that other women can dress however they like while you shower them with praises but when your wife dresses like them it becomes a problem.”
“I already said it. Those other women are not my wife. You are.” He hammered
“I will wear what I want Lucas.” She said strongly. “If this dress is what I want to wear tonight then I will wear it. End of discussion.”
He opened his mouth, ready to counter when two of his colleagues appeared at his side, pulling his arm while being completely oblivious to the storm they just walked into.
"Carter, come on. Hendricks wants to talk about investment opportunities before the night ends. You know how he gets. You have to excuse us, Mrs Carter.” The man begged.
Lucas faked a smile and looked at Katherine, his nose flaring. She returned his smile and lifted her champagne glass, telling them they could take him without actually wording it.
He went with them, looking back every two seconds as he walked away.
Katherine turned away and finally let herself breathe.
“Time to enjoy this night.” She whispered and took off, joining the solo dance floor.
Once it was over, she was hot, parched, and happy.
She strolled to the bar, ordered a drink, and had barely settled when Zane appeared beside her.
He ordered drinks for himself, leaving a one-seat gap between them.
"You made an entrance," he said, not looking at her directly.
"I wasn't trying to," she said.
“Trying to be humble, huh?” He asked jokingly and they both laughed.
“Is it working?”
“Too well.” He confirmed just as their drinks arrived.
After a moment she asked, "Has anything new come up? On your end?"
He shook his head. “Erica has never been the type to slip up.” He admitted. “I expected nothing less with this case as well.”
Alessia hummed, swirling the drink in her glass slowly.
“And you? Anything from your end?”
"Lucas has been careful. More careful than before. Whatever happened at the pool yesterday rattled him." She kept her voice low, as if she were worried someone would hear them.
“But being careful only means they think we might be onto something but still refuse to end the affair. Instead, they are trying to be smart about it.” Zane said.
Katherine hissed angrily. "Do you have any new evidence we can use to end this quickly?”
"Not yet. Not from this trip." He glanced across the room briefly, then looked back at his glass. "But we will. Once we're back in the city, they'll relax again. People always do when they think the danger has passed."
Katherine followed his gaze across the room without meaning to, and that was when she saw it.
Lucas was moving toward the far exit in a way that seemed natural but she could tell it wasn’t.
He was trying not to notice as he slipped through the door.
Less than a minute later, Erica set her glass down on a nearby table, said something to the woman beside her, and followed.
The anger that moved through Katherine was hot. She told herself she wasn’t going to get angry seeing them since she already knew but talking was so much easier than doing.
"I should follow them," she said after a while.
"No," Zane disagreed.
"We could get exactly what we need tonight."
"We could also ruin everything tonight." He turned to look at her directly. "If you walk out of that door and they see you, they will know. And the moment they know, they will be more careful than ever. Every piece of evidence we need will become harder to reach." He held her gaze. "We are almost home. The city is where we finish this."
Katherine looked at the door Lucas had walked through. Her jaw was tight. Every reasonable part of her understood exactly what Zane was saying.
So, she stayed where she was.
***********
Outside, in the corridor that ran along the lower deck, Erica found Lucas waiting near the railing, the pitch-black sea behind him with his hands fisted tightly.
"You should have told me he was coming," Lucas said before she got to him his voice low and clipped.
"I didn't know," Erica shook her head. "Zane doesn't discuss his schedule with me. You know that."
"You told me he wouldn't be here. Those were your exact words. The only reason I came here is that you assured me!”
"And I believed that when I said it.” She whispered harshly. "Do you think I would have agreed to this trip if I had known he was going to show up?"
Lucas ran a hand through his hair, exhaling through his nose. “Zane Ashford is no fool. I’m sure he knows something. He’s probably waiting for us to slip up.”
Erica was quiet for a second. "I know," she said, softer now. "I noticed too."
"We have to be more careful. No more of this, not here. Not for the rest of the trip."
Erica looked at him, disappointed. She wanted to contest and tell him that they could make it work but she knew her husband.
He was no fool.
“Fine," she said with a pout, staring at him through her lashes"But when we get back?"
Lucas smiles, closing the distance with his hands on her neck. “Our usual place. The week after we return, when everything has died down. I’ll make it work.”
She nodded and craned her neck for a quick kiss which he gave, caressing her face.
“Go back in first.” She smiled. “I’ll enter a few minutes after.”
He nodded, smacked her butt which earned him a giggle from her, and then walked in to go meet his wife.
- Writer
