Jayne began to relax as she sipped her wine and listened to Rupe talk about his business. Who would have thought there was so much money in computer games? Despite all his shortcomings, he’d grown on her. He was a terrible cad and a playboy for sure, but underneath all that, she sensed a pretty decent guy.

And he wasn’t too bad on the eyes either.

She shook that thought away. She’d failed as a wife and as a woman. Her career was all she had left, and getting involved with a client went against her self-imposed ethics. Plus, who needed a man anyway?

“Want a top-up?” she said, nodding at his empty glass.

“Wow. A second glass? That must move me up the list surely?”

Jayne swiped the glass from his hand and poured them both refills. “Here. But that’s your lot. And two glasses of wine do not get you an entrance ticket.”

Rupe laughed and glanced at his watch. “It’s way past my bedtime anyway. You’re a terrible influence on me.”

“You’ve definitely got that the wrong way around,” Jayne said. A knock on the door interrupted her next thought. She frowned and then rolled her eyes. Only one person would be so self-absorbed as to assume that calling unannounced, when it was past eleven, was acceptable behaviour.

“Are you expecting someone?” A strange expression crossed Rupert’s face. “Do you want me to go?”

“No, stay,” Jayne said a little too quickly, causing Rupe scratch his cheek in confusion. “It’ll be Kyle. My soon-to-be ex,” she added by way of explanation.

His eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. “At this time?”

Jayne nodded as another knock came at the door, definitely sounding more irritated than the first one. “He doesn’t believe in boundaries.”

Rupe stood, his posture stiff. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, maybe I’ll have to bloody well point them out.”

Jayne patted his shoulder on the way to the door. “I appreciate the sentiment, but tone down the alpha, please. You’ll only make things worse. Leave him to me.”

Jayne drew to a halt in front of the door and took a deep breath. She pressed her eye to the peephole. Yep. Kyle. Red-faced. Just what she didn’t need.

She opened the door. “What do you want, Kyle?” she said in a bored tone. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

He brushed past her without being invited but came to a hard stop when he saw Rupe. He glanced over his shoulder at Jayne. “Well, well. No wonder it’s inconvenient. Did I interrupt something, Jayne?”

Jayne shot a warning glare at Rupe as he began to speak. She put herself between the two men. “I’ll ask again. What do you want, Kyle?”

Kyle planted his hands on his hips—a habit that always made Jayne chuckle because he looked so effeminate, which wasn’t his intention at all.

“I got your latest offer.”

“And?”

“It’s a no, Jayne. You know what I want.”

“Well, that’s a shame, Kyle, because that’s my best and final offer. The next one will be fifty per cent less, so I’d act quickly if I were you.”

Jayne didn’t need to see Rupe to know he was bristling behind her. She put a hand behind her back and stuck up her thumb in an attempt to convey that she was fine. Handling Kyle was something she’d become an expert at. It would only make the situation worse if Rupe tried to get involved.

Kyle made a scoffing noise. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Jayne laughed but made sure the sound was hollow, almost condescending. “If I chose to, I could tie you up in legal knots for years.” It was completely untrue, but he wouldn’t know that. He’d never taken an interest in her career. “Don’t be a dick your whole life, Kyle. Accept the terms, I’ll sign the divorce papers, and you and I can go our separate ways.”

“You bitch.” Kyle’s hands closed around Jayne’s upper arms, and he shook her so hard that her brain rattled inside her skull. Before she had a chance to react, she found herself free.

She blinked a couple of times. Rupe had Kyle on the ground, one arm twisted up his back and Rupe’s knee digging right into Kyle’s lower spine. Kyle grunted and tried to wriggle free. Rupe tightened his grip.

“Apologise to the lady,” Rupe gritted out.

“Fuck you.”

Rupe pushed Kyle’s arm farther up his back. Kyle cried out in pain.

“Apologise, or I’ll break your arm.”

“Rupe, no,” Jayne said, keeping her tone low and firm in an effort to calm the escalating tension. “It’s what he wants. You’ll get in trouble. Let him go.”

Rupe met her gaze and nodded but then grabbed Kyle by his hair and slammed his face into the floor. Kyle howled as blood spurted from his nose all over her oak flooring.

“Goddammit,” she said as Kyle staggered to his feet, clutching his face. “If that stains, Rupert Fox-Whittingham, you’re paying for the cleanup.”

Rupe burst out laughing. “Cheap at half the price.”

“I’m going to press charges.” Kyle lurched over to the door, blood oozing through his fingers.

“You do that, buddy.” Rupe shoved him in the back. He slammed the door behind Kyle and turned to face her. “What a cock.”

Jayne huffed in frustration. “I told you to leave it.”

“He put his hands on you,” Rupe said in an incredulous tone. “I’m not going to stand around and let him rough you up.”

“Haven’t you had enough of being questioned by the police?”

When Rupe remained silent, Jayne let out a sigh. “Kyle’s a coward. He wouldn’t have done anything. You should have let me handle it. All you’ve done is given him more leverage. He will sue, you know, especially when he finds out who you are.”

Rupe shrugged. “Whatever.”

Jayne swept a hand over her face. “Look, I’m tired. Let’s call it a night.”

Rupe rubbed the back of his neck. “Have I fucked this up?” he said, swinging his hand between the two of them.

“We don’t have a this.”

“Yet,” Rupe said with a wolfish grin.

Despite her irritation, Jayne gave him the briefest of smiles before shoving him in the shoulder. “Go on. Out. I’ve got to clean Kyle’s bodily fluids off my floor before I can get to bed, thanks to you.”

“I’ll help you.”

Jayne raised her eyebrows. “When was the last time you scrubbed a floor?”

Rupe laughed. “Fair point. Can I see you tomorrow?”

Jayne shook her head. “I’m visiting my grandmother, remember?”

“Sorry. Of course. Next week, then.”

“I’ve got a lot on at work.”

“I’ll call you.”

“Fine,” she said, drawing a triumphant look from Rupe. “Now, go.”

After she’d closed the door, Jayne drifted over to the window. Rupe appeared outside her apartment building, and an uneasy feeling stirred inside her as she watched him climb into his car. This wasn’t good. A funny, smart, good-looking guy who defended a girl’s honour was the stuff dreams were made of. Except none of that mattered, because it couldn’t go anywhere.

She baulked as she cleaned up Kyle’s blood—the thick, gloopy fluid reminding her of spilled eggs when the liquid wouldn’t absorb into the paper towel. Once her floor was blood-free, she cleared away the wine glasses and put the wine back in the fridge. As she entered her bedroom, the bed seemed to overwhelm the space, almost as though it were mocking her singleton status. Ridiculous really. She’d bought it when she’d thrown Kyle out, almost as a symbolic “screw you”—a super-king-sized bed for a woman who liked to sprawl and now could.

She changed for bed and flicked off the light, praying for a full night’s sleep free of dreams.

* * *

Jayne woke, not to daylight streaming through her blinds but to the blaring of her phone. Her immediate thought was Ganny. She scrabbled about until her hand closed around it. Her heart thundered in her chest

“Hello,” she said breathlessly.

“Jayne.” Rupe’s voice came down the line, tension and a hint of panic in his tone. “Can you come to the police station? They’ve arrested me on suspicion of Nessa’s murder.”