Chapter Twenty-Three

Quinn

How dare he?

My temper still seethes as I kick the cool sand with my bare feet. My sandals dangle from my hand. Some of the white grains end up on my slacks but I don't care.

After hopping inside the limo that Eli and I took to Isaac's mansion, I didn't feel like going back to the hotel. So I asked to be brought to the nearest beach instead.

Now, here I am all alone on a beach with the breeze blowing through my hair and a bright half-moon shining down on me. I sit down a good distance away from the shore and pull my knees to my chest. The conversation I overheard between Eli and Isaac replays in my head.

What was that all about? They weren't really talking. They were just threatening each other. And while Isaac implied that Eli had done some very bad things, what upset me the most was that Eli himself said he was after our farm, too.

Is that why he accepted Clive and me so easily? I knew it was too good to be true.

I've misjudged Eli. No. I just... didn't know him. I thought I finally did, but I was wrong. I haven't even scratched the surface.

I grip my hair in frustration.

Eli isn't just a man who inherited a farm or a father. He's a businessman. No, a business magnate. He's a billionaire. He's famous. He's powerful. And he's dangerous.

Well, I always knew he was dangerous. That was part of the thrill when I first saw him dressed as an executioner from the Middle Ages. But I never thought he could do all those things Isaac said he did. Did he really kill someone? Steal someone's wife? Steal someone's fortune?

I shake my head before burying my face in my arms. I feel like I don't know Eli at all.

Suddenly, I feel the purse at my feet vibrate. My eyebrows arch.

Oh, right. Eli gave me a phone.

I hesitate to answer it, but as it continues to vibrate, I open my purse and take it out. My eyes grow wide when I see a number on the screen that I recognize as Daniel's.

I answer the call. "Danny?"

"Hey."

It is my brother. "How did you get my number?"

"I called home and Steven said you weren't there. He gave me this number."

Right. I did give Steven and Mom my number so they could call me in case something happened.

I sigh.

"Are you alright, Quinn?"

"No." I stand up.

Even if I try to lie, Daniel would know the truth anyway.

"Where are you?"

"On some beach in Los Angeles," I tell him as I kick the sand.

"And what are you doing there?"

I shrug. "Trying to cool off, I guess. I had a fight with Eli."

"Eli? Clive's father?"

Steven must have told him about that. "Yes."

"He's with you?"

"He was. We were supposed to talk to Isaac Banks, the man who's trying to buy our farm."

"And?"

"Well, let's just say that Eli and this Mr. Banks have history..."

"Eli is bi?"

"No, silly. What I mean is they're kind of enemies."

"Oh."

"And so they started getting at each other's throats and into each other's heads, and well, I ended up finding out that Eli isn't... Let's just say I realized I don't really know him."

"You said that years ago," Daniel points out. "You told me you didn't really know who Clive's father was."

And he was the only one I told.

"I meant it literally then," I explain. "What I mean now is that I don't know Eli as a person. He's like... an alien. He's from another world."

"So is Superman, but everyone loves him."

I frown. "Daniel..."

"What's the real problem, Quinn?" he asks. "Don't tell me you just picked a fight with him because he's not like us."

I place my hand on my hip. "Who said I picked a fight?"

Daniel doesn't answer.

Alright. Maybe I started it. But I had to.

"He's a billionaire, Danny. Today, for the first time, I saw him as one. I had a peek into his world, and I hate it."

"But you love him?"

"I don't know anymore." I sit on the sand. "I thought I did, but now, I don't know. I mean, there's no way I belong with him. Plus I just found out he might be a murderer and a thief."

"If his world is what you say it is, that's no surprise. It's a dog-eat-dog world. Everyone does what they can to stay ahead."

My eyebrows crease. "And how do you know this?"

"Watch the news, Quinn."

I let out another sigh. "So you're saying it's fine that he's a criminal?"

"I said it was no surprise. I didn't say it was fine," Daniel says. "But you said 'might be', so you're not sure, right? Why don't you ask about the details first before you make up your mind about him?"

"So I just go up to him and ask, 'Hey, Eli, did you kill someone?'"

"Why not? He's Clive's father. You have a right to know."

I didn't think of that.

"I have to go, Quinn," Daniel says. "Now that you have a phone, will you keep me up to date? You didn't even tell me that Eli was Clive's dad."

I frown. "Aren't you busy with school?"

"Not too busy to care about my sister," he answers. "I've got to go. Bye."

"Bye."

The call ends but I keep the phone in my hand as I let out a sigh. My gaze goes out to the horizon even though I can't see where it is exactly.

So I should talk to Eli, huh?

"You're not planning on sleeping out here on the beach, are you?"

I turn my head to see Janice behind me. Another sigh leaves my lips.

"Let me guess. Eli sent you."

"He wanted to go after you himself, but I thought it would be better if I did." Janice sits beside me. "What did Isaac Banks say to you?"

"Nothing."

"Really? So you slapped Mr. Strauss for no reason?"

My eyebrows arch. "He told you that?"

Janice points to her cheek. "I saw the mark."

"Oh."

She touches my shoulder. "Listen, Quinn. I won't force you to tell me what you heard from Isaac Banks, but you have to talk to Eli about it. The two of you came here as a team, remember? If Mr. Banks gets between the two of you, he wins."

I say nothing. I didn't think about that, either. Shit. Have I just been thinking about myself?

Janice grabs my hand. "Talk to him, Quinn."

I frown. "And what if I don't like what he has to say? What if I realize he's not worthy to be Clive's father?"

"Do you really think so little of the man you love, Quinn?" she asks me.

"I know so little," I answer. "I realize that now."

"And you've judged him based on what little you know? I'm disappointed, Quinn."

And now that she's said that, so am I. I'm pathetic.

I stand up. "Fine. I'll go talk to him."

~

"Go ahead. Ask me anything."

Eli sits back in his chair, one of the luxurious armchairs in the living room of the Executive Suite. He's still in his suit but without the jacket and tie now. I fidget with the hem of my blouse as I sit on the edge of the couch and draw a deep breath.

"Is... it true? Were you really planning on taking my family's farm?"

"Of course not," he answers. "What would I do with it?"

I lift my head to meet his gaze. He looks like he's telling the truth.

"But..."

"I only said that because I thought there was a chance it would make Isaac back off. Of course, he didn't."

"I see." I stare at my lap.

Now I feel like a fool.

"Anything else?" Eli asks me.

I grab handfuls of my slacks. "What about the... man you killed?"

"Perry Gardner," Eli supplies. "He was my former business partner, but Isaac got to him, whispered in his ear like the Devil and pulled his strings like Geppetto. Perry nearly killed me, but I shot him."

A gasp leaves my lips.

"It wasn't a fatal wound, but it was enough to stop him. Perry must not have been able to stand the thought of going to jail, so he turned his gun on himself and finished the job. I wasn't fast enough to stop him."

I lift my head slowly. "You didn't kill him?"

"I didn't pull that trigger," Eli assures me. "But Isaac whispered in a lot of ears that I did."

I look away. So it was a lie. I really am a fool.

"About Jeremy Jenkins," Eli goes on. "I didn't steal his wife. She was the one who came to me. But Isaac made sure Jeremy didn't believe that. And about the money I stole. That was from a man named Rudolph Harrison, and I only did it because that was my money. He stole it from me. I stole it back."

I nod. "I see."

He stands up. "The world I live in isn't pleasant, Quinn. Or easy. There are monsters constantly working in the shadows to bring me down all because I'm more successful than they are. And I have to do what I can to make sure they don't."

It's just as Daniel said. A dog-eat-dog world. Survival of the fittest. It's a battlefield.

I look up at him. "Don't you find it exhausting?"

Eli shrugs. "Maybe I'm a monster, too."

But I can tell he's not like them. He's not like Isaac.

I know it.

"If you don't want to be with me anymore, I understand. If you want to take Clive and - "

"I don't." I stand up.

He gives me a puzzled look.

"I mean, I don't want to not be with you anymore." I step forward. "I'm sorry I misjudged you and I'm sorry I slapped you." I reach out to touch his cheek. "Today, I felt like you were a stranger. I felt like an outsider. And I was scared. But you know what? That's not the real you. I know it now. You may live in that world, but you're not the kind of person Isaac thinks you are. I know you better."

Eli says nothing. His eyes gaze into mine.

"You're not a monster, Eli." I touch his cheek. "Or a stranger."

"So you're not scared of me?"

I shake my head as I place my other hand on his other cheek.

How can I be scared of him when I can see the warmth in his eyes, when I've seen him with Clive and Marianne, a side no one from his world knows? I was a fool. I wasn't the outsider. Everyone else is.

And I don't care what they think.

I stand on my toes, grab handfuls of his shirt and kiss him.