As I walk back into Travis’s building I have to remind myself that I’m the predator . . . not the prey.

chapter thirty-one

When I get back up to the penthouse it’s Jessica who opens the door for me, a half-emptied martini glass in her hand.

“He’s waiting for you in my office.” I can tell by both the phrasing and her tone that she’s still forbidden entry into that particular room. I offer her my best what-can-I-do smile, but she just glares at me through tear-filled eyes and watches as I too disappear into what is supposed to be her space.

“What did he say?” Travis snaps the minute the door is closed.

“He says that he wants you to know that we’re dating. He thinks you’re going to ask me to spy on him. It’s a test.”

“A test?”

“Your brother doesn’t trust you,” I say simply.

Travis turns his back on me and stares out the window. “Throw him off the scent.”

“You want me to tell him you don’t want me to spy on him?”

“Don’t be an idiot. That would be like Russia saying they don’t want to spy on China. It’s a blatant and easily spotted lie. No, when I tell you to throw him off the scent what I mean is I want you to pretend that I’m trying to get different information from the information I’m actually trying to get. Tell him I suspect him of betraying the family. Tell him I think he’s feeding information to HGVB’s competition. Tell him I think he’s about to jump ship and I want to know what kind of lifeboat he’s built himself.”

“You really want me to tell him all that?”

“Well, don’t be obvious about it!” Travis whirls around. “Lead him to believe those things, that’s all. You’re a smart girl, you work it out.”

“But . . . how can I throw him off the scent when I don’t know what the scent is?”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t know what information you actually want me to get, other than his phone records. What do you really want me to find out, Mr. Gable?”

Travis hesitates, and then I see a slow calm descend on him as he slips his hands into his pockets. “Find out what his interest is in Talebi.”

The request startles me. I had almost forgotten that I had planted that particular seed.

And yet the reminder makes me unspeakably happy. When I mentioned that name to Travis it had been a shot in the dark. The fact that I actually managed to hit something is a little stunning.