Secrets Of The A-List. Майя Блейк

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       Chapter Two

      Gabe bit back a pithy curse and wondered, for the hundredth time, why he hadn’t hung up on this irritating phone call. Or even better, sent this client packing the moment she started to piss him off.

      Yeah. Right. This was business. The shrill, aggravating voice was jumping on his last nerve, but beyond that was the more shocking notion that this woman was engaged to marry Luc. Gabe might not get along with his cousin, but still... The idea that Rachel had not only resorted to seeking the services of the Fixer to get rid of her rival but was going a step farther to advocate cold-blooded murder made his stomach turn. The timing of this phone call too made him think it was the reason she’d made her excuses not to come with the rest of the family to Whispering Oaks. Talk about stone-cold, selfish priorities. Jesus, did Luc even have the faintest idea the type of woman he was marrying?

      Whatever Gabe did, he needed to handle this very carefully, or he risked this situation blowing up in his face.

      Suppressing a sigh, he withdrew deeper into the darker part of the corridor. He was risking a lot taking this call here as it was. Not to mention he was missing whatever his aunt had been about to tell them.

      The determined look on her face had bothered him a little. Hell, a lot of things bothered him these days. But he couldn’t afford to be out of the loop on anything, no matter how big or small. He certainly couldn’t waste time on this phone call.

      “Did you hear what I said?” the voice demanded.

      “You’re no longer happy with just running your competition out of town and you want to change the parameters of our agreement,” he supplied smoothly. His ability to compartmentalize was one of the reasons Harrison had relied so heavily on him. That and his complete lack of emotion when it counted.

      Except he was feeling emotional right now.

      He, like the rest of his family, had hightailed it here expecting to find Harrison awake and coherent, hopefully well on his way to a full recovery. Instead they’d arrived to find nothing had changed.

      Gabe had been surprised by the deep ache in his chest when he’d witnessed Harrison’s unchanged condition. The fact that his security cam hack was sadly still in a state of flux meant he’d been just as stunned as the rest of the family—and just as determined now to double his efforts to find out who had been responsible for causing Harrison’s accident. The weight of carrying the Fixer’s secret had become heavier than he imagined. Not that he was going to abandon it soon.

      Rachel, however...

      “Need I remind you that this was what we agreed?” he drawled.

      “You’re forgetting who the client is. You’re supposed to say how high when I say jump, remember?”

      In your dreams.

      “That’s not how this works. Perhaps you need to check with whoever recommended you as to how I do business. I’ve just told you how I’m willing to manage your problem—”

      “And I’ve just told you that’s no longer enough. I need a more...permanent solution. It’s really no big deal.”

      Gabe’s tone turned dark. “You’ll have to go somewhere else if you’re looking for that kind of work. If you want your competition to leave town and stay gone, I can handle that for you. That’s the only choice on the table. So what’s it going to be?”

      “First of all, stop calling her my competition. She’s the goddamn housekeeper. She will never be anything but a nuisance. Second, I was told you were available for all kinds of work for a fee. If it’s the money you’re worried about, don’t be. I can pay you whatever you want—”