Broken by His Hand - Piper Stone Page 0,57

will happen if you remove this without permission.”

Her gaze was harsh, yet she nodded then shifted away from me. “Yes, sir.”

I leaned over the counter, studying the few scratches on my face, another wave of anger rushing inside. The motherfucker responsible would... sighing, I refused to fall into my father’s regime, accepting the same tactics that he’d used. While I had my suspicions that both Christopher and Gregory had followed in my father’s footsteps, I’d yet to cross that line.

She said nothing as she placed the first aid kit back into the closet, taking her time in closing the door. “Why don’t we get some coffee or hell, maybe something stronger. I have a feeling we both need it.” She grabbed a robe off the back of the door, slipping into it without bothering to look at me again.

I was surprised at her almost immediate shutdown, as if there were still two sides to her, one wrestling with the other. Not that I could blame her. I was a stranger to her, a man someone had also obviously warned her about. I debated telling her something, more for her protection than anything, but she had a right to know why I needed to stay away from her for a period of time.

As I dressed, I thought about what had occurred, still going over the pieces in my mind. Why would the prince go to such lengths in order to gain access to the club, other than for the same reason every other member who had something to hide remained on the edge.

The damn ledger.

Hissing, I winced as I eased into my shirt, finally staring at my reflection in the mirror. I couldn’t buy that she had anything to do with this, but her reluctance at telling me what was going on was certainly disturbing.

As I walked into the kitchen, the sight of the roses caught my attention. I hadn’t given it any thought that there could be someone else in the picture. But black roses? My instinct told me that something was off, perhaps one of the reasons for her odd behavior. She stood staring out the kitchen window, a bottle of vodka on the counter.

She tensed when she heard me enter, a sigh erupting from her mouth. “I thought you might like a Bloody Mary.”

“While that is my drink of choice on particularly difficult mornings, that indicates that you won’t be going to the hospital for a shift today.” I moved closer to the roses, staring down at them, able to see thorns on the red roses. What the fuck?

“That’s because I quit.”

“What?”

“It’s a long story and not one I want to get into.” She shifted around to face me, folding her arms. “Did you send the flowers?”

I chuckled, although it forced me to realize that I didn’t have a romantic bone in my body. “Unfortunately, you must have a secret admirer.”

“Yeah, well, if I do, he’s a weirdo.”

“What does that mean?”

When she didn’t say anything, every single muscle in my body moved to the kind of tension that forced my pulse to echo in my ears. I took two long strides, gripping her arms.

“Ouch. You’re hurting me.”

“Tell me, Sophia. What do you mean?”

“I mean the notes sent with the flowers are bizarre, let alone the fact one group has thorns and the other... Well, they’re black, which means death or evil.”

“Or significant change.”

Her eyes opened wide, her mouth twisting. “So you did send them.”

“No, I didn’t. Let me see these notes.”

“Not unless you tell me what the hell is going on.”

I didn’t want to argue with her, but I had to see the notes, my instincts pushing on high alert. She had a hard, cold stare, the kind that meant she wouldn’t budge. “What I’m going to tell you isn’t anything that you can repeat to anyone. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“I’m serious.”

“I understand, Michael. I’m not a fool. I know that if certain information leaks to all these enemies you have then you’ll be in even more danger.” She refused to take her eyes off me, her mouth twisting.

“You’re correct. I was shot at last night by an unknown assailant outside of the club. While I’m uncertain whether the intention was a kill shot or not, I was lucky in that I reacted quickly.”

“There’s more, isn’t there? You didn’t want me to be seen at your club for a reason other than just to keep my identity a secret. Correct?”

I had to admire her tenacity. “Yes. Anyone in my