The Scotch Series: The Complete Series (Scotch #1-3) - Penelope Sky Page 0,146

the moment.

“What?”

“It’s not wired to an electric pulse. It just carries a signal so it’ll show up on an X-ray.”

My hands gripped my waist as I listened to every word. “Why would Crewe do that?”

“Because Crewe wouldn’t want to kill your brother. He just wants you to think he will.”

“Because…?”

“It keeps both of you in line.”

Come to think of it, I never saw Crewe with the transmitter on him. He never threatened me with the explosive either. “If that’s true, why would you tell me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he hissed. “Ever since you came around, you’ve been sabotaging my every move—”

“Have not.”

“Yes, you have. Crewe is so obsessed with you that he’s losing his focus. I know you’ve been manipulating him this entire time. Ariel agrees with me. You’re going to pull him down a path he can’t recover from. But now that you know the truth, you can leave. Find an escape route and go.”

Dunbar wasn’t trustworthy so I didn’t know if I could believe a word he said, but I did believe his motives. He’d wanted me out of here since the day I arrived. He had no problem strangling me and slapping me. Both he and Ariel wanted me out of Crewe’s life. And this was the perfect way to get rid of me. “How do I know you aren’t lying? That you’re just trying to get my brother and me dead?”

“I don’t care about either of you being dead. I just want you gone. You wanna know how I’m telling the truth? Think about Crewe. He’s a hard man, but he’s not cruel. He didn’t sell you to Bones because he went soft. He hasn’t hurt you because he’s kind. He defended you from me because he’s chivalrous. Do you really think he would hurt you, the woman his entire universe revolves around?”

When he said that, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind.

Dunbar was telling the truth.

There wasn’t a bomb inside my brother’s head.

There was nothing keeping me there.

All I had to do was plan my next move.

And I could be free.

35

Crewe

Ariel sat with her leather notepad on her lap. A glass of scotch was on the table beside her, and she was on her second drink. Pias sat in the other chair, our main distributor who took care of the shipments before they headed off to international places. He was essential in my scotch business, and he was someone Ariel approved of.

One of the butlers came to my side and lifted the decanter of scotch. “Another, sir?”

I eyed the empty glass and didn’t struggle to resist. “I’d prefer a glass of water. Thank you.”

“Very well, sir.” He grabbed the pitcher and filled my glass.

Ariel lifted her gaze from her notebook and looked at me. It was obvious what she was thinking. She didn’t need to say it.

Pias gave us a report about the recent shipment to the Middle East. He was one of the foot soldiers that was responsible for packaging our quality product and ensuring it reached our clients in the perfect condition. That wasn’t something a factory of robots could do.

Ariel scribbled her notes. “I’m glad everything is going smoothly. Sales have spiked since the opening.”

I rested my fingertips against my lips. “No surprise there.” All of the nobility got to sample my scotch firsthand. It was a nice respite from all the French wines they drank on a daily basis. Scotch wasn’t just a man’s drink—it was everyone’s drink.

Ariel stared at me with narrowed eyes, her passive-aggressive attitude leaking from her pores. She was waiting for me to ask what her problem was.

But I wasn’t gonna take the bait.

Dimitri opened the door to the drawing room then came to my side. He leaned down to my ear and whispered his message. “Lady London is asking for you. Should I tell her you’re in a meeting?”

The second she was on my mind, I didn’t want to think about anything else. I wanted to circle my arms around her waist and kiss her, even if it was only for a few minutes. Then I would return to this dry meeting so Ariel could continue to shoot me glares. “I’ll see her.” I rose from my chair. “Excuse me. Carry on without me.”

Ariel looked like she wanted to kill me. “You can’t expect us to carry on when you’re the owner of this fine business.” She gripped her black pen until her knuckles turned white. With those black glasses on the bridge of her nose, she