The Scotch Series: The Complete Series (Scotch #1-3) - Penelope Sky Page 0,173

as I could before I headed to the door. “I don’t have time right now. I’ll be back soon.” I knew London wasn’t going anywhere, but my heart just spiked with adrenaline. I never expected to see her again, never hear from her again. But she was standing outside my door in the middle of the night.

What did she want?

The last time I saw her was when we got into the Jeep. After that, everything turned blurry.

When I thought about what she did to me, the anger emerged. I shouldn’t even go downstairs to see her. I should slam the door in her face and demand my men to drag her off the property by her hair.

But that didn’t slow me down.

I walked down the stairs, feeling my pulse pound in my ears like a pair of drums. My hands automatically formed fists, and my knuckles turned white. No matter how much anger burned under the surface, it didn’t stop me from wanting to cross that threshold.

Stop me from wanting to see her.

I reached the front door and stared at the dark wood. Only a few feet separated us, separated me from the woman I once loved. She played me for a fool, manipulated me exactly the way Ariel warned. She humiliated me in a way Josephine never did.

And to think I actually loved her.

I took a deep breath and willed the anger to leave my body. I wanted to wear a stoic expression, an expression of nothingness when I looked at her. I didn’t want her to understand how much she hurt me.

But I doubted that would last long.

I opened the door and stepped out into the night, taking the long stone steps to the driveway. I saw her outline in the darkness, her body wrapped in a black jacket. Her breath escaped like vapor because the October nights here were far colder than the ones in New York.

Her face finally came into view from the outdoor lights. Her brown hair was exactly as I remembered, slightly wavy from the damp air. She wore dark jeans with black boots, looking slender in the curve-fitting outfit.

I stood in front of her and looked at her head-on, doing my best to appear as indifferent as possible. It was cold outside, especially in just my t-shirt, but I refused to invite her inside my home—not when she was my enemy.

She met my look with those green eyes I used to love. Sympathy and pain were written in them, remorse for what she’d done. I didn’t need to hear her apology to know it was sitting on the tip of her tongue.

I waited for her to speak first since I had nothing productive to say. The only thing that came to mind were cold insults that wouldn’t further the conversation. Any shred of chivalry I had was long dead.

“Hi…”

I didn’t say it back, purely out of stubbornness.

The wind was strong tonight, and her hair whipped across her face. When it got in her eyes, she tucked it behind her ear. “I was hoping we could talk inside. There’s a lot of things I want to tell you.”

“No.”

Her eyes contracted when she heard the authority in my voice.

“I never want you to set foot inside my house again.” I was surprised how well I controlled my tone. On the way to the door, I’d thought about strangling her. Now I was calm and collected, making my walls as thick as the Great Wall of China. “I don’t give a damn about anything you have to say, and you’re stupid for showing your face around here. Maybe you’ve forgotten all the men who died because of you—but my crew hasn’t.”

She finally bowed her head, breaking eye contact with me and tightening her arms around her waist. “I said I told Joseph not to come. I specifically told him—”

“Not to hurt anyone or kill me,” I interrupted. “But you did plan for him to come. You were stupid to think my enemy wouldn’t desecrate me the second he had a chance. You plotted against me on purpose, took advantage of my heart like the whore that you are.” My temper flared, and now it couldn’t be controlled. I didn’t feel bad for insulting her, not when she’d insulted me worse.

The fire didn’t leap in her eyes. “I told him not to come at all. I told him I was going to talk to you first.”

“Talk to me about what? Tell me that you successfully tricked me