201 A Tense Alliance and a Lingering Threat
201 A Tense Alliance and a Lingering Threat.
I nodded slowly. “Thank you for the ride.”
“Sebastian Sinclair?” Vera’s voice rose an octave. “Well, that’s an interesting development.”
“I can handle Alistair,” I said, more confidently than I felt.
“On the contrary,” Sebastian replied. “I know exactly what I’m doing. Do you?”
“That bastard!” Vera’s outrage echoed loudly in the quiet car. “What is wrong with him? Hasn’t he done enough damage?”
“Men often confuse control with love,” Cora said, shooting a glance toward the front seat as if checking Sebastian’s reaction.
The car fell silent again. I could feel Cora’s curious gaze on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes. The weight of everything–Alistair’s threats, Sebastian’s protection, my own weaponized secrets–pressed down on me.
Before I could answer, the car stopped in front of my apartment building. Sebastian turned to face me fully for the first time since we’d left the venue.
My head snapped up. “You heard that?”
“Likewise,” Sebastian replied politely. “Safe travels back to New York.”
I laughed humorlessly. “Is that what you call threatening to expose my ex–sister–in–law’s crime? Grace?”
After a moment of tense silence, Sebastian spoke. “So, the divorce is final?”
“Do what?” His eyes met mine in the mirror again.
My phone buzzed in my purse. Vera’s name flashed across the screen, and I quickly
answered.
“He won’t,” I replied, staring out the window at the passing city lights. “Not if he values his family’s reputation.”
The intensity in his dark eyes made my breath catch. There was something dangerous
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there, something that both frightened and thrilled me.
“He confronted me outside,” I admitted. “Made threats about appealing the divorce.”
“Self–preservation,” Sebastian corrected. “He gave you no choice.”
Alistair stepped toward the car. “You don’t know what you’re getting involved in,
Sinclair.”
“Call me tomorrow,” Vera insisted. “And Haze? Don’t let him get to you. You’re free
now.”
“I’ve had practice,” I replied, reaching for the door handle.
“Alistair has always been possessive,” Cora broke the silence, patting my hand sympathetically. “Even back in college. Remember how he’d show up to ‘surprise‘ you at every study group?”
“Will he really appeal the divorce?” Sebastian asked eventually.
“I noticed,” Sebastian’s mouth curved in a grim smile. “He seemed quite determined not to let you leave with me.”
“The cancer fraud evidence? You finally used it?”
“I reminded him that I could destroy his sister’s life if he pushed me,” I explained quietly. “He backed down.”
Sebastian settled into the driver’s seat and adjusted his rearview mirror. His dark eyes locked with Alistair’s for a moment before he lowered the window.
“Intervene with Alistair. Drive me home. Any of it.”
Sebastian’s face remained impassive, but his knuckles whitened slightly on the steering wheel.
“Where are you?” Vera demanded without preamble. “That ass Alistair is still lurking outside the venue. I think he’s waiting for you.”
“He’s always been jealous,” I murmured, looking out at the familiar streets of my neighborhood. “Even when there was nothing to be jealous of.”
“Your address?” Sebastian asked after a moment.
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“It was my pleasure,” he said, and somehow I knew he meant it.
“Perhaps I don’t like seeing someone threatened,” he suggested. His voice was soft but- there was steel underneath.
I considered the question. “No,” I admitted finally. “But I don’t understand why you
did.”
“I know enough,” he countered. “I know you’re talented, resilient, and dealing with a difficult situation with remarkable grace.”
“Thank you,” Cora said softly. “I appreciate the ride.”
“It’s not like that,” I hissed, acutely aware of Sebastian’s presence in the front seat. “He offered me a ride home.”
“I will,” I promised.
“We’ve arrived, Ms. Cadwell,” the driver announced as we pulled up to the entrance of the Grand Palace Hotel.
“Good,” Vera approved. “Save the big guns. But seriously, are you okay?”
“For what it’s worth,” he said quietly, “I think you handled him well. Not many would have stood their ground so firmly.”
“Insurance fraud,” Sebastian mused. “That’s quite serious leverage.”
I met his gaze. “What?”
“As leverage only,” I clarified. “I don’t want to go nuclear unless I have to.”
“And he’s threatening to appeal it?” Sebastian’s eyes met mine briefly in the rearview
mirror.
We rode in silence for several blocks, the city lights casting moving shadows across his sharp profile. I noticed the driver watching us discreetly in his mirror and wondered what he thought of this strange conversation.
“Am I?” I murmured, more to myself than to her. “Goodnight, V.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Sebastián replied. “But sometimes it’s good to have allies.”
As the car pulled away from the hotel, I found myself alone with Sebastian. The air
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between us felt charged with unspoken questions.
“Hey,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
As I stepped out into the night air, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something significant had shifted between us. Sebastian Sinclair wasn’t just offering me a ride home–he was offering me protection, alliance…and perhaps something more.
I sighed. “No. Not if he’s smart. But Alistair isn’t always rational when it comes to me.”
I slid into the backseat of Sebastian’s car, my heart hammering against my ribs. Cora slipped in beside me, her face tight with concern. Through the tinted window, I could see Alistair standing frozen on the sidewalk, his expression a mixture of shock and
rage.
I sighed, rubbing my temple. “I already had the pleasure of his company. I’m in
Sebastian’s car now.”
“Let me know,” he finished simply.
I glanced toward Sebastian, who was pretending not to listen while driving with perfect concentration. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
I nodded, grateful for her attempt to normalize the situation. “He called it romantic. I called it checking up on me.”
“Take a right at the next light,” Sebastian instructed his driver. “We’ll drop Ms. Cadwell at her hotel first.”
The question was whether I was ready to accept it.
Sebastian was quiet for a moment. “Would you prefer I hadn’t?”
## Hazel’s POV
“And now?” Sebastian’s question hung in the air between us.
I nodded stiffly. “Just a week ago.”
“Hazel,” Sebastian’s voice stopped me. “If he continues to be a problem…”
I gave it to him, then added, “You didn’t have to do this.”
Cora squeezed my hand. “Call me tomorrow, okay? We’ll catch up properly.”
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“Apparently not,” I said bitterly. “But I handled it.”
I hung up and dropped the phone back into my purse. The car was filled with awkward- silence. Sebastian had heard everything, of course. There was no way he couldn’t have in the quiet confines of the vehicle.
“I make it a point to hear things that might affect people I care about,” he said simply.
“And you accepted?” Vera sounded impressed. “Good for you. But listen, be careful. Alistair looked unhinged. He was asking everyone if they’d seen you leave.”
“Mr. Everett,” Sebastian’s voice was deceptively calm. “I suggest you consider Ms. Shaw’s words carefully. Some battles aren’t worth fighting.”
She stepped out of the car, then leaned back in. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Sinclair.”
Without waiting for a response, Sebastian raised the window and pulled–away from the curb. The smooth purr of the engine was the only sound in the car as we left Alistair standing alone in the dark.
“You barely know me,” I pointed out.
“How?” Vera asked.
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