Page 65 of Temporary Vows

“Fuck,” he growls and throws a fist into the wall. “This is unbelievable. Fucking unbelievable. Let me go talk to him.”

“No.” I shake my head and press a hand to his arm. “I have to do something. I can’t pay him, but I have to try to reason with him.”

“I know I can’t pay. That’s why I went to someone who could.”

Jack goes completely still, his arm rigid beneath my hand. “Who? Who did you go to?”

“Dorian.”

The color drains from his face the instant I say his name.

“No. Fuck no. You didn’t.”

I hold his gaze. “I went to Dorian, Jack.”

For one second, the room seems to sway, tilting back and forth and back again. Then Jack’s face twists with anger.

“Why in the hell would you do that?” His voice rises fast. “Why would you go crawling back to someone who destroyed us?”

“Jack, he didn’t destroy us. You told me the business was lost and Dad owed too many people.”

“You know what I fucking mean. And where do you get off making excuses for him?” He points at the door, as though Dorian is standing on the other side. “We lost everything, but he could have stopped it. Everything, Elodie. An eighty-year-old family business gone just like that.”

“He helped me now.”

“That doesn’t make up for the past? Fuck, if not for the past, you wouldn’t need his help. Why didn’t you come back to me?”

“I called you several times, and you never replied.”

He drags a hand over his face. “Shit, I was busy.”

“I had no choice, Jack.” The words come out sharper than I mean them to, but I don’t take them back. “Marcus had men beat me. He threatened me. He threatened Skylar. What exactly was I supposed to do?”

He blows out a sharp breath. “Maybe he was bluffing. Maybe he just wanted to scare you.”

I stare at him, stunned. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m sayingmaybehe wasn’t going to go any further than the beating.”

“No. He was serious.” My voice goes cold. “He wasn’t just scaring me. And even if he was, why should I have to be that scared when there was someone who could help me?”

He flinches. “It shouldn’t have been him.”

My chest burns now, anger pushing through the hurt. “Well, it was. Dorian took care of it and made sure Marcus won’t bother me again.”

He lets out a bitter laugh. “Wow, you two sound like real old pals. Didn’t realize you’d been in contact all this time.”

“We haven’t. I ran into him last week at the coffeehouse.” God in heaven, I dare not tell him about the Dark Odyssey, or that this is actually the second time Dorian helped me. The embarrassment of knowing he bought me in an auction would probably kill him.

“So, what did he do, take one look at you and see how desperate you were?”

“He didn’t expect to find me in a coffeeshop. I ended up telling him I was saving for something, and he offered to help.” That is all true.

“And what’s he expecting in return for hishelp? There’s no way he did this for free, and he knows you can’t pay him back. The fucker must know I’m broke, too, or you wouldn’t need help.”

I hesitate, and that’s all it takes for him to see I’ve only just touched the surface.

Jack’s expression changes as more unease creeps in. “What did he ask for, Elodie?”