Chapter 1 - THE MAN AT THE ENGAGEMENT DINNER
By 6:30, Jenna was standing in the private elevator of Blackwood Tower, staring at me like she was reconsidering every decision that had brought her here.
I had changed into a charcoal suit.
She had changed into a dark green dress that made forgetting how to breathe unexpectedly difficult.
“You’re staring,” she said.
“I’m assessing.”
“My dress?”
“The threat level.”
Her mouth twitched.
“And?”
“Extremely high.”
“Evan.”
I offered my arm.
“You asked for convincing.”
She slipped her hand through mine.
That tiny touch affected me more than a gun ever had.
The engagement dinner was being held at the Belmont Hotel, one of Denver’s most expensive venues.
The moment we entered the ballroom, conversations changed.
They didn’t stop.
That would have been too obvious.
They simply became quieter.
People recognized me.
Jenna noticed.
“Why is everyone looking at you?”
“Maybe they like my suit.”
“Evan.”
Before I could answer, a woman in a silver dress hurried toward us.
Jenna stiffened.
“My mother.”
Linda Hart’s smile vanished the second she saw me.
“Oh.”
Jenna’s grip tightened around my arm.
“Mom, this is Evan.”
Linda looked me up and down.
“This is your boyfriend?”
I smiled politely.
“For three weeks, apparently.”
Jenna elbowed me.
Linda did not laugh.
Then a man approached from behind her.
Tall.
Expensive tuxedo.
Perfect smile.
Ryan Mercer.
He looked at Jenna first.
Then at me.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“Jenna,” he said warmly. “You came.”
“With Evan.”
Ryan extended his hand toward me.
“Ryan Mercer.”
I did not take it immediately.
“You already know who I am.”
His smile tightened.
“I’ve heard things.”
“I’m sure.”
Jenna stepped between us before the conversation became less polite.
Her brother Matt arrived with his fiancée and pulled Jenna into a hug.
For twenty minutes, dinner almost felt normal.
Then Ryan stood.
He tapped his wineglass.
“I’d like to say something.”
Jenna froze.
Ryan smiled at her.
“Some mistakes are worth correcting.”
I felt her hand go cold beneath mine.
Ryan reached into his jacket.
For one second, I thought he was reaching for a weapon.
Instead, he pulled out a velvet box.
Jenna whispered, “Oh, no.”
Ryan walked around the table.
He got down on one knee.
Her mother covered her mouth with delight.
“Jenna,” Ryan said, “I never stopped loving you.”
Every eye turned toward her.
Jenna looked horrified.
Ryan opened the box.
A diamond ring.
“Come to Dallas with me. Let’s finish what we started.”
Jenna stood.
“No.”
Her mother gasped.
Ryan’s smile faltered.
“Jenna—”
“I said no two years ago.”
“You were confused.”
“I wasn’t.”
He stood.
Embarrassment replaced charm.
Then he looked at me.
“This is because of him?”
Jenna opened her mouth.
I stood first.
“Yes.”
She stared at me.
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“You really expect me to believe she’s dating someone like you?”
I put one hand gently around Jenna’s waist.
“I don’t care what you believe.”
Ryan stepped closer.
Then whispered so only Jenna and I could hear.
“You should.”
His eyes moved to me.
“Because I know what happened to Daniel Blackwood.”
My entire body went still.
My younger brother had been dead for six years.
Only five living people knew what had really happened to him.
Ryan smiled.
May you like
And in that moment, I knew Jenna’s ex-fiancé had not come to the dinner to win her back.
He had come because someone had told him one of my family’s most dangerous secrets.
