Chapter 2 - The Man Who Never Raised His Voice|
Trevor had spent his entire adult life believing that money could protect him from consequences.
He was about to discover that some men possessed something far more dangerous than money.
The hand gripping his wrist belonged to a tall man wearing a perfectly tailored charcoal suit.
His dark hair was neatly combed, his jaw was clean-shaven, and his expression was almost frighteningly calm.
Trevor twisted his arm, trying to break free.
"Get your hands off me!"
The stranger did not move.
"I believe I told you not to touch her."
Trevor looked around the boutique, expecting someone to intervene.
Nobody did.
Even the store manager had gone completely still.
"Do you have any idea who I am?" Trevor demanded.
The stranger studied him with the detached expression of a man examining something unpleasant beneath his shoe.
"No."
The single word made Trevor's face burn.
"I'm Trevor Bennett, senior partner at Vale & Cross."
"Congratulations."
"I know people in this city."
"So do I."
Trevor attempted to pull away again.
The stranger released him so suddenly that he stumbled backward into the glass counter.
Chloe gasped.
"Trevor, stop!"
But Trevor was no longer listening.
His eyes had fallen on the stranger's expensive watch, the discreet security men standing near the entrance, and the platinum wedding band on his left hand.
Something about the man's presence made his stomach tighten.
"Who the hell are you?"
The stranger ignored him.
Instead, he turned toward Sadi.
His expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Not enough for anyone unfamiliar with him to notice.
But Sadi noticed.
The dangerous stillness around his eyes softened when he looked at her injured leg.
"Are you hurt?"
"A little."
"Where?"
"My calf and knee."
His gaze dropped toward the marble floor.
Then he noticed the faint red mark beginning to appear beneath the torn edge of her jeans.
A muscle tightened in his jaw.
"Arthur."
One of the security men stepped forward immediately.
"Yes, sir."
"Call the police and request an ambulance."
Trevor laughed nervously.
"An ambulance?"
He shook his head in disbelief.
"This is ridiculous."
Sadi looked at her former boyfriend.
"You kicked me hard enough to knock me down."
"You're exaggerating."
"Then the security cameras shouldn't be a problem."
The stranger slowly turned toward the store manager.
"Preserve every recording from the last thirty minutes."
The manager swallowed.
"Of course, Mr. Voss."
Trevor froze.
Voss.
The name landed somewhere deep in his memory.
He had heard it before.
Every lawyer who handled commercial property, private acquisitions, or waterfront development knew that name.
Roman Voss.
The man whose business empire stretched across half the city.
The man whose competitors frequently disappeared from the negotiating table without ever explaining why.
The man newspapers described as an investor, while people behind closed doors called him something else entirely.
The Ghost.
Trevor took an involuntary step backward.
"Roman Voss?"
Roman offered no acknowledgment.
He had already returned his attention to Sadi.
"Can you walk?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
She gave him a faint smile.
"Roman, I'm not made of glass."
"No," he answered quietly.
"You're considerably stronger."
Trevor stared between them.
Then he laughed.
It was an ugly, desperate sound.
"Wait a minute."
He pointed toward Sadi.
"You're telling me you know this woman?"
Roman looked at him.
"I know her better than anyone."
Trevor's expression twisted.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Sadi raised her left hand.
The simple platinum band she wore matched the one on Roman's finger.
For several seconds, Trevor did not seem to understand what he was seeing.
Then the color drained from his face.
"No."
Sadi held his gaze.
"Yes."
Roman stepped beside her and rested a protective hand against the small of her back.
"Trevor Bennett, meet my wife."
The silence that followed was extraordinary.
Chloe's mouth fell open.
The manager lowered his eyes.
And Trevor looked as though someone had quietly removed the floor beneath his feet.
"Your wife?"
Roman's expression remained unchanged.
"Sadi Voss."
Trevor shook his head violently.
"That's impossible."
Sadi almost laughed.
Three years ago, he had told her nobody would ever want her.
Now he was staring at the evidence that somebody had chosen her completely.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because you decided I wasn't worth loving?"
Trevor opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Roman watched him with cold interest.
"Did you know she helped pay your way through law school?"
Trevor went rigid.
"That's private."
"She worked fourteen-hour shifts while you studied."
"That was years ago."
"She paid your bills when you couldn't."
Trevor glanced toward Chloe.
"Don't listen to him."
Roman's voice never changed.
"And when you left, you stole the last six hundred dollars she had."
Chloe pulled away from Trevor.
"You stole money from her?"
"It wasn't stealing!"
Sadi tilted her head.
"Then what would you call taking my savings without permission?"
Trevor's face reddened.
"Look, everyone needs to calm down."
But Roman was not finished.
"You've spent several minutes explaining that my wife doesn't belong in this building."
He looked toward the cufflinks behind the glass.
"Apparently, you also believe she cannot afford anything inside it."
Trevor said nothing.
Roman turned toward the manager.
"Please prepare the cufflinks my wife was considering."
"Of course, sir."
Sadi touched his sleeve.
"Roman."
He immediately looked at her.
"I haven't decided whether I like them."
For the first time, the corner of his mouth moved.
"Then we'll wait until you decide."
That small exchange somehow humiliated Trevor more than everything else.
Roman Voss, a man powerful executives feared, had stopped in the middle of a confrontation because his wife had changed her mind about a pair of cufflinks.
Trevor finally understood that the woman he had called worthless possessed something he could never buy.
Roman's respect.
Outside the boutique, approaching sirens broke the silence.
Trevor looked toward the entrance.
"You can't seriously be having me arrested."
Sadi met his eyes.
"I didn't have you arrested, Trevor."
She glanced at the bruise spreading along her leg.
"You made your own decision."
Roman gently took her hand.
"And now," he added, "you'll have the opportunity to explain that decision to the police."
But as two officers entered the boutique, Roman's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
A message from his security director contained only seven words.
Sir, Bennett works for Gerald Vale now.
Roman's expression darkened.
May you like
Because Gerald Vale was not merely a wealthy developer.
He was the one man Roman had spent the last two years trying to keep away from his wife.
