Rulers of Deception (21 page)

“What the hell, Lynette?” Linc managed, throwing her off of him. He glared at her with betrayal in his eyes. “What were you doing in that picture? Kissing him?”

“O-of course not!” she defended as she fought back tears. “We were just having lunch.”

“I don’t believe you.” His fists clenched at his sides, the one he’d used to punch Simon throbbing with pain. He barely noticed it. “Unless you can come up with a better explanation than that, I’m gone.”

Lynette trembled, her lips parted speechlessly as she struggled to find the right words to say. Of course it was innocent, how could it not be? How could she make him understand? Her eyes brightened with tears.

When she said nothing, Linc shook his head coldly. “You got nothing, Lynette?”

“Linc, please—”

She tried to touch his arm and he stepped back, avoiding her. “Don’t touch me.”

With one last look at Simon, who was leaning against the stage being tended to by a few of the dancers, Linc took off. He charged out of the room, unable to look at Lynette’s face any longer. If he did, he knew he’d say things he’d regret later. He needed space now to process what he’d seen, to make sense of it. Until then, he was only going to make things worse.

Lynette fell to her knees, the photographs scattered around her. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she stared at them, too stunned to move.

When she arrived
home, there was no sign of Linc. He hadn’t been back to the hotel and he wasn’t answering his phone, which worried Lynette even more. Where would he go in such an angry state? What would he do?

Mentally exhausted and feeling sick, Lynette tossed her belongings haphazardly on the floor and climbed into the bed they shared. She buried herself beneath the covers, clutching his pillow to breathe in his scent. Tears spilled from her eyes as a sob built and ravaged her throat.

It seemed like the only thing she’d done since seeing him that afternoon was cry. There was nothing else to do, nothing more to say. Of course the accusation of an affair was a lie. How could it not be? And how could Linc not realize it given what Grant and Quinn had gone through just days earlier?

Linc didn’t seem to want to understand, which made Lynette realize for the first time that he was seriously jealous of Simon. How could she have missed it before? As ludicrous as it seemed to her, Linc’s jealousy was now costing her the greatest thing in her life: her husband.

If only she could talk to him, she could make him see the truth. If he’d settle down for one second and let her explain…

But he wouldn’t. Not yet, anyway. And until he came back to her, there was nothing more she could do.

Grieving, she closed her eyes tight and pictured his face in her mind. It only made her heart ache worse, but she couldn’t help it. She missed him so badly it burned, flickering like embers beneath her skin.

As she curled into a ball and gave into the exhaustion, she imagined his arms around her, pulling her close to his body. She thought she could feel his warmth and let it soothe her, let it bring her into a haunted sleep.

In her dreams, she felt his hand slide over her arm and around her waist, along with the feel of his breath upon her neck. A shiver ran through her, causing her to bury herself deeper in the blankets. But when she could sense him pressed up against her back, could hear his voice whispering in her ear, she fought through the web of sleep and forced herself awake.

“Linc?” She opened her eyes and turned, seeing him lying beside her.

A slow smile spread over his mouth, tinged with regret. “I’m sorry, Lynette.” He pulled her in close and kissed her. “I should have known better.”

Her eyes burned with angry tears as she looked at him. “Yes, you should have.”

Expecting her resentment, he brushed aside strands of her copper hair and held her face tenderly. “After I drove around for awhile to blow off some steam, I called Simon. He explained the pictures and reassured me that there’s nothing going on.”

Anger hardened her face. “Do you trust his word over mine? Why wasn’t my objection to it good enough for you to take just a
second
and hear me out?”

“I don’t know. I guess nothing you said would’ve been good enough,” he admitted, knowing it was stupid.

“Damn you.” She pushed away from him, disgusted. With a furious glare, she sat up and threw off the blankets. “Do you know how worried I was about you? You didn’t even give me the chance to explain anything, you just took off and went God knows where. You could have crashed your car for all I know. And the last words between us would be ones of unfounded anger.” When he tried to touch her, she flinched and backed away from him. “Stop.”

Linc frowned. “Look, I was mad, okay? I’m sorry I made you worry. Can’t a guy take off for a few hours to clear his head?”

“Not when the thing that pissed you off is nothing but a lie you gave me no chance to explain.”

He sighed. “Fair enough. Now stop being angry, I don’t feel like fighting anymore.” Without warning, he dragged her back onto the bed and covered her mouth with his. His frustration met her anger and clashed as he rose over her, pinning her beneath him.

She arched at the feel of his hands roaming over her skin, her heart bursting. The anger she’d clung to so desperately fell to the wayside as her entire system cooled to a simmer, relaxed by his touch and calmed by his presence.

“Do you know why I married you?” he murmured, breaking the kiss to look her in the eye. When she only shook her head, he smiled. “Because I love you. It’s that simple, Lynette. And so the idea of you wasting my love by fooling around with someone else kills me.”

“I know,” she whispered, broken at the look on his face. “I promise you that will never happen.”

He nodded, then leaned in to kiss her again. “Good. Because I don’t think I could find another sexy ballerina to make my wife.”

A laugh bubbled out of her throat, easing the weight of seriousness in the air. “Please. There’d be a line of women out the door begging to be with you.”

“Hmm.” He winked at her. “Maybe I’m missing out.”

One of her eyebrows lifted as she smiled. “Maybe I need to remind you why I’m worth it.”

“I think this whole situation reminded me well enough,” he said. “Though, if you want extra points I won’t turn you down.”

She ran her hands through his hair and nipped at his lower lip. “I always love earning extra credit.”

S
o it happened again,” Madison confirmed, crossing her arms with a frown. She stood beside her brothers as they sat at the conference table, the photographs of Lynette and Quinn lying before them.

Linc nodded. “Yep. And because I’m a fucking idiot I let it get to me. When I find out who took these I’m going to kill them.”

Grant thumbed through the images, trying to sort through the situation. “We should show these to Veronica when she arrives. She may know who sent them.”

“No,” Madison snapped as she grabbed the pictures. “We can’t show these to anyone outside the inner circle. We don’t know who we can trust.”

“She’s right, buddy,” Linc said, patting Grant on the shoulder. “This has to stay close. It’s way too damaging to let it get into the wrong hands.”

“It’s nothing but lies,” Grant growled, sitting back in his chair and eyeing his siblings coldly. “The sooner we find out who sent them, the better.”

“I’m working on it,” Madison told him, eyes ablaze as she held the images close to her chest. “Don’t worry.”

Before he could ask her to elaborate, a knock on the door signaled a visitor. Veronica walked in with a cheerful smile on her face. “Hey, everyone.”

“Have a seat.” Madison pointed to one of the empty chairs across from her brothers and beside her own. She discreetly tucked the photographs into her purse before joining them.

Veronica sat and whipped a file folder out of her tote bag eagerly. “So, as I explained on the phone I only have about half of the feature completed. I need to get some more information from you before I can complete the second half. But before we talk about that, here’s what I’ve got so far.”

She opened the folder and took out a few mock-up page spreads, featuring images of the Vasser family and the copy she’d written for each section. The first page showed a close-up photograph of Madison, Grant, and Linc that had been taken by a professional photographer a few months earlier. In it, Madison stood in the forefront in a strapless red dress with her two brothers behind her in black suits, hands resting on her shoulders protectively. The corner of Madison’s mouth was curved in a sly side smile, giving her the look of a wickedly clever executive. Grant wore his trademark serious expression, his dark eyes impossible to read and yet compelling in their depth. Linc appeared more relaxed with no tie and the top button undone on his white dress shirt. His smile was as charismatic as his bright blue eyes, but there was a hint of the hidden shark behind his grin.

It was a photograph the three of them liked, and seeing it there front and center with the headline
The Royals of America
blew them away.

“That’s pretty cool,” Linc said. “Nice headline.”

“I thought so.” Veronica winked at him and showed him the next page. “I think you’ll like this one as well. I used my favorite photo from the set you gave me.”

The featured image was of the six of them dressed elegantly and draped over luxurious antique furniture. Quinn was perched on a sapphire and gold Louis XVI armchair with Grant behind her, one of her hands clasped in his in a sign of stoic unity.

Standing to the left were Linc and Lynette, arms around each other protectively. They eyed the camera with looks of curiosity, almost as if the photographer had interrupted an intimate moment between them.

On the elegant sofa beside them lay Madison, arms draped over the back and arm rests, a vision of class and spiced sophistication. Her dark hair curled over her shoulders, the vivid gold dress she wore a vibrant contrast to the royal blue of the sofa. Leaning over the backrest was Wyatt, his lips twisted in a cynical smile. One of his hands trailed down to touch Madison’s leg, adding a hint of sexiness.

Over the image were the words
The family that sins together stays together
.

“Well? What do you think?” Veronica asked, looking at each of them expectantly.

Madison stared at the tagline on the second image, realizing it fit them better than she wanted to admit. But whether she wanted to project that sentiment to the public was another story. “You’ve portrayed us as people who can’t be trusted, Miss Diaz. I was under the impression you intended to do the opposite.”

Veronica grinned. “Are you kidding? People are going to eat this up. You’re a group of young, incredibly driven, and talented individuals with a reputation for being larger than life. This article plays on that and goes even further. It shows your personalities and what makes each of you so remarkable. The ‘sin’ tagline is more for fun. If you read the copy you’ll see we make only brief mention of the scandal.”

“Rest assured I will be reading it.” Madison eyed the woman carefully. “What other information do you need from us?”

Both Grant and Linc took their eyes off the page spreads and looked at Veronica as well. She cleared her throat and folded her hands before her, sympathy softening her expression.