by Joss Wood
Mariella didn’t look convinced and neither did Elana, who’d joined them.
“What the hell was that about, Thom? You seriously couldn’t find a single good thing to say about your fiancée? That was so humiliating.” She seethed, her cheeks and forehead flushed. “Do you have any idea how many members of the media are here tonight? That speech of yours is going to be on every entertainment blog before midnight.”
“I’m sorry, Elana. I really am. You know how I feel about you. I just... I’ll be fine. I promise. I just need a little air.” He backed away from them both, nearly bowling over a ninety-year-old heiress.
“Thom!” Elana hissed.
He apologized, then turned and walked away, heading for the patio where he’d chatted with Lane earlier.
Thom opened the door and breathed in the chilly fall air. It was much cooler than when he and Lane were out there earlier, but he didn’t care. He needed the peace and solitude. A chance to get his mind together. Wrap his head around the choices that lay before him.
He walked over to the railing that ran along the edge of the cliff. It was dark out. With the light of the moon and the lights from the restaurant, he could make out the waves crashing against the shore below. The sound of the water soothed his nerves and brought him some comfort.
Thom dragged a hand across his forehead and sighed, staring longingly at the water below.
He was in an unenviable position.
He could call the Fixer’s bluff and tell Elana and Mariella the truth. Once they knew the identity, the Fixer would have to think twice about causing him any harm or risk being the first person they’d suspect.
Or was the Fixer cruel and calculating enough to take all of them out to protect that secret?
“Penny for your thoughts?”
The Fixer.
Thom’s blood grew cold. Suddenly, he was very conscious of their position on the cliff high above the cold, dark waters swirling beneath them.
He didn’t respond. His throat was so dry he could barely swallow.
“Or if you’re willing to join me, it’ll be a hell of a lot more.” Grinning, the Fixer looked over the edge at the waters below.
“What are you doing here?” Thom stammered, taking a few steps back.
“Checking on you, of course. You were pretty rattled up there. Everyone is worried about you. I volunteered to check in with you. Make sure everything is okay.”
“So they know you’re out here with me.” Thom glanced toward the restaurant, wondering if anyone in the bar could see them out on the terrace together.
The Fixer chuckled. “Relax, Thom. Don’t be so melodramatic. Why would I try to hurt you when I’m offering you a fortune to be my silent partner?”
The offer didn’t smell right.
“I don’t want any part of your business.” Thom spat the word distastefully.
“Why not? It’s lucrative, and despite what you may think, I’ve done a lot of good for a lot of people in this town and in this family.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Thom tipped his chin and folded his arms over his chest. “If what you’re doing isn’t wrong, why did Harrison keep it a secret from his family?”
“If you plan to join this family, I’d suggest you take me up on my offer. Look, you know me, and you and I have always gotten along. There’s no reason we can’t continue our amicable relationship. Make it a partnership. But if you don’t...”
“Are you threatening me?” Thom asked incredulously. “Man, was I wrong about you. Always thought you were a good person. But you’re nothing more than a common criminal wearing fancy clothes.”
The Fixer stepped closer, gaze locked with Thom’s. “I have no intention of hurting you, Thom. But if you suddenly decide to grow a conscience and divulge what you know to Elana or anyone else...” The Fixer inhaled deeply, then slowly released the breath calmly. “You’ll be hurting yourself.”
The Fixer reached inside the elegant jacket, and Thom gasped. His heart thumped in his chest, and the sound of rushing blood filled Thom’s ears.
Was this the way his story would end? With the Fixer shooting him there on the terrace and tossing his body into the swirling waters below?
“Don’t.” Thom held up his trembling hands.
The Fixer smiled. “Enough with the melodramatics.” Pulling out a phone, the Fixer handed it to Thom.
Thom took it warily, then looked at the screen. “Is this—” He scrolled through the pictures of him and Lane out on the patio earlier. The angle of the photos, taken when Lane had embraced him, made it look as if they were kissing. “How’d you get these?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“This isn’t what it looks like. Lane was just talking to me. Giving me advice because I was nervous about the engagement party. He hugged me to assure me that everything would be all right. The entire thing was completely innocent.” Thom’s heart raced, and a cold sweat covered his entire body.
He handed back the phone, fighting the urge to pitch the device into the dark water below. If the Fixer was as good as believed, those wouldn’t be the only copies. Antagonizing the Fixer would only make things worse.
“That doesn’t matter, either. The only thing that does matter is what everyone will think when they discover that the picture-perfect groom prefers the company of men.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would,” the Fixer assured him, slipping the phone back into the inner pocket.
Thom was paralyzed with panic. His heart beat so rapidly it felt as if it would pound out of his chest.
“How could you do this? Don’t you care about how this will affect Elana and Mariella? They’re your blood. Doesn’t that mean anything to you at all?”
A wicked grin curled the edges of Gabriel Santiago’s mouth. “Sorry, Thom, but this is business.”
* * * * *
Finally! The Fixer’s identity is revealed—to the not-so-happy groom-to-be, anyway. But how long until the rest of the family finds out? Because Gabe still has to protect the Marshalls and the business—by any means necessary. Yet now, with cracks in his armor, his job just got that much more complicated...
Read SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 5 of 12)
by Helen Lacey
To find out what happens next!
Available now from Harlequin Serials
wherever Harlequin ebooks are sold
Don’t miss a single installment of the
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST series:
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 1 of 12)
by Joss Wood
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 2 of 12)
by Clare Connelly
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 3 of 12)
by Donna Hill
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 4 of 12)
by Reese Ryan
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 5 of 12)
by Helen Lacey
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 6 of 12)
by Michelle Major
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 7 of 12)
by Yahrah St. John
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 8 of 12)
by Cat Schield
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 9 of 12)
by Maya Blake
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 10 of 12)
by USA TODAY Bestselling Author Dani Collins
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 11 of 12)
by Maya Blake
SECRETS OF THE A-LIST (Episode 12 of 12)
by Karen Booth
Available now from Harlequin Serials
wherever Harlequin ebooks are sold
And don’t miss two linked romances also featuring the Marshall family from Harlequin Desire®:
by Joss Wood
On sale now
and
SNOWED IN WITH A BILLIONAIRE
by Karen Booth
Coming in December 2017
ISBN-13: 9781488082917
Secrets of the A-List Box Set, Volume 1
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Secrets of the A-List (Episode 1 of 12)
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Secrets of the A-List (Episode 2 of 12)
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Secrets of the A-List (Episode 3 of 12)
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Secrets of the A-List (Episode 4 of 12)
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Joss Wood, Clare Connelly, Donna Hill and Reese Ryan for their contributions to the Secrets of the A-List Box Set, Volume 1 series.
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com