Chapter 90: Dangerous chemistry.

Ivy’s pov

Mr. Knight?

This had to be a prank or something. Why was the universe so against me?

Without a second thought, I grabbed the other Ivy’s arm and yanked her back, stumbling with her into the interrogation room. I slammed the door shut, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird threatening to break free.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed, trying to wrench her arm free.

"Shut up," I breathed, my eyes glued to the small pane of glass in the center of the door. A moment later, he passed.

Gideon was tall and imposing as ever, being led down the hallway by a police man, while Milo followed behind him. Just seeing that one’s smug, familiar face sent a fresh wave of nausea through me.

Of all the brothers, it had to be Gideon. Just my luck.

If it was Roman now, I could have handled that. I could have probably batted my eyes, played the distressed damsel, and he would have eaten it up with a spoon.

But Gideonwas a human lie detector. He saw too much; he knew too much. He was the last person on earth I wanted to see in a place like this. What was he even doing here?

"Oh my god," Ivy Thompson whispered, her eyes wide as she finally saw him through the glass. Then a smug look crossed her face.

"That’s one of the Knights! How about I go on and introduce myself? Since you won’t pay my bail,"

A desperate, hysterical laugh bubbled in my chest. The audacity of this woman. She was lucky I was in a tight spot.

"You know what? Fine. I’ll pay it," I snapped and spun away from the door, my mind made up. I had to get out of here. I had to get her out of here before she got any funny ideas and implicated me more.

"I’ll pay the damn bail. Just let me handle it."

Her face lit up with a triumphant smirk. "Really? I thought you said-"

"Forget what I said!" I cut her off. "I was joking. Now, are you coming?"

I didn’t wait for an answer. I threw the door open once Gideon disappeared down the hallway and marched back to the front counter while she scrambled to keep up. "I’d like to pay the bill for my sister," I told the sergeant, my voice trembling slightly. "So we can leave."

The paperwork took an eternity. Every second felt like a year. My toes curled inside my shoes; my legs felt like they were made of jelly. I was so terrified Gideon would walk back down this hallway and see me. I signed the documents with a shaking hand; my signature was barely legible.

"Okay, we’re done," I said, grabbing Ivy Thompson’s arm and practically dragging her towards the exit. "We’re leaving now."

"Wait," the officer called out. "She has to wait for her case file to be processed. She can’t leave yet."

"What?" I cried, my voice cracking. "But I paid already,"

"It’s the procedure ma’am," he replied with a shrug. "Wait in the hallway."

Defeated, I sank onto one of the hard plastic benches in the hallway, pulling Ivy Thompson down with me, eyeing the corridor warily while voices drifted down from the direction Gideon had gone.

"...I can’t believe you trusted someone like him, Gideon..."

My head snapped up. That was Milo’s voice right? Why was he and Gideon here? I had to know, so I nudged Ivy Thompson. "Stay here. Don’t move."

I crept down the hallway, following the voice till room seven and pressed myself against the wall, peeking through the small glass on the door. They were standing before a one-way mirror, and through the mirror was...

Oh my gosh, Tyler?

Why was Tyler getting interrogated?

"Is he seriously trying to get out of questioning by pretending to have a panic attack?"

A cold, sickening realization washed over me. Milo framed him. That son of a bitch framed Tyler.

"What are we doing?"

I jumped so hard I nearly screamed, clapping a hand over my mouth. I spun around to find Ivy Thompson standing right behind me, giving me a blank look.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I whisper-shrieked, my heart pounding.

"I saw you sneaking off." She peeked up at the glass and had a sly, knowing look on her face.

"Oh, you are really some obsessed stalker, aren’t you? Were you ogling Mr Knight? They would never want somebody like us, don’t you know? Even if they fucked us, it would be to throw us away like tissue papers."

She didn’t get it. She would never get it. She was worried about screwing a billionaire; I was worried about ending up in a shallow ditch if my real identity was ever discovered. "We have to leave," I hissed, grabbing her arm again.

"Now."

I didn’t give her a chance to argue. I dragged her down the rest of the corridor and out the front doors of the police station not caring about their precious procedure into the afternoon sun.

I just needed her gone. Out of sight, out of mind, unable to run back inside and tell Gideon God knows what.

"Finally," she huffed, pulling away from me. "You’re so bossy. Now, are you going to pay for my cab home?"

I was fumbling in my purse for some cash, telling her never to call me again, when a voice, smooth and deep and familiar as hell, washed over me.

"Miss Harpley?"

My shoulders fell. Shit.

I whipped around, dread rising in my spine seeing Gideon approach us. His eyes, those intense sapphire eyes were narrowed in confusion and was that... was that a flicker of worry?

"Mr. Knight," I managed to croak. "What a surprise."

"Is it?" he asked, his gaze flicking from me to the Ivy Thompson, who was practically preening at him. "Weren’t you with Irene?"

"I was. But I had to... uh... a family emergency."

"An emergency?" He looked pointedly at Ivy Thompson, who chose that exact moment to step forward.

"Hi! I’m her sister-"

I pinched her hard on the soft flesh of her upper arm, making her yelp and shut up.

"I just had to come sort out some... family things," I finished, forcing a brittle smile.

"Really? I hope it wasn’t too much of an issue, Ivy," Milo perked up, showing up from behind Gideon and my lips curled in disgust. Here he was, playing the loyal friend card, while he was the real snake in the grass.

"Are you finished with your... emergency?" Gideon asked, his attention returning to me. "Will you be heading back to the estate now?"

"Um, yes," I nodded vigorously. "I will."

"Oh, can I come too?!" Ivy Thompson chirped.

"No, you won’t," I snapped through gritted teeth, shoving her aside and pushed a wad of cash into her hand.

"Get a cab and go home." I turned back to Gideon with a nervous laugh. "Don’t mind her. She likes to cling. She’ll find her way."

"If you’re sure," his tone was unreadable. Just then his chauffeur brought the car around. I watched as Ivy Thompson hailed a cab and climbed in. As soon as she was gone, I moved for the front passenger door, but Gideon’s voice stopped me.

"Sit in the back with me; Milo will sit up front."

Milo shot me a look that could curdle milk before sliding into the front seat. Gideon opened the back door for me, holding it open, and I slid onto the soft leather, my body stiff and awkward.

He got in beside me, and the space suddenly felt too small. He leaned over me, his arm brushing against my chest as he reached for my seatbelt.

I could feel the heat radiating from him. His fingers brushed the skin of my neck as he pulled the belt across my body, our faces inches apart, and then, to my utter shock, he leaned even closer, dropped his nose to the crook of my neck, and inhaled deeply.

My entire body went up in flames.