Wicked Release Read Online Free PDF

see things through the viewfinder that she simply couldn’t see with her own eyes. It was what she loved so much about photography. Her camera was like a second set of eyes; eyes that could capture motion, freeze a moment in time, evoke mood and emotion with a quick click. And, more than anything, she wanted to dissect this man. Know what the hell he had been like with her sister. In a way, he knew a side of Cassandra that Jess never would—she couldn’t even imagine her sister in an office like this, let alone dating a man who owned the whole damn building.
    Tears pricked the back of her eyes, but instead of succumbing to the emotion, Jess brought her teeth down hard onto her tongue, dulling the emotional pain with a physical one.
    When Elliot hung up, Jess plopped back down into his leather desk chair. His lips tightened and she felt an odd sense of joy at getting under his skin. Everything was so perfect; so orderly. She relished throwing his tidy life around in a heaping mess.
    â€œSo . . . El, ” Jess said, “Why didn’t you just call Dane? Why have me do it if you were going to take the phone from me anyway?”
    As quickly as the scowl surfaced, it was replaced with a small smile. “Because Dane never would have answered my call,” he said. “Nor would I blame him for that.”
    Well, that was an honest answer. And for once, Jess had no idea what to say in response. “Why?” she asked.
    Elliot gave her a thoughtful once-over before lifting her purse off the club chair where she had left it and zipping up her suitcase. “I think we’ve both had enough questions for one day. How about some answers?” He walked over to her, her purse dangling by the strap from his fingertips.
    â€œI would love some answers,” she said.
    â€œWould you mind if we kept this luggage here? It’s probably one of the safest places to keep an amount of cash this large.” He walked briskly behind his desk, not waiting for her answer before opening a bottom cabinet. After sliding out a series of filing shelves with a few clicks he opened a hidden safe.
    Whoa. That was some serious shit. Jess’s feelings must have been pretty damn apparent because when Elliot caught her glance, he answered her unspoken question. “I keep cash on many of my properties. And if Cass had gotten a safe as I suggested, you may not be in such a predicament.”
    â€œShe had a safe. In the basement.”
    â€œThat wasn’t her safe,” he said, pushing to his feet after securing the cash inside. Using a tissue, he lifted Cass’s fake passport and held it up in front of Jess’s face. “Would you like to hold on to this? Or should I?”
    Jess stilled beneath his stare and even though it was a simple question, it felt like a test. A test of whether or not she trusted him. She grabbed the passport and tucked it into her purse.
    Elliot sighed. “Well, then, shall we?” he said with a gesture toward the door.
    They exited the building together, walking in silence the whole way. As they slipped off the elevator, Elliot brushed the small of her back. A minor gesture, yes. A gentlemanly motion, but not one she was entirely comfortable with. How could Cass trust someone so . . . so . . . demanding? Someone with such a clinical desire to be in constant control? But her sister had trusted him. That’s what she had to remember. And Cass wasn’t one to trust easily—he must have earned it. Then again, as judging from Cass’s life choices, maybe her sister wasn’t exactly the best judge of character.
    Elliot held the door open for Jess, nodding at the man behind the front desk before once again placing that icy touch on her lower back. A chill skated down from the base of her neck to the back of her heels. This man completely unnerved her to the core. And why? Because he had money? Because he had walls up? Who didn’t?
    She shook the idea from