VI

While the house was even more grand than it had seemed from the outside, the path to Aides’ office was short, and soon Reigh found herself sitting uncomfortably at the visitor’s side of a large wooden desk.

She hadn’t missed the way Aides had been stealing glances at her from the corner of his eyes, inspecting her face the same way she did his when she thought he wasn’t looking. It reminded her of the first time she’d seen him, at a charity event some months ago.

Could it be that he remembered her, too? Did he recall who she’d been with?

“Drink?”

Aides gestured towards the cabinet to his right, his chair creaking as he leaned to the side to grab two glasses.

Reigh simply nodded, resisting to urge to answer with a ‘yes puh-lease’ and come off as a total alcoholic. Truth be told a little AA probably couldn't hurt at this point, but with Paul on the lose she would consider it a miracle if she'd live long enough to make it to her first sobriety chip.

As the man in front of her poured the both of them a whiskey, she tried to distract herself by focusing on the interior of the place.

Upon further inspection, her guess of him living in a bachelor pad didn’t seem to be too far off after all. While the nature-inspired villa was as beautiful as it was secluded, it was also made up to be rather impersonal, and the color scheme certainly didn’t seem to reflect the inhabitant’s personality.

Somehow she doubted Aides was a beige type of person.

“Are you alright, miss Harlow?”

Reigh’s cheeks reddened when she realized he’d been attempting to hand her a glass for some time now, his hand hovering above the desk mid-air. Muterring a quick 'thanks' she accepted the drink.

“I’m perfectly fine”, she nodded, choosing to ignore the way he raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Just tired is all. I got up early this morning.”

And drank an entire bottle of wine trying to figure out what to do about my ex threatening me with a nude. And then I went to work tipsy. And don't forget about the drama with Paul.

“I understand. We'll make this quick, and then I’ll ask Maria to make a bed for you in one of the guest rooms.”

She wanted to protest, but before she could open her mouth Aides stopped her with a flick of his hand. He reached for his phone and send a quick message, no doubt to misses Wilkinson.

“It’s no bother, really. You’re the only one staying here at the moment. There are plenty of rooms available.”

The quick ‘thank you’ Reigh muttered derived mostly from a feeling of obligation. If he did recognize her, she actually preferred to be off as soon as possible. Some memories were best left in the back of one’s mind.

“Now, before I ask you any questions, I need you to understand that we will not be involving the police in this. My men are perfectly capable of handling this situation themselves, and I can assure you mr Benoit will not get away with this. Is that okay with you?”

His words allowed little protest, and he would receive none from her. She nodded in silent approval. Thomas had friends with the police; not involving them suited her just fine at the moment.

“Very well”, he mused in that low, husky voice of his, his ember eyes refusing to grant her a breather as he pulled a stack of papers his way. “In that case, let’s start with the obvious. Have you got any idea where mr Benoit might be right now?”

Reigh swirled her drink, needing a moment to adjust to his conversation style. He wanted to get straight to the point, then.

“Sorry, I don’t", she shook her head regretfully, wrecking her mind for details that might possibly prove useful and coming up with none. Part of why she'd chosen this city was because Thomas had no family living here.

“You didn't get any text from him?"

"No."

"Didn't meet up with him to have dinner or something?”

It was obvious Aides was hinting at something, but it had yet to dawn on Reigh what that was exactly. A little sheepishly she stared at him.

“Didn’t see him at some hotel...?”

When it clicked, her eyebrows lowered into a deep frown. She made no effort to mute the low huff that escaped her lips, and when she spoke again her voice was purposely drained of all emotion.

“I’m not sleeping with him, if that’s what you’re suggesting." She did in fact have standards. "The last time I saw him was at a family event some months ago.”

Now would have been a good time for Aides’ cheeks to redden in embarrassment, but he didn't seem to feel even the tiniest bit of shame. He was staring her down; weighing her answers for any truth in them.

“So he’s family?”

Reigh’s mouth twitched, her fingers fighting to keep from fumbling awkwardly.

This was beginning to feel a whole lot less like her helping him and a whole lot more like him interrogating her.

“Not really. Not directly, and not anymore.”

She had no desire to clarify things any further, and to her surprise Aides did not urge her to. When he asked his next question, though, he managed to make it sound as if he already didn't believe a word of what she was going to say.

“So what did he want from you, then?”

She sighed.

“Sex”, she finally admitted, realizing full well that honesty wasn't helping her case here. “But it's not what you think. We've never... done that, before. I’m hiding from someone, and the threatened to give me up unless I slept with him. I refused."

She was well aware how things were beginning to look at this point - as if she'd slept with a family member -, but quite frankly she could not afford to give too much of a fuck about what Aides thought. She was already telling him more than she liked; more than would be deemed wise if Thomas ever found out.

It dawned on Reigh that Aides was deliberately keeping quiet after her confession, and when she looked up to gauge his reaction she was surprised to find he had emotions after all.

"I see", he spoke through slightly clenched teeth as he looked down on her sardonically. "And this person you're trying to get away from, does he happen to have a name?"

It was made clear by one single look that she was not allowed to stop talking now. Reigh took in a sharp breath to clear her mind, mentally weighing the pros and cons of being completely honest about her situation.

She was unsure whether Aides and Thomas were actively doing business at the moment, but she doubted it even mattered at this point. Even if that were so, he couldn't possibly be on Thomas's en Paul's side after Paul had shot him, right?

Things couldn't get much worse from here on out anyway.

"I believe you've met him", she sighed out loud. "His name is Thomas Picard. He's my ex-fiancé."