The Billionaires Sub by MS Parker Page B

long to see that there were clothes on the chair again. This time, there was a selection, and none of them were dresses. I selected a pair of jeans and a stylish shirt that I knew was more expensive than pretty much anything I’d ever owned before, and headed to the kitchen. If I didn’t find Cross there, at least I’d get a cup of coffee.
    He was there, though, sitting on a barstool at the counter, frowning at his phone. He looked up when I came in, his expression darkening for a moment before he smiled.
    “Did you sleep well?” he asked.
    “I did, thank you.” Heat flooded my cheeks as I thought about how I’d slept in his shirt, how I’d dreamed about him. “Can I top you off?” I carried the coffeepot over to the counter.
    He nodded, pushing his mug toward me. I filled it and then filled my own before sliding onto the bar stool next to him. His kitchen was huge. I’d thought Juliette’s place had been big, but it was nothing compared to this.
    “Bad news?” I asked as I took a sip, letting the heat and caffeine work their way into me.
    Cross took a drink, then looked over at me.
    Shit.
    I could feel the color running from my face, taking all of my warmth with it.
    “Juliette?” I barely whispered her name.
    He reached over and put his hand over mine. “No word yet on where she is.”
    “But you do know something.”
    The corners of his mouth tightened. “Mars got back to me,” he said. “My PI. He’s been working all night and had a couple things, including your test results.”
    “That was fast,” I said, trying not to think of all of the horrible things that he was about to tell me.
    “The lab found trace amounts of GHB in your urine.” Something dark and ugly crossed his face. “It was out of your blood, but I guess it only stays there for six to eight hours.”
    “So someone slipped something into my drink,” I said it more because I needed to hear it rather than as a confirmation of a fact.
    “Looks like,” he said. There was an edge to his voice that made things low inside me twist.
    I took a slow breath, and then another drink of my coffee. I would need to process what happened to me – the whys, hows and whos – but I needed to hear the rest first. Juliette, then me.
    “Did he find anything about my sister?” I asked.
    Cross nodded. His expression was still grim, but it’d lost that extra bit of...something that had been there before.
    “He’s sending me the full report if you want to read it, but the short version is that he’s found out that, the night of the party, Juliette had some trouble with the company van.”
    “I already knew that,” I said, frustrated. “She told me. That’s why I was running things.”
    He nodded, then leaned forward, turning so that his knee brushed mine. “Mars went to the shop that’s fixing the van and talked to the mechanic. It wasn’t car trouble. Someone cut the brakes. Your sister was just lucky she rolled into a fence instead of the brakes going out in the middle of the highway.”
    I stared in shock. “Did…did they tell Juliette that?” I was trying hard not to think about all of the ways she could’ve been hurt. I’d seen too many mangled cars brought into my family’s auto shop.
    Cross shook his head. “She actually told them. Apparently, she tried to find out what happened herself while she was waiting for a tow truck.” There was admiration in his voice, and I felt a faint stab of jealousy.
    I pushed it aside. “We all learned most of the basics growing up. She’d know what cut brake lines look like. Why didn’t she call the cops?”
    Cross raised an eyebrow. “I only know your sister by reputation. You grew up with her. You tell me why you think she didn’t.”
    I sighed. “Because she wasn’t surprised and she wanted to handle things herself.”
    “That’s what I’m thinking,” he agreed. “And I know why she wasn’t surprised. My PI also found some evidence that supports the theory that Juliette has a