Billionaire Undaunted(25)

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ellie apologized.

“My fault. I’m always in a hurry,” the petite woman answered, breathless. She paused for a moment before she added, “Ellie?”

It was her previous landlady who owned her old apartment building. “Hello, Gina.”

“Oh, my God. I can’t believe it,” Gina squealed, hugging Ellie tightly before stepping back. “You look…”

“Tired?” Ellie suggested, feeling wiped out and knowing her body was so unused to physical activity that it would take a while to build her stamina up again.

“No, no, no,” Gina denied. “You look good. Just different.”

Probably because I’m skinny and I have hair like a poodle.

“Getting kidnapped can change a person,” Ellie joked, still not knowing how to respond to people who looked at her like she was a ghost. She’d lived in Rocky Springs all her life, and she knew a whole lot of the residents. It seemed strange that they looked at her like she’d come back from the dead. Well, maybe they were mostly right.

“You look good.” Gina smiled at her.

“I’m sorry you had to evict me. You lost money on my apartment. I’d like to repay you.”

Gina look stunned. “I didn’t lose money, and I never evicted you. Everything was paid every month by one of the Colter boys. The scientist. He just had your things removed a little while back, when he found you alive.” She dug around in her purse and handed Ellie an envelope. “The apartment was in amazing condition. Thank you for getting it cleaned. This is your deposit. I made it out, but I wasn’t sure where to send it.”

Ellie took the check distractedly, shoving it into the pocket of her jacket. “So you never had to store my stuff? My rent was always paid on time?”

“Of course,” Gina answered earnestly. “And I never would have evicted you until I knew what had happened. I knew disappearing wasn’t like you. I knew something bad had happened.”

This means that Zane lied. But why?

“Thank you,” Ellie replied awkwardly.

Gina patted her cheek. “You’re very welcome. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.”

Ellie watched as Gina turned and pulled open the door.

“Gina?” she called impulsively. “Did you rent my apartment out again?”

The other woman smiled. “Somebody just signed a lease today.”

Today? It wasn’t rented before? Another lie?

Ellie tried to smile as she called to the exiting woman. “Thank you.”

Gina waved as she rushed out the door.

Ellie was confused, her mind filled with questions. Why had Zane lied about her apartment already being rented? Why hadn’t he told her that he’d paid the rent every month? Why hadn’t he let her go back to her own apartment?

It was clear that her staying with him was no accident. Zane had set it up to be that way. He’d made sure she had absolutely no option but to stay with him.

She was angry, furious that he hadn’t been completely honest with her. Feeling conflicted because he’d taken such good care of her, Ellie went to find some clothing, hoping that Zane had a damn good explanation.



“I know you’re a damn genius, but do you really need that many books?”

Zane froze as he heard his brother Tate’s sarcastic voice right behind him. Hefting the books to his chest so his brother couldn’t see what they were, he turned slowly, realizing it wasn’t just Tate in the bookstore. Blake, Tate, and Marcus were all looking at him questioningly.

“I happen to enjoy reading. Unlike the rest of you, I like to keep my brain active,” he answered defensively. “What in the hell are you all doing here anyway?”

“Lara is coming home late from school, and Mom isn’t around tonight either, so we all went to get something to eat,” Tate confessed.

Zane smirked, knowing not a single one of his brothers could cook worth a damn…just like him. Their mother had spoiled every one of them by being a Betty Crocker clone. There was never a moment during their childhood when their mother hadn’t cooked like a fiend because she loved doing it. Still did. And Zane took advantage of the fact that his mother liked to cook as often as possible. He knew when his brothers were home; they conveniently sought her out at dinnertime, too.

Tate removed the books from Zane’s grasp before he could stop him, pissed off as his brother looked at the titles.

“Every one of these is a relationship book,” Tate said slowly, his eyebrow lifting as he perused the heavy one on how to romance a woman.

“Yeah? So what?” Zane snatched the books back angrily.