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Anger and shock come hard and fast. I don’t even think. I grab Kace’s drink and fling it into Gio’s face. “Leave.”
He licks his lips, the amber liquid clinging to the dark strands of his hair. “That is damn good whiskey.” He smirks and God, I’m at it again. I sway toward him, ready to hit him again, and Kace’s arm is immediately around my waist. “Easy, baby.”
My eyes meet my brother’s. “I want you to leave.”
“You need to leave with me,” Gio says softly. “Now.”
Kace rotates me, giving his back Gio, his hands on my arms. “Give me a minute with Gio.”
“That won’t go well.”
“Obviously, but we need to do it anyway.”
“Kace—”
“I need to talk to Gio, baby.” His voice is low but steely, and I search his handsome face, looking for the impact of Gio’s accusations, but there is only shadows and stone.
“You know—”
“I do. Let me talk to him.”
I inhale long and deep, wanting to fight him, but where does that really get me or him? Despite Gio, deserving nothing but my anger right now, he’s my only family and I love him. I want Kace to talk to him. I want Gio to give him a real chance. I manage a barely agreeable nod, stepping around him, but I stop dead as Gio says, “You want my trust?” he asks. “Prove it. Tell me this secret she says will ruin you.”
Rotating, heart racing, I open my mouth to stop Kace from doing any such thing, but he’s already responding. “I made that offer on a day your sister believed you wouldn’t betray or hurt her,” he says. “That day is not today. The day your sister trusts you, I’ll trust you.”
Gio’s eyes cut to Kace’s right, where I now stand, and when his eyes meet mine, there’s a sharp cut of betrayal in his. It cuts me, too. I feel it in my heart and my anger shifts to desperation. “You’re wrong this time, Gio. We are among people with Kace that can help us. We can finally do just what you want and come out of the shadows. Stop being an asshole and talk to Kace. Talk to Walker. Please. I’m begging you. I love you.”
“I can’t protect you anymore, Aria.” And with that, he turns and starts walking away.
Watching him leave is like a blade stabbing me in my conflicted heart. I want him to leave. I want him to stay. He’s my brother. My brother. I’m angry, but I love him and he’s not in the right headspace. “You’re not angry with Kace. You’re angry with Dad for trusting him over you. It’s affecting your decision-making.” He stops walking but he doesn’t turn. “We don’t know why he trusted Kace. We don’t know why he thought we needed him, but if you can’t trust me or Kace, trust Dad. Trust his instincts. The Stradivarius was everything to him.”
He angles in my direction. “You’re wrong, Aria. All of this is about Kace and I hope you get smart before it’s too late.”
This time when he turns to leave he leaves. Kace steps toward the door. I grab his arm. “I need to lock up. I’ll be right back.”
I don’t want to let him go. I don’t. But I do.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I stand with the Hudson River at my back, staring across the living room as Kace charges for the door, praying he and Gio will not collide in conflict. I can feel myself unraveling. I am not myself right now, not the self I know and trust. I am not in control. I need to scream. Or shout. Or drink. I think for once in my life, drinking might be a good solution. So what if I get drunk? I’m at home, even if my brother doesn’t approve of my home.
My gaze lands on the puddle of whiskey on the floor, remnants of Kace’s drink flung at Gio, and I am back to wanting to scream. I need the mess cleaned up. I need things in order. I rush out of the living room and hurry up toward the kitchen stairs, but pause at the bottom with Gio’s words punching through my mind: Either you’re far more naïve than I realized or you are a sellout. Maybe you like the money more than you thought you would.
I squeeze my eyes shut and shove that thought away. I also abort the cleanup mission and head for the second living area where the bar is stocked. I still can’t believe Gio would say such a thing to me and in front of Kace. The very idea that Kace might think the accusation true, even for a moment, has me bubbling with anger all over again. Gio has no idea what Kace has gone through. He has no right to demonize me to hurt him.
I stop beside a wall next to windows and a patio door, and that expensive bottle of whiskey my brother is wearing is still sitting out, ready to be poured. I oblige and pour myself a glass, sipping the liquid and feeling the welcome burn slide down my throat and rush over my chest and shoulders.
The air shifts, that wicked, wonderful power that is Kace August igniting the room, but I don’t turn. I don’t even know what to say to him right now. I gulp another big swallow and Kace steps behind me, his hand settling on my waist and his touch sizzles through me. I feel every moment with this man in every part of me.
“You okay, baby?”
I rotate to face him, my glass between us. “I’m sorry I threw the whiskey. I’m sorry he was such an asshole. I’m sorry he said that about the money. I don’t want your money, Kace.”
He eyes the glass in my hand and then his probing blue eyes study me, and I don’t know what he’s looking for, but I hold his stare, I let him see the truth in my eyes. I love him. This, us, has never been about money. “And I don’t want the formula.”
“I know. Say you know I don’t want your money.”
“Do I have to say that at this point?” he challenges me softly. “You know I know.”
I down my whiskey and set my glass down. “My brother saying that about me had to have made you feel a pinch in your chest. For just a moment, I know you felt it.”
I reach for the bottle and he catches it first, our fingers colliding, both of us holding onto it, a charge rushing up my arm and across my chest. My eyes reach for his and he says, “No. I did not for one moment doubt you or us. And believe me, baby, that kind of trust does not come easily for me. Except with you.”
“Which only makes me hate the way Gio acted all the more. And value the trust you give me.”
“Yes, well, I did have to use restraint with Gio. Which I did by reminding myself that he’s your brother who you love.” He lifts the bottle out of my reach. “The only way you drink away your troubles with a four-thousand-dollar bottle of whiskey is this.” He tilts the bottle back and swallows long and hard, the muscles in his neck bobbing with the action.
I swallow hard at how damn perfect he is at being imperfect when he lowers the bottle and offers it to me. I hesitate. “It’s a four-thousand-dollar bottle of whiskey?”
“Only the good stuff for your brother.”
That’s all I need to hear. I take the bottle from him and gulp long and deep. “He’s an asshole,” I say, my voice raspy with the whiskey burn and my head light, but I don’t care. “I love him but he’s an arrogant asshole,” I add, taking another drink. “You know Italian culture, Kace. You’ve been around it. The oldest male is the head of the family. We respect them. We trust them. I respected him and trusted him. I don’t trust him right now. I don’t.” With the bottle in my hand, I walk around him and past the couch to the large floor-to-ceiling window, watching as snow flutters by the glass. Up here, above the water and the city, it’s as if we're in a snow globe, our own little, safe world. I don’t want to go back to my old life.
Kace steps behind me again, his big body framing mine, his hand settling possessively, warmly, on my waist. He leans in, nuzzling my neck, his spiky dark hair teasing my cheek, his earthy wonderful scent seducing me. “Aria,” he says, and my name on his lips is a soft seduction that weakens my knees. Everything about this man affects me in all the right ways.
Feeling guilty and confused over my brother, and Kace, for that matter, I turn in his arms with whiskey loosening my tongue. “I do like the money, but I’m not here for the money. I don’t know how to be here, and not seem like I like it too much. I don’t know how
to do this, Kace.” I try to drink again and he catches the bottle.
“I asked Blake to give us an hour, but we have to meet with him,” he says. “I can’t let you pass out until after.” He sets the bottle on the ground by the window. “Stop letting Gio get into your head.”
I turn to the window, watching the incredible winter wonderland play out over the water, a slow-moving boat churning through the icy water. Kace’s hands find my shoulders and with his touch, I turn back around. “It’s beautiful here, Kace, above the world, above the water. And my clothes are beautiful and the apartment is beautiful and,” my hand settles on his chest, over his heart, “you are beautiful.”
His arm wraps my waist and he fits my body to his, our legs intimately aligned, our hips melded together. “You are beautiful, Aria. Inside and out, you’re too damn good for me. I want you to enjoy this life with me.” He strokes my hair from my face and tilts my gaze to his. “I need you with me.”
