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“Oh no, I think you just found it.Her.See, Bennett is very chatty,” he says. “Lovely little Benny. Wants so badly to belong, doesn’t he? A few kind words, a little pressure, and he handed me the truth with a bow on top.”

My pulse roars in my ears. “Leave him out of this.”

“Why would I?” Vin swirls his glass, amber light catching. “He’s the thread that ties it all together. Your father’s betrayal. My sister’s death. And now you, pretending you’ve built some perfect life. The girl, the family, the island. You think you’ve got it all. But I’m going to destroy it piece by piece.”

He leans closer, his eyes cold as ice. “Do you want to know what I see when I look at pictures of your wife? That same light in Leona’s eyes. And I swear to God, West, I’ll watch it burn out the same way.”

“If you touch her?—”

“Oh god no. What do you take me for? I’m not some kind of two bit gangster. I won’t touch a hair on her head. But I’ll show her everything I know about you. I’ve been following your work for years. Like I’m your biggest fan.” He grins at that. “I have pictures. Documents. Every dirty deal. Every woman you fucked and left behind. Every time you cleaned up a mess by throwing money at it. It’s all here.” He taps a thick file on the table, his grin widening. “You think your sweet little wife will laugh it off? You think she’ll still look at you the way she does now, like you hung the damn moon?”

My chest seizes.

“I won’t need to lay a finger on her,” Vin says softly. “All I’ll have to do is peel back your mask. Let her see what you’ve been hiding. Let her see that you’re no different than your father. And then you’ll lose her. The way I lost my sister.” His face lights into triumph. “And then I’m going to steal your resort, bankrupt your friends, and let you watch it all burn down.”

I shake my head, trying to figure out what’s happening here. I can’t let him hurt her. Or them. My heart slams against my ribcage.

“Don’t hurt them,” I beg. “I’ll end it.” The words scrape my throat raw. “I’ll walk away from her. From the island. From all of it. She’ll hate me, but at least she’ll be safe. You want me broken? That’ll do it. You’ll never even have to lift a finger. Just leave her and her family out of it.”

Vin tilts his head, eyes gleaming like a cat watching a mouse bleed out from its sharp claws. “You’d cut her out yourself?”

“If you let the resort stand,” I grit out. “If you leave her family untouched, I’ll give you what you want. I’ll disappear.”

His smile spreads, slow and poisonous. “Now that,” he murmurs, savoring the idea like his whiskey, “sounds interesting.”

He leans back, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “But you don’t get to decide when it ends, West.I do. And when I say walk away, you’ll do it. In front of her. You’ll look her in the eye and you’ll break her yourself. That’s the only way I’ll believe it.”

My stomach hollows out. “You’re insane.”

“No,” he says softly. “I’m patient. Twenty-five years patient. And I finally have what I want.”

The guard shifts by the door, the faint click of his weapon breaking the silence.

“Now leave,” Vin adds. “When I say the word, you tell your wife goodbye. And if you fuck it up, I’ll take everything from you.”

Every inch of me knows he’s telling the truth. And it hollows me out, because I’m going to lose the only woman I’ve ever truly loved.

thirty-five

EDEN

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Hudson says, as Autumn and I, followed closely by Bennett, walk into his office. Parker is in the corner, Asher is perched on the desk. I’m guessing Skyler and Francie are either working or haven’t had time to make it to the hotel yet.

I try to smile but I can’t. I’ve been calling West nonstop but he still hasn’t answered. Bennett’s tried calling Vin too, but he’s had no luck either. It’s all Autumn could do to stop me from running for the ferry and somehow making my way up to New York myself.

“You okay?” Asher asks me, concern etching his face.

“No, not really.” I look at them all, watching my every move. “Did West ever tell you about Leona?”

“Who’s Leona?” Hudson asks.

“That answers that one,” Autumn murmurs. And for once my brothers are quiet while I quickly fill them in. On Leona, on Bennett letting things slip to his uncle – I reach for his hand as I do that because I donotwant them blaming him – and then finally on West’s business meeting that turns out to be with Vin.

Hudson’s face doesn’t show concern, but I see it in his eyes. The calculation. The protectiveness.

“Bennett,” he says, his voice low and even. “I need you to tell me exactly what your uncle said. Every word. Don’t leave anything out.”

Bennett shifts beside me, uncomfortable under the weight of Hudson’s gaze. “I… I told him about Eden being upset in the Hamptons. Her telling me about the marriage. About how it started. He pushed until I did. And then he said it was good. He told me to keep watching them, to report back if anything changes. Because he was going to use this to both of our advantages.” Bennett looks at me, his eyes imploring. “I didn’t tell him anything else. I promise. I’ll delete his number if I need to.”