“You’re playing with fire.”
“You stopped watching. How else was I supposed to get your attention?”
She’d noticed then. Had it bothered her? Did she miss me?
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.
There are too many people here. Too many of the Guildhere. Even if she managed to get in without alerting anyone, her anonymity won’t last long if she stays out in the open like this.
I need to get a hold of the situation and fast, or else we’ll both be answering for…whatever this ambush is.
“As you’re here already, would you mind joining me for a drink?” I ask curtly, risking a glance toward the table at the back of the room where I know at least three members of the inner circle are currently enjoying a half-a-million-dollar bottle of scotch.
All three sets of eyes are watching us. It’s too late for any preventative measures. This has to be purely damage control.
Luckily, Isabella seems to be in an amenable mood. “I’m quite partial to champagne.”
I offer her my arm politely as I make the request to the bartender, before walking us toward a booth in the corner of the room. As we pass by, I tilt my head in acknowledgment to the Guild members.
Thankfully, they nod back.
Isabella doesn’t miss a thing. “Look at you, still protecting little old me. What is it they say about old habits?”
“Just sit down if you know what’s good for you.”
She laughs lightly as we both take our seats. The booth offers some concealment from prying eyes, but a flash of red in the corner of my eye alerts me to the fact that Mia, at least, is watching our every move.
“Don’t tell me you’re still sour over all that business with the cartel,” she muses on. “From what I hear, there was a very tidy cleanup.”
“No thanks to you.”
She tuts. “Again, I didn’t ask you to follow me.”
“You wouldn’t have stood a chance against them on your own, so stop pretending I didn’t do you a favor.”
“You know it’s funny, but I’ve actually handled myself just fine these last two weeks without you.”
Ice-cold fear strikes me straight through the heart. I left her alone. Anything could have happened, and I wouldn’t have been there. “Have they?—”
“No,” she cuts me off quickly before letting her smile broaden, “but you should have seen your face. Honestly, Teo. I thought you were smart enough not to show your hand.”
We’re thankfully interrupted by the arrival of the champagne, and I take the pause to collect myself.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
“You’re allowed to, you know,” she says lightly, taking her glass after the server disappears. “Want me, that is. I wore this dress for you, after all. I thought you might appreciate it.”
It takes every shred of my willpower not to let my gaze drop to her plunging neckline and the golden chains that dangle in it. Temptation incarnate.
“You assume my desire is for you and not the possibility of destroying your family,” I hiss out instead.
“Can it not be both?”
I grab my glass just to do something with my hands. I could deny it, but she knows exactly what she’s doing here. Admitting it won’t change the situation in any way and will only add fuel to the rumors that are likely already circulating the room.
“She’s very pretty,” she says suddenly.
I follow her gaze to the main stage, where Danny has just finished another song. I watch for a moment as she waves delicately out at the crowd.
