Page 64 of Heartbreaker

“You know as well as I do that if we rush things, it can ruin everything,” Demi says, not even looking up from the computer.

“Yeah, but⁠—”

“Okay, that’s it,” Demi says, slamming her hand on the table and glaring. Lana’s eyes go wide, but not in surprise, more in a she knows what’s coming way. Then Demi turns to me, pointing a finger in my direction. “You gotta get out of here. Go to the gym before we have to rename the great San Francisco fight.”

“What happened in San Francisco?” I ask hesitantly.

“When we were on a mission there, Lana and I got into a fistfight because she wouldn’t stop whining about being bored.”

“A fistfight?” I laugh. Demi waves a hand as if that’s inconsequential.

“She was driving me crazy, whining and moaning about not being able to do anything, like a kid who was bored on a road trip.”

“A fistfight is an exaggeration,” Lana says, but her tone alone tells me it’s not as much of an exaggeration as she’d like to think. “I just… want to get this figured out.”

“I know, but hacking takes time. I can’t just magically get into a database.” Lana pouts.

“Why not?”

“Lana,” Demi says, like an exasperated parent, before she turns to me. “This is when I normally kick her out and tell her to go for a run or work out.” I tip my head, thinking a bit.

“Is that what you were doing that time in the gym?” She lifts a shoulder, which is all the answer I need. Since I found out everything, I see every interaction with Lana over the last six weeks in a new light.

“Go give her a workout in your room. I’ve got a lot of paperwork to comb through, and I need silence to do it,” Demi orders.

I laugh, feeling light and free; a weight I didn’t realize was holding me down until all of this came out in the open lifted. But a deep blush burns on Lana’s cheeks. “Demi!”

“Oh, come on, we all know why you’ve been in a much better mood lately. There’s no reason to pretend you haven’t told me everything.” Lana tries to throw a remote at Demi, but I catch her wrist before she can. “I hear you give great⁠—”

“Demi!” Lana shouts, grabbing a highlighter with her other hand and tossing it before I can stop her. The woman has incredible aim, and it hits her in the center of her forehead, leaving a bright pink mark. Demi’s eyes go wide, and she stands, and suddenly I can see how a fistfight would break out.

But I’m here this time, so I stand and move between the women.

“Come on, heartbreaker. Let’s get you to bed before we have to rename the San Francisco fight to the Denver fight.” She looks up at me with soft eyes, genuine conflict written there.

“I have work, Rome, I can’t just⁠—”

“And part of your job is selling this story of you being a driver, is it not? You can’t do that safely if you’re exhausted,” I say.

“Exactly! Oh, I can definitely see the perks of him being here. Buys us dinner, and he calms down Lana? Hell yeah,” Demi says, and I wink at her.

“Are you two going to gang up on me now?” Lana whines adorably.

“Yes, now get out of my hair so I can focus.” I grin at them, then reach a hand out to Lana. “Come on, heartbreaker. Let’s get you back to my room.” She glares at it for a moment, but relief moves through me when she grabs it, letting me pull her up. She wishes her friend good night, tells her not to stay up too late, and to call her if she finds anything at all. Then we head out to the Mavens’ makeshift headquarters and toward my room.

THIRTY-TWO

I’m just ending a call with my dad when Lana steps into the bedroom from the shower, her hair damp, body wrapped in a fluffy white towel. She gives me a shy smile and reaches for one of my tees to throw on, but I grab it before she can, tossing it away and shaking my head. She rolls her eyes, and I grin at her, then lift a finger to tell her I’ll be off in a minute.

“Yeah, she’ll be there,” I say. “Love you too, bye.” Then I hang up and set my phone aside before sitting up in bed and patting my thighs. Without another word, Lana smiles and crawls into my lap with a knee on either side of my hips, her hand cupping the side of my neck. I push her shower-damp hair back behind her ear and smile at her, completely at ease now. The strange piece of the puzzle that’s been missing is now in place, and she looks so much freer now.

I understand it all now: who she is, why she was hiding parts of herself, and what she was hiding. It all makes sense. I should have known my girl was even bigger and badder than I ever anticipated.

“Who was that?” she asks, shifting the towel to cover herself a bit more. I slide a hand up her thigh, resting it right below where the towel ends.

“My dad,” I tell her. “Making sure we had tickets and invites into the box for the race and after-parties.”

“After-parties, huh?” I nod, smiling despite the nervous pit in my stomach.