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“I’ll send you the final statement before we release it.”

The call ends, and Duncan puts his phone down. I watch him for a moment before moving into his side, and his arm comes around me immediately, pulling me closer.

“I never thought the accusations were going anywhere, but I’m still glad this part is over.”

“So am I. They were affecting the company and bringing attention to the family we don’t need.”

That’s Duncan. He’s spent days being accused of something he didn’t do, and his first concern is what it did to the company and the people around him, not what strangers think about him.

I tighten my arm around his waist. “Well, I care what they think when they’re calling my boyfriend a sexual predator. I’m glad they’re all about to find out they were wrong.”

Duncan turns his head and kisses my temple. “So am I, A Sholas.”

We finally start eating, and Duncan’s phone lights up beside his plate several times before we’re halfway through dinner. I expect him to reach for it every time, but he leaves it alone, and I steal a few fries from his plate while we talk about Saturday.

Nothing we learned today changes the gala plan. Alina is still expected to be there, and as far as she knows, we haven’t connected her to Maria or figured out that the women accusing Duncan were paid. We need her to keep believing that when we walk through those doors together Saturday night.

I’m more than happy to leave the offshore account to Ronan and Colton because I have no fucking clue how they do half the things they do. What keeps circling through my head is the timing.

I finish the last of my food and push my plate away. Duncan takes both plates to the sink before coming back to stand between my legs. His hands slide around my hips, and I hook my arms around his waist as he pulls me closer.

Tere’s nothing either of us needs to do tonight. Duncan has been cleared; his attorneys can deal with the fallout, and Ronan and Colton can keep digging into the money. Alina will be at the gala Saturday, and we already have a plan. I press my face against Duncan’s chest and feel his arms tighten around me. Until Saturday, I’m taking this.

Chapter 37 Duncan

I still don’t like Nash going to the gala. Everything we’ve learned about Alina and Dare has given me more reasons to keep him away from it, not fewer. They’ve been working together for years, Alina already sees Nash as a problem, and three people connected to the search for Daniela Norris are dead.

Telling Nash he isn’t going would remove one risk from Saturday night, but it would also put us right back where we were before we agreed to stop making decisions for each other. I meant what I told him about treating him as my partner. That promise doesn’t become optional simply because keeping it scares the shit out of me.

“We keep everything around you as normal as possible,” Ronan says, turning his laptop so I can see the hotel layout. “Alina has had enough time to learn what your usual security looks like. If we suddenly surround you with twice as many people, she’ll know something changed. Taylor will already be inside, and I can position the others around the ballroom and entrances without making them obvious.”

I study the layout and the positions Ronan marked. I can’t keep Nash away from the gala, but I can make damn sure someone besides me is watching him. “Keep Taylor close to Nash. Not close enough for Alina to realize what we’re doing, but if something happens, I want him able to reach Nash quickly.”

Nash looks up from his laptop, his eyes narrowing slightly. “How close are we talking?”

He knows me too well already. “Close enough to get you out if something happens.”

He sets his laptop aside and turns toward me. “I agreed to security, Duncan. I didn’t agree to Taylor dragging me out of the building the second Alina looks in my direction while you stay behind.”

That’s close enough to what I want that denying it would be pointless. “If Taylor sees a threat you don’t, I expect you to listen to him. He knows what he’s looking for, and there may not be time for him to explain before you need to move.”

Nash considers that before giving me a reluctant nod. “If Taylor sees a threat and tells me to move, I’ll listen. I’m not promising anything beyond that when neither of us knows what’s going to happen.”

I want more, but pushing for it would turn this back into me making the decision for him. I take his hand and kiss his knuckles before looking at Ronan. “Make sure Taylor understands.”

Ronan continues through the security plan. Declan and Xavier are already attending, along with Conor and Jaxon, but Jaxon isn’t included when Ronan starts assigning people positions and responsibilities. He’ll be there with Conor as his partner, nothing more. After everything Jaxon survived because other people decided what he could do with his body and how much violence he could take, none of us are going to turn around and ask him to fight for this family simply because he’s part of it now.

Declan has barely spoken since Ronan started going through the security plan. He’s sitting beside Xavier, but every few minutes his attention shifts from Ronan back to him. I recognize the look because I’ve spent most of this conversation doing the same thing with Nash. When Ronan and Kieran move on to the hotel’s security company, I catch Declan’s attention and motion toward my office. He follows me inside, and I close the door behind us.

“You don’t want Xavier there Saturday.”

Declan leans against the edge of my desk. “No. I don’t. Alina and Dare have been digging into the people around us, and three people connected to Daniela are dead. I don’t like putting Xavier in the same room with either of them when we still don’t know how much they’ve learned about the family.”

“You tried to convince him not to go.”

Declan gives me a look that answers the question.

“Nash and I just had the same argument.”