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“Dad and Uncle Scott paid her to stay away,” Atlas reminded him, jumping in before Addison said the wrong thing and Fox got seriously upset. Fox still took their mother ditching them harder than Atlas did, probably because he actually remembered her. To Atlas, who’d been a toddler when she left, the woman was just a couple of old pictures and a story. “This isn’t the same at all.”
“But what if Ophelia asks him to stay away from us altogether?” he asked. “And don’t tell me I’m being ridiculous.”
“What if Addison told you to stay away from us?” Atlas asked in return.
One of Addison’s eyebrows shot upward, but she held her tongue, probably seeing where this was going.
“She wouldn’t,” Fox said. “She loves you guys, and she wouldn’t ask that of me.”
“Exactly. And we’re Ophelia’s only family, other than her shithead mom. She loves us, and she’d never do that to Luke.”
Fox settled into a morose but thoughtful silence.
Addison bit her lip. “You know, Fox, we could always go away to work for a few months, just the two of us, until things settle down here.”
“You mean lie low until my brother realizes he’s playing with fire?” Fox smiled, but it seemed forced. “I can’t leave him while there’s this much danger—not even for a holiday. When he was born, I told our mother I’d take care of him. Just because he’s not a kid anymore doesn’t mean I’ll go back on my word.”
“Dude, you were four,” Atlas said, throwing a pillow at him. Fox caught it and put it behind his head. “I doubt that kind of promise would hold up in court, even if you signed something.”
Fox raised his brows. “Oh, listen to Mister ‘Fancypants I’m Banging a Cop So I Know About All Sorts of Legal Shit Now.’”
“Must be a bitch to get monogramming done with a name like that,” Addison said to Atlas.
“Yeah. Try ordering personalized checks.”
“Atlas, just get your woman over here so we can show her what nice, upstanding citizens we are, will you? Until she goes away, none of us are safe. Not even Luke.”
“Fine,” Atlas finally agreed, just so he could go work off some of his frustration in the gym. “Just don’t tell her any extra lies for me to keep track of. No embellishments either. You both work for me doing call-out support for the business, by the way.”
“You told her we work for you?” Fox frowned.
“If I was going to lie, it was going to be one that got me laid. So sue me.” He got to his feet and headed out of the room.
“We’ll have to ask your girlfriend how to go about doing that,” Fox called after him.
He chose not to dignify that with a response.
Chapter 11
The mansion looked bigger in the daylight for some reason. Mila’s tiny apartment downtown felt cramped and insignificant in comparison. The reminder that he’d never even been to her place made this relationship all the more surreal . . . and fake. Strange she’d shown him the most vulnerable parts of herself yet sometimes it felt as if they barely knew each other.
They knew each other in deep, satisfying ways, but when it came to other things—like her family, her job, and where she lived—they were still strangers. This was such a clusterfuck.
The invitation to meet his family had surprised her. Either he honestly didn’t know she was a cop or he was trying to prove his innocence. She wished they could talk openly about it. God, this was such a mess. Would he be pissed? Was he pissed already? Was that why he was so mean sometimes or was that just part of his personality? And more disturbingly, why did she like when he was?
Maybe she should fake sick and leave. But part of her was curious. What was the point of bringing her here? Was their relationship that serious? Had they reached the “meeting the family” stage? With all these lies and uncertainties hanging between them, it seemed unlikely. Especially if he was skeptical of her fake marketing career.
Nerves fluttered in her belly. There had to be an ulterior motive here. Or maybe she was just that jaded.
Atlas gave her hand a squeeze and smiled down at her as they rea
ched the door. But it was a strained smile, which made her more suspicious. She missed the lazy, authentic smile from the other night. The one where it seemed as though there was no one else in the world but the two of them.
He opened the door and the cool of the air-conditioning rushed to greet her. Her heels clicked against the marble floor of the entryway. She’d worn strappy sandals with a sundress and her hair swept back in a braid, hoping to look too innocent to be a cop, and also maybe to impress Atlas. Fake relationship or not, she wanted him to think she was hot.
Silence seemed to echo around her in the vast space. There were no signs anyone else was home. Was this a trap?
She smiled nervously at Atlas. “It doesn’t seem like your family is here. Were you just trying to get me in bed or something?” She was teasing him . . . sort of.
