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Cullen puts his hand to mine, against his chest.
“What is this, love?”
“From Archer.”
Cullen’s lip curls.
“Yeah,” I say. “Apparently this is information about my family. The ones I never knew I had. I’m mafia royalty, right? I’m a princess, right? Or maybe I’m just some kind of dirty princess. I grew up poor. Yet I was supposed to be rich? Powerful? Mean? I have no idea, Cullen. If I open this envelope and read what’s inside, then I know the truth. And Archer will kill me.”
“He’s not going to do that, Jaci,” Cullen growls.
“How do you know?”
Cullen takes the envelope and looks at it.
He shakes his head.
“You know too,” I say. “You have to know. Right?”
“It doesn’t matter who knows what or not, love,” Cullen says. “It matters what you know. What you want to know. When you want to know it. This…” He waves the envelope. “This is fucking bullshit. This is what they do. Mind games.”
“They?” I ask.
“The Amatti family,” Cullen says.
I feel the full effects of the drinks now.
The lake begins to move like the waves of an ocean.
There’s music echoing all around.
Different kinds of music.
I feel relaxed and… drunk.
“What are you going to do, Cullen?” I ask.
My brain is too drunk to tell my heart and body to stay cool.
I inch closer to Cullen.
My body touching his in a flirty way.
Cullen glances at me, then grabs my left hand.
He begins to charge away from the water, dragging me with him.
He walks to one of the fires and looks at everyone sitting around it.
One snap of the fingers on his left hand and they all jump up and scatter.
That’s real power.
“When it’s time, love,” he says to me. “Okay? When it’s time…”
He hands the envelope back to me and nods toward the fire.
My jaw shakes.
