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“Since you clearly need someone to knock you in the head and talk some sense into you,” she says as she stands from her desk and moves around me to shut her office door.
“Is this because I tied up the Ace?”
She sighs and pats me on the shoulder. “Sit down, Luke. I promise we’ll go back to our appropriate roles when we open in another hour. But right now, let’s talk.”
I frown at her as she walks back to her office chair and sits down, looking at me expectantly.
“Say what you need to say,” I command after a moment of awkward silence.
“Holding her hostage will not endear her to you.”
“We have to keep her safe, Bellamy. You understand more than anyone that she isn’t safe on her own out there. She thinks she can vanish, but Owen got all of her fake IDs and passports pulled up without even trying. Others might have to work a little harder at it, but they can do it. And we don’t know what we’re dealing with.”
“I’m aware of all of this. But Zara is independent and brilliant, and she’s told you herself she doesn’t do caged in very well. And you’ve done exactly that. Have you made any progress in the last forty-eight hours?”
I squint my eyes at her. How does she know Zara told me she doesn’t like to be caged in.
She waves a hand. “You told Owen she said that. Owen tells me everything. You’ll learn that eventually. My point is you can find another way to keep her safe that won’t have her hating your guts at the end of all this. But then again, perhaps that’s what you wanted.”
I can’t help but clench my fists at her accusation. “You sure are feeling bold tonight. What’s up with that? I came in here to discuss the mixer Matteo and Victor want us to put together.”
“We’ll get to that. I already drafted a potential guest list for you to adjust and sign off on. I’ve done enough of these that we don’t need an hour for that. Let’s talk about the things that matter.”
I stand and lean on the back of the chair, unable to sit still any longer. “You could be right. Part of me thinks it’s better if she hates me. We’re so different, and yet I can’t imagine my life without her.”
“Then it’s definitely not better if she hates you.”
“What do you suggest I do? I tried to talk her into coming out of her room to join us tonight when the club opens but she flat out refused.”
Bellamy’s mouth twitches for a split second as if she’s fighting the urge to say something, but it’s gone just as fast, and I wonder if I imagined it.
“You start by unlocking the door and giving her the choice to stay or go. And if she goes you keep her safe from afar. You four are some of the smartest, most resourceful men I know.”
The thought of her choosing to go is like a punch to the gut, and I struggle to breathe for a minute. “Damn it, Bellamy. I don’t need all this emotional bullshit right now. She’s not leaving here until she agrees to stay in Vegas. End of discussion.”
After Zara started her period and I cleaned up the bed and got her supplies, I’d hoped she would open up a little, but when I walked out to give her some privacy was the last time I saw her. She’s been quiet for the last thirty-six hours and if I hadn’t heard her moving around, I might have checked on her. This morning I left the building to get some work handled and talk to the others about our progress tracking down Pratchett and getting information about his movements over the last two weeks, but so far it looks like we’re going to go with Owen’s idea of infiltrating the governor’s ball happening in two days.
Bellamy gives me a sad shake of her head and pulls out the proposed guest list for our mixer to maintain peace with the Serrano family. I look it over, but my heart isn’t in it. It’s a perfectly acceptable list, so I add a handful of names and sign off on sending invitations. A few will need to come from one of the four owners personally, but Bellamy will send most of them.
“When are you planning to tell Owen you’re going through with the marriage?”
Her mouth drops open, and she shakes her head. “I’m not. I can’t. How do I tell the man I’m madly in love with that I have to leave him so I can marry a man I’ve been promised to for over a decade?”
“So, you’re just going to disappear one day?”
“Is this payback for me making you talk about Zara? Because it’s not fair if it is.”
I chuckle and round the desk where I lift her chin and force her to look at me.
“If Owen is the one you want, we’ll back you up. If he isn’t, you need to make a clean break.”
Her lip quivers and a single tear trails down her face. “What if I want both?” The question is barely more than a whisper, but the pain in her voice is real.
“Oh dear,” I murmur. “You’ll need to make a choice then, lass. Owen doesn’t strike me as the type to share.”
She wipes at the corners of her eyes and backs away from me. “Owen is clearly the one I love. What am I even saying?”
I frown but nod my head. “Alright then. You tell us how we can help you get out of your engagement, and we’ll do it.”
