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“You had… a decoy… sent to America,” I whisper.
He nods. “An actress who was supposed to divert their attention from you. It was a whim of Lyam’s and he did it as an afterthought. We had no idea they had actually discovered your identity until we found her dead.”
Someone is dead because of me. I know I had nothing to do with it and didn’t even know she’d been hired, but I can’t get it out of my mind.
Someone died because of me.
“Oh, God. Does Nicolette know?”
“Yes.”
I cringe, knowing exactly how my sister will respond. She won’t like this at all. Hell, I don’t like it. I hate it.
“Who was it?” I ask, unable to forget that someone died pretending to be me.
“I don’t know. I don’t care. That’s not the point.”
“I care.”
He gives me a little shake and gnashes his teeth together. “She knew what the job was. She knew the risks. She took them anyway.”
Do I know what the job is? Do I know the risks?
It doesn’t make me feel any better.
“So where does that leave us?” Will he send me away from here?
“That’s a good question. Lyam’s on his way, and we’ll have a conference call with Fabien. We’re heading into the main club area. You’re going to see things you haven’t seen before, and it’s important that you take them in stride.”
“Alright.” I sound even less assured than I feel.
Someone knocks at the door. A minute later, Thayer lets Lyam in.
I stifle a scream.
Lyam’s got a long, thick snake wrapped around his neck like a scarf.
“Relax, Savannah,” Lyam says. “This is Princess. She’s tame.”
He strokes the long neck of the snake. I shudder when it flicks out its tongue.
“What are you doing with that thing wrapped around your neck?” I completely forgot he had snakes for pets.
He shrugs and grins. “I was cold.”
“I can knit you an actual scarf,” I mutter as he enters the room.
“You interviewed in here?” Lyam asks. I see his gaze catch on the open door to the second room. His brows rise. “You’re my fucking idol, Thayer.”
Thayer shrugs, scowling, and sits in a chair. He jerks his chin to a chair for Lyam to sit in, then gestures for me to come to him. Lyam looks curiously from me to Thayer, then back again. I can tell there are questions he wants to ask. I hope he doesn’t ask them because I don’t know the answers myself.
When I reach Thayer, he pulls me onto his lap. My cheeks flame while Lyam watches as Thayer whispers in my ear, “Even in front of my brothers, you belong to me. You’ll do what I say and when. Is that clear?”
I wonder if this is part of the job, part of the scam, for me to masquerade as his slave and hide my identity. I wonder if he’ll still be like this when the people after me are no longer a threat.
I wonder if I want him to.
I gasp when he grips my leg. “Answer me.”
I nod. “Yes. Yessir!”
Lyam doesn’t even look at us.
So this is normal for them, then. My whole body warms against Thayer’s, as he wraps his arms around me like he’s buckling me into a seat, only the seat is him. I shiver when he puts his mouth to my ear. “Very good, Savannah. You passed the test.”
Without explanation, he pulls out a laptop and hits the power button. Fabien and Nicolette sit on the screen in front of us, and here I am sitting in Thayer’s lap.
There’s no turning back. Even if this was part of the act, there’s no reason for him to have me sitting on his lap when no one else is here, and no one else can see me. I know then that Thayer’s making an emphatic declaration for his brothers to see: we’re together.
Fabien’s gaze darkens, and Nicolette looks as if she wants to reach through the screen and smack Thayer. I’m suddenly glad it’s hard to make eye contact on a conference call.
I swallow hard and lace my fingers in Thayer’s.
Nicolette pulls herself together and gives me a little wave. I give her a little wave back.
Phew.
I want to reach out into the screen and hug her. I want her to tell me it’s okay, that no one else is going to die because of me… including me.
I want her to tell me what it’s like being in love with a mobster.
Fabien clears his throat. “Savannah, how are you?”
“Other than being nearly smothered by your very overprotective brother? I’m peachy.”
Nicolette smiles and actually laughs. “Tell me about it.” She turns to Thayer. “Thayer, are you taking advantage of my little sister?”
Oh, yeah, my sister and I have a lot to talk about.
“Taking advantage?” he asks in that voice that I immediately know means business. “What do you mean?”
