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“My focus is on protecting you and our unborn child,” I tell her. “My focus is on protecting the family I have left. I’m not going to lose this baby the way I lost…”
The knife in my side twists painfully. I can’t even say his name.
“Benjamin,” Piper says softly.
I run my tongue over my teeth and turn away from her. “You and I are going to be in the headlines soon. Kreshnik got drunk on the flight, assaulted you as we disembarked, and I defended your honor. That’s the story we’re running with. It’ll be safest for you if you lay low.”
“I thought we already made headlines.”
“We made our debut at that dinner. After the shooting, I quashed any press. I wanted to protect you.”
“And suddenly splashing my name all over the internet is going to save me? Do you just make this stuff up as you go? Whatever it takes to keep me under your thumb, right?”
“Kreshnik knows who you are!” I stand up so fast my barstool tips over. It smacks into the tile floor, but all I can hear is the blood thrumming through my veins. “Before, I decided to fuck up my reputation to keep you safe. Keeping you anonymous was safest. Now that he knows who you are, making our connection public is a safeguard. You aren’t just some nobody Kreshnik can wipe off the planet without—”
“A nobody?” Her brows knit together.
I groan. “You know what I mean.”
“I thought I did.” She takes a step back, shaking her head. “I thought we were on the same page, but now I don’t know. Who am I to you, Timofey? Am I just some prop you can use for good publicity? Do you even care about—”
I grab her shoulders and push her back against the island. I’m gentle with her, but her eyes still go wide with surprise.
“You are you. I am me. That’s what matters to me, okay? The two of us surviving this… That is all that matters to me.” I glance down at her stomach. “Weallare going to survive this. I’ve failed too many times before. I’m not taking any chances now.”
Slowly, Piper reaches out and touches my elbow. Her fingers are hesitant. “Okay, Timofey. I hear you. I… I believe you. But you have to let me help.”
“The way you can help is by staying out of sight. Lay low and let me handle this.”
“But I need to go talk to Noelle.”
I’m shaking my head before she can even finish. “No. You’re not going anywhere near her. She’s compromised.”
“She has information. More than she told us on the phone. I know it. Benjamin is—”
“Piper,” I warn her, “leave this. It’s done. The only thing we can do now is not make the same mistakes again.”
“But I think Benjamin is—”
“Piper!” The knife twists painfully. “Enough. I’m trying to move forward. I’m trying to—”
“Benjamin is still alive!” she shouts.
I stare at her, waiting for the punchline of that terrible joke. But one doesn’t come.
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true,” she says. “Or… I think it’s true.”
I drag a hand down my face. “Don’t fucking do this, Piper. As if this isn’t hard enough. Don’t drag me into whatever denial fantasy you’ve created. I have real shit to deal with.”
“That’s why I’m asking you to let me deal with this.” She reaches for my hand, but I pull away. I can tell it hurts her, but she stands tall and faces me. “I think Kreshnik is lying to you. Benjamin is worth more to him alive than dead. Maybe Noelle knows something. Let me talk to her.”
“I’m not going to let you talk to that lying bitch.”
“She only lied because—”
I fling an arm at her, wishing I could dismiss this entire conversation. “Are you defending her?”
