AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And she did stay for something better. She stayed for you two.”
Riley’s eyes fill with tears, and Chloe stifles a sob. It’s incredibly uncomfortable… and yet it’s all I can do not to pull Riley against me the way she was after I came inside her body last night. To hold her and let whatever it is clawing me apart inside open my chest completely and make room for her there.
Instead, I remind myself again that she’s leaving, and quickly finish the DNA swab before calling in one of our crew to run it over to a guy I know who can run the test quickly.
Chloe and Riley speak in low voices, murmuring softly and comforting each other through the upheaval they must be feeling, but I turn away. One way or another they’ll need to leave, and feeding my addiction to the distracting emotions I’m swamped with will only cause more of the kind of pain I swore to myself I’d walked away from forever when I left my own monster of a mother’s home so many years ago.
I turn away, heading back toward the gym. If I work myself hard enough, my body’s exhaustion will make me numb to those kinds of distractions.
But Dante stops me with a smirk.
“Sometimes you just gotta fucking feel it,” he says quietly, knowing me too fucking well… including all my coping mechanisms.
I grit my teeth, wanting to be pissed at him for calling me out, but he’s right. I don’t need to bury this, I just need to get over it.
Instead of heading to the gym, I go up to my room and try to get some work done, resisting the urge to pester my contact about the test. He’s already being paid to rush it. Interrupting him isn’t going to speed that along.
Eventually, I give in to the urge to check on Riley, scrolling through the security cam footage until I find her and her sister in their bedroom. It’s easy to see how close they are. How tender Riley is with Chloe, and how much Chloe relies on her.
That kind of love, that kind offamily, is more precious than anything. It’s why we have to let her go.
My chest aches, and eventually, I realize my eyes have gone dry and gritty as I watch them together. But wanting something out of reach has never changed a single damn thing, so I force myself to stop. I may have been wrong about Chloe’s parentage, but I’m not wrong that one of the sisters is the Sutherland heir, and as soon as we get that confirmation, Riley will leave.
Clenching my jaw, I drag my gaze away from the video feed of Riley’s room, and I don’t let myself look again… not until later in the day, when my phone finally pings with the result of her DNA test.
46
RILEY
“Well?”Maddoc says once we’re all together in the living room.
Logan doesn’t beat around the bush. “Riley’s the heir.”
Chloe squeezes my hand, and the guys all start to talk at once, but even though Logan basically said the same thing this morning, hearing it confirmed has me stunned.
I’m the heir to the Sutherland estate. It’s hard to believe.
“Weird, huh?” Chloe whispers, leaning in.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat when there’s a break in the guys’ conversation. “So, what happens now?”
Maddoc gives me a long look, but I’m not really surprised when he finally answers. “We stick to the plan.”
Dante slings an arm around my shoulders. “We’ll help you collect your inheritance, princess, then get you and Chloe out of town.”
I’m even less sure that I want to go now that it’s not Chloe who’s in danger, but nothing has actually changed. Weshouldstill leave Halston. It really is the only way to make sure we’re both safe.
“You on board?” Maddoc asks, holding my gaze.
I swallow hard. I want to say no, but that’s not really an option. And the minute I say yes, everything jumps into fast motion.
The next couple of days go by in a whirlwind as Maddoc and the guys make preparations for me to claim the estate. I’m not much help with the logistics, so I spend most of my time with Chloe, trying not to count down the hours left until they move us both to the safe house they want us to stay in while all the legal stuff goes through.
“We can’t just stay here?” Chloe asks me quietly after Logan finishes updating us on the stepped up security they’ve put into place around the house.
I stare after him after he leaves the room, then shake myself out of pointless longings and answer her. “No. West Point is still out there, and they still want the money.”
She shudders. “Do you really think they’ll try something?”
