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Exhaling, Liam lets me go, all the tension going out of him, and once again he’s the big, jovial man I’ve come to know. “Sorry about that,” he says, his green eyes searching mine, and I don’t miss the flicker of concern in them. “I didn’t think she was going to show up.”
“None of us did,” Theo says as he mounts the low stairs, running a hand through his hair as he pulls me into an embrace. “Sorry, kid,” he says, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “You shouldn’t have had to see that.”
“I might agree with you if I knew what the hell ‘that’ even was,” I reply as he lets me go. I glance over my shoulder into the parlor, where Tristan is standing, his arms crossed over his chest, his jaw clenched as he stares impassively out the window. “She’s his ex?”
Liam winces. “Don’t date crazy, right?”
Theo sighs. “Crazy, we can deal with. But Sienna DiMarco is...”
“She’s mafia?” I ask, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Tony DiMarco’s daughter, yeah.” Theo rubs his forehead. “They’ve been on my father’s payroll for years. If Tony hadn’t broken off from the syndicate willingly, I gladly would’ve let it go; we’ve got enough problems already. But he has resources, and he carries a lot of sway with the Italian families. Unfortunately for us, that means Sienna...” He trails off.
I shake my head, baffled. “Then why try to keep her from seeing me?” I glance from Theo to Liam, then back to Tristan, still brooding with that unreadable look in his blue eyes. “If they’re on your side…”
“Sienna’s not on our side,” Theo says. “She’s out for herself and herself only. She’s been trying to get back together with Tristan for, what, two years now?”
“Three,” Liam corrects. “Give or take.”
Theo nods. “She’s a liability,” he continues. “I can’t risk her hurting you, Vivian.”
“Why? Why would she have any reason to—”
“She would, if she saw you as a threat,” Liam explains. “All she cares about is getting her claws back in Tristan, and fuck all the damage she does in the meantime. God knows, she’s done enough already.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
Theo shoots Liam a warning look, and then glances back at me. “I think that’s best explained by Tristan himself, kid.” He pulls me close once more, nodding to Liam. “We’d better talk to the guards. If Sienna comes back, I want to know about it. We can’t risk her spotting Vivian.”
Liam nods. “I’ll take care of it. That was way too close for comfort. And Vivi?” He gives me a sly grin. “Nice job staying quiet back there.”
A strange thrill goes through me at the praise, along with a good amount of embarrassment; worried, I steal a glance at Theo, but he seems completely unfazed. “I try,” I shoot back, giving Liam a playful nudge with my elbow to defuse the tension. He chuckles as he follows Theo down the hall and toward the security station, but not before shooting me a glance with those smoldering green eyes.
I’m left alone to process everything that just happened, still trying to wrap my head around how Sienna could possibly see me as competition for Tristan’s attention. The guy has made it clear what he thinks of me, and judging by the way he’s looking now…
My thoughts screech to a halt when I glance back at him, still standing by the windows... except his eyes are now on me, and the tension in them is so strong it’s almost tangible. It takes all my strength not to shiver under that sensual gaze, to swallow around the dryness in my throat. The last thing I need is him more pissed at me, so I steel myself and descend back into the parlor, coming to a stop next to him. For a moment I’m not sure what to say, and I hear myself blurt out, “I guess I’m not the only one with an insane ex.”
Tristan turns his head just enough to look at me, his eyes guarded. “Are you always this blunt, Mrs. Emmerico?”
My gut clenches as I tilt my head to study him. “Sorry?”
“I mean,” Tristan says, his tone tight and tense, “do you say things like that because you actually care, or are you just trying to get a rise out of people?”
“Neither,” I protest, panicking a little. Fuck. Me and my big mouth. “I just... Look, I’m sorry, all right? You should know by now that I don’t have a filter. It’s just... she talked about you like you were her boyfriend or something.” I swallow. “It’s none of my business, obviously. I just wanted to...” I sigh, at a loss. “I guess we have more in common than I thought. That’s all.”
Tristan rounds on me, and behind his frigid glare, I also detect a hint of bitterness. “We have nothing in common, Mrs. Emmerico.”
“For the love of god, stop calling me—”
“Mrs. Emmerico. Vivian. Kid. Whatever,” Tristan says. His voice is low and hard. “DiMarco is a walking, breathing nightmare, and so is her family. That’s something you should be especially familiar with, I’m sure. But the similarities stop there. You’re a child in this world, Mrs. Emmerico, so stop trying to make nice. It’s a waste of my time and yours. And...” To my surprise, his voice cracks, and he looks away, his jaw clenching like he can’t even bear to look at me. “This isn’t your mess to clean up,” he says finally.
I stare at him, incredulous, torn between anger and confusion. “So much for trying to reach across the aisle,” I say finally, my tone dry and resigned.
“Don’t bother,” Tristan says sharply, taking a step closer to me, and his sudden proximity is so heady that my breath catches in my throat, butterflies fluttering in my abdomen. “You’ll just end up getting hurt.”
And then he turns on his heel and stalks away, leaving me to stare after him. He’s gone so fast I don’t even have time to voice the question that surfaces unwittingly in my mind, a question that’s just as dangerous—perhaps even more so—than the man himself.
Was that a threat or a promise?
