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“Thanks, I think,” I joke, and then my face falls. “Thank you, Callie. Seriously. If Lucas gets to me, I don’t know...” I take a shaky breath. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“Me neither.” I can almost hear the grimace in her face. “God, Vivian, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m the dumbass who got myself into this mess. Besides,” I add, “as far as forced vacations go, this isn’t bad.”
“That’s something, I guess,” Callie says. “Surrounded by hunky guys... If they weren’t mobsters, I’d almost be jealous of you. Almost.”
I give a weak laugh, but inside I’m reeling. Something about that hits a little too close to home for my liking.
“And your contact said they’ve been moving a lot of stock?” Theo asks. He’s seated beside me at the table in the back of his office. Mail from his men is heaped all around him, and a glass of scotch sits untouched on top of a pile of paperwork. Two of his bodyguards stand by the door, their expressions stony.
“Like their lives depend on it,” I confirm. “She says they just oversold a painting to someone named Preston Stone, as well as some guy they just call ‘Patrick.’ Do either of those sound familiar?”
“Stone? Yeah.” Theo runs his hands through his long hair. “He’s one of my father’s. Probably buying it high so he can resell it to someone else in the family. The amount of money they pass back and forth would make your head spin.”
“It already does,” I reply, thinking of Tristan and the madness of his accounting work.
“As for Patrick...” Theo thinks for a moment. “Could be a phony name, in which case he might be one of Lucas’s. Either that, or someone testing the waters, trying to figure out if Sterling’s worth having in their pocket.”
“You don’t think it’s a sting, do you?” I ask. “If the cops think your dad has something to do with my disappearance…”
“They’re after me, not him,” Theo says, his tone darkening when he adds, “Lucas saw to that.”
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t gotten involved with me.”
“Don’t say that, kid,” Theo says, turning to me, passion flashing in his gray eyes. “It was going to happen one way or another. Lucas was never going to go down without a fight.” His hand comes to rest on my thigh, so comfortably that it’s almost like he’s not even aware he’s doing it. The sensation of his skin on mine does all sorts of things to me, in contrast to Liam’s touch, which is still lingering on my skin. It’s all I can do not to lose my mind from the confusion. “I’m lucky I have you,” Theo murmurs, his eyes meeting mine. “This is what I’m fighting for, kid. The chance to make this empire my own—with you at my side.” The grin he gives me sends a shiver down my spine. “And I won’t let you slip away without a fight.”
That’s when the conflict I’ve been battling for the past day finally boils over, and I can’t stay silent any longer. The words just tumble out. “Theo, I need to tell you something.”
He blinks in surprise, concern flashing across his face. “Yeah? What is it, kid?”
I fidget, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes. “I can’t... I mean, I don’t know if...” I swallow, stumbling over the words, and sigh in frustration. What the fuck am I even supposed to say, after all he’s done for me? “I’m just... I’m confused, and—”
“Hey,” Theo says softly, his hand moving from my thigh to my chin, which he uses to turn me to face him. The way he gazes at me does funny things to my stomach. “You know you can tell me anything, right, kid?”
“Yeah,” I reply, taking a shaky breath. “Right.”
He must sense my reluctance, because he turns and nods to the guards at the door. “Take five,” he tells them. “I’d like some privacy with Vivian.” They file out, leaving us in silence, and Theo turns back to me. “What is it, kid? What’s on your mind?”
I’m aware of how dangerous this could get. This is a man capable of ruining my life in a hundred different ways, of killing in cold blood, and yet, somehow, I don’t think he’d ever hurt me. It’s the strangest feeling, to say the least. Maybe that’s why I can’t let this go on any longer. The guilt is enough to eat me alive... but the only thing worse would be staying quiet about it.
“It’s about Liam,” I manage finally.
Theo raises his eyebrows. “Liam? What about him?”
“He...” I clear my throat, forcing myself to maintain eye contact. “We...”
“Kid...?”
“I mean, nothing’s happened,” I rush to tell him. “And it won’t, I promise. You know how I feel about you, Theo. Nothing can change that. It’s just that, as we’ve been training, I…”
His gaze is dark and piercing, and I can almost see the instant he puts the pieces together. “You’re having feelings for him,” Theo says. It’s not a question.
“I’m going to get it under control,” I say, racing to get the words out. “Nothing’s happened. Nothing’s going to happen, I’ll make sure of it. I’m sure it’s just the stress of this whole thing, and with you so busy running your business, I’m just not thinking clearly. That’s all. I wanted you to know, because I never want to keep anything from you, ever, but please understand that this doesn’t…”
I’m so busy running my mouth that I don’t even notice him start to smile at first, and when he laughs, I’m so startled I fall silent. “Kid,” he says. “Come here.”
I blink, then allow him to wrap his unbelievably strong arms around me, half-expecting him to... What? Break me in half? Sick his henchmen on me? A million “scorned mafia boss” clichés are running through my mind, and none of them end in an embrace.
