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"You seem surprised," Andrew ventures, his eyes narrowing as he takes in the bruises on Tristan's face.
"We are," Tristan replies, refusing to balk under his stare. "We're aware that our… employer isn't welcome in London. We're also aware of why. That’s why we haven’t brought him with us today—he’s hoping to extend an olive branch, for lack of a better term. Barring that, the least we can do is keep from inflaming the situation further.”
"By 'employer', don't you mean, 'the man who kidnapped our daughter'?" Melissa demands, her expression cold.
"Honey." Andrew shoots her a look."We've talked about this.”
"About what?" Melissa retorts. "About letting the most dangerous man in the country send people to our home? The man who turned our own daughter against us?”
That raises eyebrows, and Liam and Tristan exchange a look. "It looks like we're a bit out of the loop," Tristan ventures. "Why don't we start from the beginning? We're not here to make trouble. We're just here to talk.”
"We'renot here to talk," Melissa retorts. "We're here to get our daughter back.”
"Mel, let me handle this," Andrew says, raising a hand to stem off the forthcoming attack. Sighing, he glances at Liam before his eyes settle on Tristan. "You come from good stock, Mr. Archer," he says finally. "I can't say the same for your friend here, but that's not what this is about. This isn't about family business. It's aboutfamily—period. And I presume that's why you two are here.”
Violet, who has up until this point been quiet, suddenly leans forward. "You're here about Vivian," she says, and it's a statement, not a question. "Right?" She glances at her parents. "You're trying to get her back.”
The guys hesitate; they're in tricky territory now, and they both know it. "Our priority," Liam says diplomatically, "is making sure she's safe. That's all we want.”
“Lucas said…” Melissa begins.
Tristan holds up a hand. "We know she's with him," he says. "That's not up for debate. Our concern is that she may not be there of her own free will.”
It's a stretch, but it's close enough to the truth for their purposes, and that must be clear from his expression, because a crack appears in Andrew Dalton's resolve. It's a small one, but it's there.
"You think he's forcing her to be there?" he says, and as subtle as it is, there's real worry in his voice.
"He's not," Melissa interjects, although even she can't muster up much conviction in her voice.
"We spoke to him.”
"Is that right?" Tristan asks, hope and anger raging in him all over again. He manages to keep his cold exterior, though, and follows this with, "Did you talk to her?”
There's a long moment of silence, and something unspoken seems to pass between Vivian's parents. Melissa swallows, and Andrew presses his lips together, but neither of them says anything. Under the table, Liam is clenching his fists so hard his knuckles are turning white. His jaw is set and tense, but his face is blank.
"For fuck's sake," Violet suddenly interjects, sounding agitated and weary. "If you two aren't going to say it, I will.”
“Honey—” Melissa says.
But Violet ignores her. She turns to the guys, and the worry on her face tells them everything they need to know. "We don't know where she is," Vivian’s sister says. "And no, he didn't let us talk to her. He wouldn't tell us anything—just that she's safe, and that she's traumatized from... From..." She swallows, distrust creeping into her voice as she seems to come back to her senses.
Tristan eyes her, the gears in his head turning. They're faltering, sensing holes in their in-law's story, but they aren't quite there yet—maybe because admitting it will mean admitting they were wrong about sending their daughter to him. He opens his mouth to speak, but Liam beats him to it. "And do you believe him?" the ex-enforcer asks, looking from one Dalton to the next.
It's Andrew who responds. "I don't know what to believe anymore." For a moment, it seems like he's on the verge of letting the wall down, but he doesn't. Instead, he just sits there at the head of the table, lost in his own thoughts.
"Would you consider working with us?" Tristan asks. "To find Vivian, if nothing else? Make sure she's safe?”
"You can't be serious," Melissa exclaims. "You want us to throw our hat in the ring with Theo Emmerico? After everything he's done?”
"You said yourself you don't know what to believe," Liam points out. "Is it so impossible that you've got the story wrong here?”
"We're asking for your help," Tristan adds. “If not an alliance, then at least an end to the contract on Theo's head. Beyond that, it's hard to say how it would play out, but I think we all want the same thing here.”
"We do," Andrew concedes, his voice hardening, "but Theo Emmerico is not a man I can trust.”
The guys nod, their hearts sinking, but they don’t dare push it further. It wasn't the answer they wanted, but they can’t afford to take this farther. Not yet.
"Should I be the one to say it?" Liam asks as they climb back into the car and start off in the direction of the motel where Theo has chosen to lie low.
