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“Can you paint us a final version in five days?”
Hellie goes stiff. She grabs my hand tightly like she wants to dig her fingers into my flesh. I know what she’s thinking, and I speak up for her.
“Making this painting in three days nearly killed her,” I tell them. “She barely slept, barely ate—”
“Oh, how awful,” Gallo says, deadpan.
“Five days will wreck her. She needs more time. Two weeks, at least.”
Frost’s lips push together. “No, we don’t have that long, and I worry that Gallo’s right and she’ll keep on dragging this out. If she can dothatin three days, she can do better in five.”
“Fine, give the girl five,” Gallo snaps. “Pain in my ass. I’ll even broker this travesty.”
I grind my jaw, trying to stay calm. “You want to burn her out on a single deal. I want to keep her around and make us all some real money. Think long-term.”
“If she pulls this off, there will be a long-term,” Frost says, his tone hard. “But if she fucks it up or tries to ruin our plans, we’ll hand her to Gallo and let him have his way.”
“I like the sound of that.” The old bastard shows teeth.
I want to cut their throats. I want to murder them here, in cold blood. But instead, I nod sharply. “Fine. Five days.”
Hellie lets out a little whimper, but I put a hand on her knee to silence her.
“Then we’re done here.” Frost smiles as he walks to the forged painting. “Mind if I keep this? I’ll hang it in my house. What beautiful work.”
“Be my guest,” I say, stand, and drag Hellie out of the room. Ren and Wolfie follow at a distance, both looking grim.
“I can’t,” Hellie says on the walk to the car. “I can’t do it again.”
“You can and you will.”
“Erick, please. You know I can’t.”
I stop and face her, pulling her close and staring into her face. She looks back, her expression vacant, haunted, and afraid.
“Youcando this. I’ll give you whatever you need to make it happen. I’ve already gotten most of the historically accurate materials, and now it’s just a matter of getting through the next five days.”
“I almost lost my mind the last time.”
“I know you did. But you can do this, and I swear, if you pull it off, things will be easier.”
“That’s what you said last time.”
She’s right. I know she’s right. And a little piece of me loathes myself for that. “I’ll fight for you.”
“Like you did today?”
That hurts. A punch to my throat. But I take it and grab her hands, holding them both between mine.
“Hellie, I promise, you can do this. Five days. Okay?”
She whimpers again, a pathetic noise, but sucks in a deep breath through her nose.
“Fine,” she says. “But when I’m a wreck, you can blame yourself for it.”
Chapter17
Hellie
