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“Did he succeed?”
“What kind of idiot keeps his most valuable possession in one place without any spare copies and walks around with it in broad daylight?”
The kind of people my father messes with.
“Are you going to tell him?” I sniffed.
“I’d rather keep him guessing. It’s thoroughly entertaining.”
“He’s not going to stop, then.”
“Good. Neither will I.”
I knew he spoke the truth. I also knew that it was more truth than I could ever squeeze out of my father.
The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Papa orchestrated this evening to be a disaster.
He wanted to destroy whatever Wolfe had on him, and the fact I was left waiting while Wolfe had to extinguish another potential PR disaster was a nice, fat bonus.
“I hate him.” I stared at the floor, the words exploding from my mouth bitterly.
I meant it with every bone and ounce of blood in my body.
“I know.”
Wolfe settled in front of me, crossing his long, muscular legs at the ankles.
I glanced at the cut of his dress pants. No hint of socks. Tailor-made to his exact height and frame just like everything else about him.
A man so calculated, I decided, was going to hit back harder once he decided to punish my father.
And my father wouldn’t stop until he dismantled him. One of them was going to kill the other, and I was the poor idiot stuck right in the middle of their war.
I closed my eyes, trying to muster the mental strength to walk out of this room and face my parents.
Everything was such a mess.
I am an unwanted puppy, running from door to door in the pouring rain, looking for shelter.
Slowly, and despite my better judgment, I crawled into my future husband’s lap.
I knew that by doing that, I was raising a white flag. Surrendering to him. Seeking his protection, both from my father and from my own internal turmoil.
I flew directly into my cage, asking him to lock me inside. Because the beautiful lie was far more desirable than the awful truth.
The cage was warm and safe. No harm could find me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my head in his steel chest and holding my breath to prevent the next sob.
He stiffened, his body rigid with our sudden proximity.
I thought about what Ms. Sterling said about killing him with kindness. Defeating him with love.
Break. Crack. Feel me. Accept me.
I felt his arms slowly enveloping my body as he acknowledged my surrender, opened the gates, and let my army skulk into his kingdom, wounded and famished.
He lowered his head and cupped both my cheeks, tilting my head up. Our eyes locked.
