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I think of Andie. Of her at home wondering if I’ll return. When I’ll return. I think of all the shit that has to be done here before I go, and all I want is to be with… What did Carina call them? My girls.
I think of how tired I am and how much I want to go home to where Andie and Lola are, even though it’s actually Rowan’s place. But they’re there and they’re everything. And the sudden realization that, even though I’ve lost so much, I finally have it all, takes my breath away.
“You okay, man?” Patrick asks.
In spite of the shit day, shit week in fact, I smile. “Never been better.”
25
ANDIE
Gavin said her name is Sofia. Luca Sinacore’s sister was taken as hostage. Collateral to be dangled over his head later. At least that’s what the alliance guessed because Gideon never gave a reason. He just plucked her from some place up north and kept her.
And now we’re helping him.
Gideon exits the back of the SUV and extends his hand to someone inside. He’s completely ignored as a slim figure steps out of the vehicle, her pretty face partially obscured by the billowy satin cloak she’s wearing.
But while she walks past him as if he doesn’t exist, there’s no doubt she’s aware of him. Not with the noticeable way she shivers when he reaches out to grasp her wrist. The way she stiffens at his nearness when he forces her to stop and presses himself tightly to her back as he bends his head down to whisper something in her ear.
She leans into him, her eyes shut and breathing accelerated, as his hands travel up her arms, and whatever she’s feeling seems to spread from them like tendrils, thick and heady. I find myself completely enthralled by this strange interaction between them.
Abruptly, she tears herself away and barks something at him, but they’re too far away for me to know. Then she spins on her heel and enters the southern tunnel beneath the casino. I rush to hide around a bend as she walks past and disappears down the hall, the other men rushing to keep up.
I peek toward the entrance once more. Gideon is standing there, staring after Sofia with a scowl and fisted hands. That’s when he turns to me, directing his silver blue gaze my way, as if he’s known I was there the entire time. For a moment, the intensity he’d aimed toward her remains, and I feel it hit me like a wave of fury and frustration and need.
Thankfully, it lasts only a second. As if a light switch has been turned off, the intensity vanishes and all that’s left is that grin he does so well.
He comes to me, and I have to fight the urge to flea down one of the corridors. But I keep my feet planted firmly, imagining myself cemented to the spot.
“Mr. Black,” I greet him.
“Andie, is it really that hard to call me Gideon?”
“A little,” I admit.
“Does Gav-Gav know you’re down here?”
“It’s my home now. I can go wherever I want.” And I have too. At first, I carried the map he gave me. By the second day of making The Red my official dwelling, I knew all its secrets like the back of my hand.
“I see. In that case, thank you for hosting my…” His smile broadens as he fails to come up with a term for what Sofia is to him. “Thank you.”
“Seeing as we didn’t have a choice?—”
“We all have a choice. But, you should know that by now. Don’t you, Andie?” His silvery gaze almost shimmers with glee, because he knows something about me.
I cross my arms, hating that he’s right. We did have a choice. To save Gavin’s world, he had to make a deal with the devil. In order to remain with him, I chose to accept it.
Gideon sighs. “You don’t like me much, I get it. But, fair warning, I have a way of growing on people.”
“Have you grown on Sofia?”
He chuckles and something wicked paints across his features. But he doesn’t reply. Instead, he says, “Gavin asked me for a little favor. He wanted me to pick something up for him. Since I was already on my way, I didn’t mind. I think you’ll really like it.”
“What is it?”
“A surprise for?—”
“I got it from here.” Gavin appears behind me and places his arm protectively around my shoulders.
