“You don’t have to convince me.” I laugh, and his smile grows wider.
“So, you’re in?”
“Of course.” I nod, and for a moment, I forget about everything but us. We enjoy each other's company and our love for similar things. We speak the same language, even in our tech. Everything is as it should be until it’s not, and my phone begins to ring in my pocket, letting me know that Agent Riggs wants to speak with me.
I snap back into reality and turn my body towards the window as I decline the call and quickly shoot him a message about calling him later. He responds rather quickly, but I can’t look at it now. Won’t put myself through the stress of knowing exactly what I predict he’ll say and having to read it. I shove my phone into my pocket, and I feel Tito’s eyes on me still as we pull through the front gates of his estate.
“You okay?” He whispers, placing a hand over mine that rests on the seat between us.
“Yeah,” I whisper back, not meeting his eyes as the car comes to a stop. I get out of the car, pulling my hand from his before he can help me out, and begin my way into the house as he rushes to catch up to me.
“Scout, wait.” He grabs my arm, and I don’t pull it away because, like I said, I think I need his touch more than I realize. “What happened back there? Who called you?” My heart skips a beat horribly that makes me feel dizzy, and then I turn my head back to see his concerned eyes, studying me intently.
“It was my mom.” I grit my teeth after forcing out another lie. His face changes, and he knows why this would be distressing. I’ve only told him a bit about her, but the sheer fact that he understands there’s something painful about associating with her makes me feel oddly vindicated. No one has ever truly understood my mind in this way, especially without me barely saying anything.
“It sounds like tonight will require extra desserts.” He tenses his brows as a sympathetic smile tugs at the corners of his very kissable lips. I look at them, then to his eyes, and nod.
“I’d like that.” I nod.
“Okay.” He says just above a whisper and slides his hand down the inside of my arm to hold my hand. I allow this, feel the residual chills he causes because of it, and try to accept this as the only way we’ll be touching. We enter the house that is as lively as it was the moment I walked in last night. People are shuffling about, guys in uniforms, maids getting things done, Pops and Vince chatting at the base of the stairs.
“Good! You’re both here.” Vince looks up from his conversation to wave us over. I glance over at Tito, surprised to see he has the same look of bewilderment. Our hands feel hotter, and I’m more aware of this gesture to be something I promised I wouldn’t let happen when this FBI shit hit the fan. We take steps toward them, and I attempt to come up with a way to let go of his hand before this becomes a topic of conversation.
Stupidly, I pretend to sneeze, letting go of his hand to cover the sneeze with my arm, though I have a whole other arm I could have used. He glances over me when I don’t reach for his hand again, but it’s too late for him to even say anything because we’re now standing toe-to-toe with Pops and Vince.
“Hey, we’re considering holding a dinner with some Bratva counsel.”
“Holy shit! How did you get them to agree to meet with us?”
“Well, not all of them agree. But I think Koa got through to them last night.”
“I’m sorry, I thought you saidlast night?”
“Yeah—”
“But, he dropped out of the mission last night.”
“About that…” I can feel Tito growing tense now, and if I fully understood what was going on, I might be as well. This seems strange, though, with Vince going behind Tito’s back. Surely, I’m misreading the situation. “Look, he figured that regardless of the outcome of your tech, he’d be able to use your break-in as a distraction. It allowed him the ability to sneak into the main suite and contact the council. He’s requested they join us for a meeting that will be well worth their time.”
“Hold on.” Tito raises his hands. “You’re telling me that Koa actually did go, without my tech, and wasn’t spotted.Andwas able to call the council members from Mikhailov’s room while not receiving, nor inflicting violence? ”
“Well, he did have to shoot someone. It’s what earned a few of the council members respect.” I feel a knot forming in my throat after hearing the casual way Vince says this. Like it's completely normal and totally fine. I hide my reaction, but internally, I feel almost uneasy. The only thing making me feel slightly more at ease is Tito’s clear disapproval of any form of violence.
“Vince—”
“I know this is hard for you.“
“It’s not hard for me. It’s contradictory. You thought my tech would fail.”
“No. I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. You had a Plan B.”
“Of course I did, Tito. I always have a Plan B, and C, then D.” Tito scoffs before looking at Vince in a way that seems almost wounded. If Tito looked at me that way, I think I would cry. Vince takes it like a slap in the face, shaking it off as he continues. “The point is, that this is good news. You get a redo with your tech, and we get a meeting with the council to get Koa and Kira in charge of the Bratva making a strong alliance and breaking endless cycles of war. Everyone wins in the end.”
“No.” Tito shakes his head, furrowing his brows. “No, we don’tallwin in the end, Vince. You win. Just you. I thought you actually trusted me, but it turns out you were just using me.”
“Tito.” Pops scolds, but Vince places a hand on Pops’ shoulder to let him know it’s okay. I feel bad for Tito, but I also feel bad for Vince. He seems as if he’s just trying to make this work. And I understand why Tito would feel betrayed, but it’s only because he was betrayed. Not by Vince, though, by me.