“Are you ashamed of me or of you?”
He holds out my phone and I struggle for words.
“It’s not shame. It’s more like… blame,” I decide, rolling the word over on my tongue. “I blame them.”
I’ve never said it out loud, but it’s true.
I blame them for not having my back when they should have.
“May I give you some advice?” he murmurs, and I sigh.
“Is it something I don’t want to hear?”
“Probably. Get even or get over it. If you don’t, it will rot you.”
I take the phone back and glance at the dress before clicking it off.
“Isn’t that what’s happening between you and Mischa?”
Harrison steeples his hands, surveying me with sudden intensity. “It’s not the same. Did I tell you Ivanov tried to recruit me when we were still in school?”
“Recruit you to what?” The metallic taste in my throat makes me swallow.
“His family business. Drugs, not clubs. I’d spent time with his parents over the years, and they knew I had the skills to take their business to the next level. I said no. Mischa tried to convince me.”
My stomach tightens, and I feel my gaze drag down to where the scars sit on his chest under the shirt. “What did he do?”
“Everything he could. But in the end, I sent him back to his parents with his tail between their legs. What they did to him for failing?” He shakes his head. “That I don’t know.”
“He wants to beat you as much as you want to beat him,” I realize.
“More,” he says quietly. “I ruined his relationship with his parents. He killed mine. Neither of us will stop until one of us wins.”
“You mean La Mer,” I say, needing him to confirm it because this shit is taking on a scarier dimension than I expected.
He hesitates a beat. “Yes.”
Damned men with their egos and war games.
“No matter who buys it, it’ll still be Christian’s baby,” I point out. “This club in Burbank is yours. It will have your fingerprints all over it. Isn’t it more of an accomplishment to create something from scratch than just to conquer what someone else built?”
His eyes glint with appreciation. “I suppose we’ll find out.”
* * *
When we arrive, a limo takes us from the tarmac straight to Red Rocks. Security gets us IDs and helps us meet up with Annie, Elle, Beck, and another woman in a VIP section. In addition, there’s Annie’s dad, Jax, and his wife, Haley.
Beck nods when he spots me. “Can’t believe you’re not passed out after the way we worked you over today.”
“I’m going to sleep well tonight,” I toss back.
Harrison’s hand is on my hip. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”
I hook a finger in the front pocket of his jeans, enjoying his irritated expression. “Nope.”
On my way back from the bathroom, security is holding back a young woman.
“Little Queen, right? I’m a huge fan.”