“I don’t know what to believe,” I whisper. “If he had something to do with that, then everything he’s told me is a lie.”
“It’s not a lie,” she says. “Not to him. It’s business. Always business.”
“What reason would Jesse have to want me gone?” I can’t bring myself to say the word dead. I can’t. No, that’s not him. I know him enough to know that he’s not someone who plays with his food. I’d be dead by now if that was his intention. Unless something has changed that I don’t know about yet. Chaz does my hair and makeup quickly but just as beautiful as always. My hair is even longer, and my eye color pops with the dark, smoky shadows she used. Another version of Drew, I realize. This one looks a little dangerous, and I know it was a purposeful choice. She comments on my bracelet, and I tell her it was a gift but don’t say who it’s from. If I can’t trust Jesse, why would I trust anyone else either? Playing this like it’s me against the world is the only way now. There’s an outfit laid out for me, hanging in a wardrobe next to a chaise. This area looks to be used as a lounge area when it’s not taken over by Chaz. I dress quickly, careful not to disturb my hair and makeup. When I’m deemed perfect and I hear someone down in Riley’s office, I make my way down the narrow staircase. Before I leave, Chaz promises she’ll be close by, and will keep her eyes and ears open. All that will do is put her in harm’s way. “Thank you. Please don’t go out of your way.” If there’s one thing I know, it’s this. “Just do your job and do it well. Ignore the rest.”
I clam up after our initial conversation. She knows I’m lost in thought, scheming, planning, trying to save myself. “I love the look. It’s perfect.” Staring at my reflection in a large mirror, I see the second Riley enters the space. He’s also changed, and he looks stunning, dark, expensive—he looks vengeful. Chaz leaves, nodding and thanking Riley before exiting out a door to the side. She only has access to this room and whatever room she retreated to, and I make a mental note.
“You’re ready,” Riley deadpans.
“That’s not a question,” I return.
“Riley,” I whisper, hanging my head. “I have to tell you something.”
He’s in front of me in the next beat, his cologne intoxicating me. “What did you hear?” He knows Chaz spoke to me—can tell I know more than he thought the moment before.
“Promise she won’t get in trouble?” I ask, meeting his eyes for the first time and regretting it. I’m lost, completely taken by the emotion beating down at me. He nods. I close my eyes because I must. “Did Jesse try to have me killed? Or kidnapped?”
His gaze narrows. “I don’t know.”
“How can we find out?”
“I don’t know if he was trying to kill youorkidnap you, Drew. We’re figuring it out now, but I need you to pretend you aren’t even entertaining these thoughts until I know for sure.”
“Why?” My question is barely audible. “Why would he want to doeither?”
Riley looks pained as he strokes my face. His touch makes me feel anything but. “If sharing you is half as hard for him as it is for me, then unfortunately, I understand perfectly well why he’d try to kidnap you, lamb. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about having you all to myself when I was constructing this.” He waves his free arm around. “A place no one else can touch you. Kiss you. Hell, even look at you. Here, you would only be mine.”
“This doesn’t harm me,” I argue. “There aren’t guns or threats to my life. There’s a difference.” I exhale and wrap my arms around his middle. His midsection is hard, his whole body is tense. “A huge difference.”
He hugs me but pulls back to read my face. “You can’t act any differently. Do you understand? I haven’t told you what to do. Never, not once. You must do as I’m asking right now. You have to make him believe you’re still his in heart and mind.” His voice cracks. “I know Jesse. He is my family. I love him. There are parts of him that no one knows, and no one can love. Parts of him that are corrupt and horrible, and no one can repair them.”
“Cyrus,” I say, and Riley’s face hardens. “The last time I saw him, he asked if I have any siblings. I told him I didn’t know, but he said I should investigate, but Jesse killed the only person I know who could have given me the information about where I came from. No one buys their birth certificate in Dirt Downs, Riley. No one keeps records of lives that don’t matter. Say, I do have a sibling. Would that mean anything to you? Would it have any importance to Jesse? Why would Cyrus say that?”
The grip he has on my waist tightens, and his gaze flits over my face. What is he searching for? Unlike Jesse, I can see the wheels spinning, the thoughts floating across his face. The worry immediately creases his features when he lands on something solid. “Fuck,” he says, fingering the diamonds encompassing my wrist. His phone rings. He lets it go without answering. “Fuck,” he swears again, tone low and timbre aggressive.
“What? What does it mean? Riley, you’re scaring me.”
“The less you know, the better, okay? Act the same as you normally would. We’re late to meet my parents. Fuck,” Riley says. He says it ten more times under his breath, but I’m too busy wondering what it all means, while also not wanting to know what Riley has somehow put together. He tells me to be myself a second before guards open a door to a room completely covered in glass windows that overlooks the ocean. The view only captures me for a split second before my eyes fall on Jesse sitting next to Riley’s parents. Riley squeezes my hand once and then steps forward, pulling him with me. My heart is pounding as I smile in what I think is a genuine smile.
“Mom, Dad, this her, this is Drew, my girlfriend.” A firm declaration of ownership. One that Jesse visibly winces at. I can’t dwell on his reaction because his mom is rushing toward me with open arms and a warm smile. One that matches her sons. His mom is nothing like I expected. She’s not polished or buttoned up. She is as beautiful as I envisioned, but without the stuffiness that I thought may accompany her position of status and wealth… and of power. I should have known better. All of the Astor women I’ve met have been nothing but decent, caring humans.
“You are prettier than a picture and look as deadly as an atom bomb, darling. Tell me how you met my son,” she says as she releases me from her embrace. “We only know you ascended to partner quicker than anyone else in the history of our organization.” She glances at Jesse. “Quicker than Jesse, even. Didn’t know that was possible.” She chuckles like there’s some inside joke.
I don’t know what it means or how I should respond. “A mutual friend introduced us, and while I’d love to say that was a foregone conclusion, you know she had to blend in with the women at the office and blend seamlessly into our organization before I could call it permanent.” Riley’s last word sends a thrill of excitement that turns to ice when Jesse steps into view. If possible, his face holds even more malice than minutes before. I turn to see Riley’s predatory grin. “Drew, did I get it right?” A question that seems to double as a pop quiz.
“Well, it was hard to blend in seamlessly at the office when every A Team employee looks like a supermodel and has brains to match, but other than that he got it right.” His mom seems pleased, looking between Riley and I with obvious joy. His dad, though, is watching Jesse like a hawk, calculating, rubbing his chin like one of those mad villains in movies.
“Jesse, what are your thoughts on the new partnership?” the Astor patriarch asks. “It lessens your cut. That’s something you’re bound to have an opinion on one way or another.”
“My thoughts don’t matter,” Jesse says, neutral face on full display. Ms. Astor turns to face Jesse.
“Don’t say that. Your thoughts matter, and you know it. What do you think of Drew ascending?” With words like ascending and partnership, every nerve in my body is reacting causing a wave of anxiety.
Jesse shoots Riley a look that could kill. “Correct me if I’m wrong, brother, but this isn’t about Drew ascending.” Jesse’s eyes land on my wrist—the diamonds so clear and bright they’re reflecting rainbows on the wall because the sun is streaming into the room. “This is about more.”
His dad shifts his weight after following Jesse’s gaze. Nothing gets past him, I realize. Mr. Astor walks away from us to gaze out at the ocean. “Riley, is that true?” his father asks.
“Is this true? More than a girlfriend?” Mrs. Astor’s voice gets an octave higher. She’s excited. “Riley?”