“Something like that. The lesser evil,” he replies, warm eyes making me feel a comfort like only one other person on the planet. “I can’t tell you what happened today won’t happen again, but I can promise you this family will always find a way to exact revenge.” He shakes his head as the smile vanishes. “The Astors don’t misfire.”
Chapter Fifteen
Drew
The dining room was more impressive than the private jet, which is a testament to the mansion. I’d get lost if there weren’t people following me around and telling me where to go. I hung around by the infinity pool for the afternoon while everyone else tended to business. The business was figuring out the attack at the airport because even though Reggie was with me, along with other guards, other people were always popping in to lay eyes on me and disappearing back into the manse.
Reggie told me there are cameras everywhere, even places you don’t expect them. He told me a lot of things after I left the meeting with Riley’s parents and Amy. It’s as if now that I’ve signed, all shrouds of secrecy lift and I’m allowed to know things. As I listened, I took in the view and tried my best to forget what happened at the airport. A different guard came out to make sure I was still there, but this time, he told me I needed to go back to my wing. I grabbed my fruity drink and the towel I was lying on and walked through the hallways in a bikini. Anyone who I’d never seen back home looked like a suspect. Reggie isn’t allowed in my wing, so he left me to get ready for dinner, then collected me to go to the dining room where I met the entire family.
I’m in the bedroom, tipsy from too much drink, running a brush through my hair when the alcohol and stray thoughts get the best of me. I call Callie. She answers at the very last moment, breathless. “Are you okay?”
My heart sinks. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” I ask, fishing.
“Baby, you’re in a life where you’re either okay or you’re not. It’s not a stretch for that to be my first question anytime you call.”
“I’m okay. How are you, Callie?” I pause, and so does she. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too. I’m doing the best I’ve ever been. I met a nice man. A real one, babe. One that treats me like a queen. He doesn’t hit me or nothing. My job is awesome, and everything in my life is legal. All of it. Isn’t that something? All because a man fell in love with you.” I tell her a very watered-down version of my life, leaving out most anything negative that might worry her. “Wait, wait, wait, he taught you how to read?”
“Well, I taught myself with a tutor and more patience than I thought existed. It’s not perfect, but they taught me how to unscramble letters and words. I’m…I’m really happy, too.” I’m also some kind of a crime princess. I rub my fingers over the diamonds on my bracelet. “Callie,” I clear my throat. “It wasn’t just Jesse who helped me.” I know that’s who she assumes, and I have to correct her in case something happens to me. “It was Riley, too. Actually, it was mostly Riley, and I’m not sure Jesse is safe.” I whisper the last word, and it stays quiet on the other side of the phone. “For me, anyway.”
“Is it safe to talk, babe? Should you be talking to me about this?”
“I don’t know, but if something happens to me,” I let the sentence hang. “I just need to tell someone. I’m in deep now, Callie. This isn’t Dirt Downs. This is big league stuff and I’m okay right now and I don’t want you to worry about me at all, but everything and everyone from my past has been erased. Everyone but you.”
“Well, that sends a chill up my spine, babe. My shit just got sorted and now you’re saying I’m not safe.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t safe. You’re safe.” I’m not safe, I think. “I needed you to know how complicated things are for me, that’s all. Please don’t worry. About you or about me.”
“Destiny, I told you from day one that you were playing with fire. You say you’re happy, babe, but is this what you want?”
I hear the beep that accompanies the fingerprint reader, so I know Riley is entering. “I don’t have a choice anymore,” I whisper. “I’ll keep in touch. Be well.” I set the phone down and turn toward the hallway door.
His face is worn from the day and all the conversations that have taken place. “God, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
Smiling, I say, “We just had dinner at the same table. A very extravagant table, but a table nonetheless. I’m sure I messed up the silverware and glasses,” I add. “Everything okay? You talk to Jesse?”
“I did,” Riley says, blowing out a breath, sliding his hands into his pockets. I changed into a silk nightie in the hopes the night is over. “It didn’t go well. He suspects something is amiss.”
My heart pounds as I wait for him to say more. He undoes his tie and removes his white shirt as he looks at me, gaze penetrating and intent clear. “The way I see it there’s one way to restore his faith in us.”
“Us?” I exclaim. “I didn’t act any differently. What would make him trust us?”
“Face it, Drew, you flew to Mexico, and I locked you away in a place he can’t reach. That’s something he was always going to be wary of, I knew that, but didn’t care because I wanted to keep you safe, and this was the best way. What do you do when you’re scared of someone?” Riley asks.
Looking down at my bare feet, I try to produce the right answer. I meet Riley’s eyes. “Give him what he wants,” I reply, then get chills. That’s what Riley always says. “But what does he want?”
“Trust. What we all want.” Riley lumbers forward and kisses me, a long possessive claim, his tongue darting into my mouth at the same time he leans my head back for a deeper angle. He groans, a rumble against my chest when he closes the distance between our bodies. “I fucking missed you,” he says, before taking my mouth once more, lips demanding. “And tonight, I’m going to have to share you with him. It’s the one thing that will force trust when he’s doubtful.” Riley grabs my face and stares down my soul. “You said you wanted to help. You wanted to do this together. This is what we need to do.”
Breathless, I pull out of his grasp and walk away from him.
“Jesus, Drew, I haven’t touched you in a month. You’re killing me.”
I spin when I’ve created enough distance to think clearly. “When you’re touching me, my brain scrambles.” I smile. “I want you touching me, too.” I lick my lips. “If you’re saying what I think you are, you want me to go to Jesse tonight and give him what he wants. If he’s the one who tried to either A, kidnap me or B, kill me today, Riley, how in God’s name is this a good idea? Why wouldn’t he attempt it again?”
Riley’s muscles flex as he stretches his neck back and forth. I count the jagged scars on his body to make sure there aren’t any new ones. “Do you really think I’d leave you in a room alone with Jesse?”
My mouth pops open when I realize what he’s suggesting. “Oh, you mean… all of us, together? That’s something he’d be up for or want?”