“Your secret is safe with me. But you should give a message to Seven for me.”
“Oh?”
“Tell him that if he hurts you again, I’ll make him hurt seven times as much, and all the luck in the world won’t stop me.”
I smile. “You’re a good friend, River.”
“I’m serious. If I ever have to pick you up off the ground again, that guy is going to pay.”
I nod. “I heard you. I’ll let him know.” I rise from the couch. “I should go. It’s getting late.”
He stands and wipes his hands on the sides of his shorts, then pulls me into a hug that feels like he’s wrapped himself around me twice. His lips press into the top of my head. “Thank you, Sophia, so goddamn much. I can never repay you for this.”
“It’s enough that you’d do it for me. And I’m sorry you’re stuck here.”
He snorts. “I’ll take the bedroom of this place over that cell.”
“I’ll come back and visit whenever I have an update or a free minute. Text me on the burner phone they gave you if you need something. Stay strong, okay?”
“You too. And I’m always here for you if things go wrong with the asshat.”
He levels a whiskey-colored stare at me. I’ve started for the door when I hear him say, “Sophia” softly behind me. His voice is choked with emotion.
“What’s wrong?”
He glances at the grocery bags. “I hate to ask this. I know you’re busy, and you’ve done so much for me already.”
“Ask, River.”
“Can you stay for dinner? I don’t want to eat alone.” His voice cracks, and he swallows hard before adding, “In there, I was always alone.”
Days and days he was in that place without seeing another face aside from my short visit. I’m here, and for now I’m all he has.
“You’re the chef. What are we making?” I head for the kitchen and start unloading the groceries.
ChapterTen
After a night of laughter and a delicious meal with River, I finally feel he’s in a good place with a positive mental state where I can leave him. I promise to check on his cat, then race to Seven’s. I’ve texted him throughout the evening, and he knows I’m going to be late, but his responses have become more and more terse.
I arrive at his penthouse just after nine and am whisked into the elevator by a very high-strung security guard. I’m not sure what his problem is, but he fidgets in silence all the way up to the penthouse. I’ve been here before and don’t need an escort. Weird.
When the doors finally open on Seven’s floor, the security guard who’s stationed at a desk outside Seven’s penthouse is out of his chair immediately. “You can go right in, Ms. Larkspur.”
“Thanks, Lucas.” There are five men who work on this floor at various times. Lucas is by far the nicest.
I push through Seven’s door and immediately feel his power in the room. It paces like a hungry animal, pulsing against my skin with an almost erratic tempo. I stride through the magnificent foyer, over the custom fish tank that creates a river of koi fish through his floor, and into his living room. All the lights are off, but I can see Seven’s silhouette on the sofa from the light of the moon through the window.
“You’re late,” he says gruffly.
“I’m sorry. It took longer than I expected.” I flip on one of the lamps, casting the white-on-white decor in a cool glow, and my breath catches in my throat. Seven looks like hell. He’s cast off his suit jacket and is nursing a bourbon. “What happened?”
He tosses back the rest of what’s in his glass, his emerald eyes focused on me with an intensity that steals all the oxygen from the room. Rising from the sofa, he sets the glass down and stalks toward me until his chest brushes mine. “What happened is I’ve been denied your company for close to a week.”
“You saw me at Arden’s graduation.”
“Your physical company.”
I spread my arms.
