“That’s because even with three sisters, apparently you don’t know how the female mind works.” Especially in a sociopath like Mae. Or a psychopath. Charlie had always had some difficulty telling those two apart. “She’s set her sights on you, Aiden. She couldn’t care less that you’re claiming to be desperately in love with someone else, engaged or not.”
“Fuck.” He slowed to a stop.
“What?” She looked around, but nothing popped out as overtly dangerous, aside from the murder warehouse. “What’s wrong?”
“Youdidn’t bargain on the Eldridge heir gunning for your blood when you agreed to this.Ididn’t bargain on it. I can’t ask you to go through with it.”
She blinked.Of all the responses I imagined, that wasn’t on the list.“Aiden, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“In a fair fight, sure. But she won’t come at you fair. Mae will knife you in the back.”
She knew that. She also knew that the end justified the means—and the risks ventured along the way. Charlie turned to face him again. Sexual distraction wouldn’t work this time. She had to lay it out straight and hope that he’d be rational enough to realize she was right. “Your dad showing up has you all messed up in the head. Stop. Think. If you walk in there without me, either they’re going to assume I’m too weak to hold my own and they’re going to come gunning for me, or they’re going to know that you have no intention of marrying me. We don’t have time for you to worry about me.”
Though a small selfish part of her warmed at his wanting to keep her safe, the rest of her was doing her best not to be insulted. Didn’t he know that the worst for her had already come to pass? It was possible that Mae could kill her, but she had no intention of letting the woman get the opportunity.
“Charlie…”
She could tell he was still wavering, some streak of honor trying to take hold, so she went for the sucker punch. “If we don’t do this, Keiramarries Romanov.”
Aiden took one breath, and another, and then nodded and straightened. “If you change your mind—”
“I won’t.”
“All the same. If you change your mind, all you have to do is say the word and we’re out of there. I’ll figure out another way that doesn’t make you the target of one of the scariest women I’ve ever met.”
That delicate warmth in her chest spread. He’d do it, too. It might set him back and put his own sister in danger, but he’d get her out if she felt like she was in over her head. Charlie almost laughed. She’d been in over her head the second she agreed to do this.
Truth be told, she hadn’t seen the surface for years, not since she’d lost everything.
Andthatfocused her.
Justice. Revenge. Two sides of the same coin. That’s what this was about. She couldn’t afford to lose sight of that.
So she held her head high as they walked through the nondescript door and into the warehouse. It looked like she imagined thousands of other warehouses looked—pallets stacked high and wrapped up until it was impossible to tell what they held. Charlie took it all in, noting the wide aisles that didn’t offer much in the way of cover, and the tiny windows overhead that were impossible to climb to. If this was a trap, she didn’t think they’d get out alive, Liam and his man at their backs or no.
A woman melted out of the shadows. She was so plain that Charlie had to look at her a second time to make her appearance register. Mousey brown hair, a pleasant-looking face, a normal build. It was only on that second look that she saw the careful makeup designed to downplayher features, and that the roots of her hair were a rich brunette, and that her clothes had likely been picked for their poor fit. This woman could walk into any room and be ignored and overlooked, and the people there wouldn’t even realize they were doing it.
Dangerous.
The woman motioned. “This way, please.” Even her voice was pitched to be forgettable.
She led them deeper into the warehouse, finally stopping in front of a door. “Inside, please.”
So unfailingly polite. Aiden opened the door, and Charlie slipped through, blinking in the low lights. She took in the familiar hexagon table wrapped in green felt, and the dealer—another woman—who was as low-key as the woman who had led them here. Poker.
Footsteps had her turning to face the Eldridge women as they strode into the room from a different door. Alethea had dressed in a sharp pantsuit that highlighted her petite form. Mae wore a dress easily as short as Charlie’s and, quite frankly, she rocked it. She looked like one of the women in a WWE show, all glamorous strength and murderous intent—and it worked for her. Charlie could admit that, even when she wanted to be in any other room but this one.
Mae smiled, the expression sending chills down Charlie’s spine. The woman motioned to the poker table. “We wanted you to feel right at home.”
Somehow, Charlie doubted that very much. But she pasted on a smile anyway and slid into the nearest chair. “That’s so thoughtful of you. Are we playing Texas Hold ’Em or Five-Card Draw?”
Chapter Fifteen
Aiden barely breathed as Charlie faced down Mae for what felt like the millionth time that night. Even though he knew she was playing up the persona of an empty-headed fool, it was still disconcerting to watch her giggle and joke her way to winning. She effectively took out both him and Alethea in the first hour, manipulating them expertly despite the dramatics—orbecauseof the dramatics. She bluffed so well, he still wasn’t sure when she actuallywasbluffing. Even though he knew better, he’d underestimated her.
It made him wonder how else he was underestimating her.
But as soon as it was down to her and Mae, Charlie started losing. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out if it was on purpose or not. They still hadn’t gotten around to talking business. It would come, though. Alethea hadn’t invited them out here for a simple poker game, no matter what her daughter thought of Charlie. The woman was too smart to waste an opportunity as important as getting Aidenon her side, but she was too arrogantnotto try to play him in the process.
