Two choices; Drop out, or take the money.
Her head pounded and her stomach twisted itself in knots. All of the stress she hadn’t been able to escape for months doubled between one breath and the next. Meg was well and truly trapped. No easy path lay before her, and there was no convenient right answer.
She knew what Cara would say. Take the money and give both the men her middle finger as she walked out of their life. If they were stupid enough to drop that kind of money on her, it was their problem, not hers. But Cara moved through the world in a way that defied Meg’s comprehension. She loved her friend, but she didn’t understand how she could reason her way into anything.
Sometimes, she wished she could do the same.
“Meg.”
She’d hesitated too long, and now here was Galen, stalking down the hallway toward her. She held up a hand. “I’m leaving.”
“Not alone.”
Meg blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me.” Galen reached around her, his big arm brushing her back, and pressed the elevator button. “You’re playing in a game where you don’t know the rules and you don’t know the stakes. So, yeah, I’m not letting you walk out of here alone.”
If she squinted and tilted her head a little to the left, she could almost pretend he cared. “You can’t honestly think that someone is going to snatch me off the street in this neighborhood.”
Galen gave her a long look. “I get that you’re pissed about the money, but you shouldn’t have come back here.”
Wow, Galen, tell me how you really feel.
The worst part was that she couldn’t even be mad at him over it. He was right. She shouldn’t have come back here. Theo was like some giant sun moving through her life, and he drew her in despite herself. The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside, the metal box feeling ten sizes too small once Galen moved in behind her. Theo was big, but Galen washuge. He had the kind of body that would have been right at home on a Viking ship, pillaging villages and throwing a helpless maiden over each shoulder without breaking a sweat. His dark hair was a little longer than when she’d seen him last—not quite military short anymore—and his dark eyes seemed to take in everything about every room he walked into.
The elevator shuddered into motion, but it barely had a chance to drop before Galen pushed the emergency stop button. He turned to her as if he trapped people in elevators every day. “We need to have a conversation.”
Meg slid back a step even as part of her buzzed at the thrill being this close to this man. What the hell was wrong with her? First Theo, and now Galen? Before, she could chalk the whole thing up to being intoxicated by the idea of both of them together. Now? Now, she didn’t have that luxury.
The sad truth? She wanted them. Both of them. Togetherandseparately.
If one thing hasn’t changed over the years, your taste in men is still shit.
Just like your mama.
She shoved the thought away and tried to focus on Galen. “Hurry it up, then. I have places to be.”
His lips quirked, and if he was anyone else, she would have accused him of being amused at her pissy attitude. But he wasn’t anyone else. He was Galen. “I’ll keep it brief.” He glanced up and she followed his gaze to a tiny camera situated in the corner of the elevator. Meg hadn’t even noticed it before. Galen growled and grabbed her shoulders, turning her so that his back was to the camera and his big body blocked out the sight of it—and its sight of her, she’d bet.
She should have slapped his hands away. Anything was better than feeling the heat of his palms against her bare shoulders. If Theo was the sun, then Galen was the tide. He was just as liable to drown her as Theo was to burn her up, but hell if she didn’t want to give it a try.Stop it, Meg.
He released her before she could do something stupid, but he didn’t step back. “You can’t come back here. Ever.”
“Tell Theo?—”
“I am not Theo’s errand boy, Meg. I’m not telling Theo shit.” He glared. “I am tellingyouthat you can’t come back here. I don’t give a fuck if you’ve got a chip in your shoulder bigger than England or that you’re pissed about a measly two grand. Get over it.”
“Get over it,” she repeated. “That’s really easy for you to say. You?—”
He covered her mouth with his hand and stepped closer. “Don’t waste both our time with that bullshit. I don’t give a fuck about your pride or Theo’s impulsiveness or any of that otherbullshit. What Idogive a fuck about is keeping him alive and safe.” He hesitated for the briefest of seconds. “And, damn it, I’ll feel bad if something happens to you because you’re seen associating with us.”
“Can’t have that,” she mumbled against his palm.
“Theo is untouchable right now. I’m a pain in people’s asses, but between not wanting to piss Theo off into doing something like staging a coup, and not wanting to piss my family off in case I might come back into the fold, I’m as close to untouchable as a person can get, too.Youare not.Youcan be hurt.Youcan be used as a pawn, with or without your consent. Go back to your safe life, Meg. Take the money. You need it more than Theo does, and if you stopped letting your pride have the wheel, you’d realize that.”
Slowly, his words penetrated the fury rattling around in her brain. Meg grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from her mouth. This wasn’t about the money at all. This was Galen… protecting her? “You can’t seriously think that someone in Thalania would consider my fucking you means I’m important enough to use as a weapon against you.”
Something like concern flickered through his dark gaze. No, that wasdefinitelyconcern. Holy crap, Galen actually cared. She didn’t know what to do with that information. It shouldn’t matter. This was the end, for better or worse, no matter what door she’d let herself believe she left open with Theo last night. They were too different and it would never work.Galen, at least, seemed to understand that. “Galen?—”
