“She’s never going to forgive us for this.” For dropping a bomb on her life and leaving destruction in their wake. The two grand was nothing compared to what came next.
Theo sighed. “I know. But better she’s pissed and alive than the alternative. Make the call, Galen. We need to be out of New York before dawn.”
6
Meg sat wrapped in one of Theo’s T-shirts and tried to make sense of the words coming out of Galen and Theo’s mouths. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to need to repeat that.”
They exchanged a look, one of those flashes of dark eyes meeting blue that telegraphed an entire conversation she wasn’t privy to. Theo rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth. “You aren’t safe here.”
“Then I’m going home.”
He crouched next to the bed, putting himself even with her. “Meg, I’m not talking about the apartment. You’re not safe in New York. If Dorian has people after you, he’s not going to stop just because Galen intervened once. Hell, if anything, that will only confirm his suspicions. He will send more, and they will be worse. And once they’re donetalkingto you, they will shove you into a car, take you to the airport, and deliver you to Dorian wrapped up like a Christmas present.” He didn’t look away, didn’t smile to lessen his words, didn’t soften his tone. “If he gets you in Thalania, we can’t help you, and no one there will.”
It’s not fair. The cry of a child faced with circumstances beyond her control. She wanted to kick and scream and throw things until the helpless feeling in her chest dissipated. She wanted to punish both of these beautiful men for bringing this awfulness into her life, for making her a pawn in a game so far beyond her that she wasn’t even a piece on the board. It didn’t matter if neither of them intended for this to happen—they’d known the stakes so much better than she had. How could she make an informed decision when she didn’t know everything at stake?
In the end, none of it mattered.
“How long?”
Another of those loaded looks between the two of them. “We’re not sure.”
Her throat burned and she closed her eyes against the moisture gathering there. She’d had hard times before, and they hadn’t broken her. This wouldn’t, either. But, damn it, she wasso closeto reaching the cumulation of her plan and to have it snatched when it was only a finger’s breath away… It hurt. It fucking hurt and she was entitled to be upset. “I need time to process.”
“You don’t have much.” This from Galen where he leaned against the doorframe. “We have to move and we have to do it soon to get ahead of this.”
Meg took a deep breath and then another. “You have a plan.” They’d probably talked about it while she broke down in the shower. With the water cascading over her head, she could convince herself that it was responsible for wetting her face and not her tears. There could be no breaking down now, not when apparently the danger hadn’t subsided. If anything, it sounded like Galen helping her had only made things worse.
You should have just taken the money and let them walk out of your life.
If you had, this wouldn’t be happening.
Theo pushed to his feet and moved to stand next to Galen. They were so damn different, though they were both tall, dark, and gorgeous. Theo was the very essence of aristocracy—refined and sharp and changeable. Galen looked like he brawled in back alleys when he was looking for a good time. And they were both watching her with identical expressions on their faces, as if they expected her to dissolve into a puddle of tears and throw a tantrum that her life had just been shattered to pieces.
“I’m furious and scared, but I’m not going to shatter. Stop worrying about handling me and just tell me the damn plan.”
Theo nodded, almost to himself. “You’ll have to withdraw from college or push back to next year. For better or worse, this will be finished within the next nine months.”
“Nine months.” The words tasted of dust on her tongue. Deferring for a year wouldn’t ruin her life, but itwouldruin her timeline. She could already picture the triumphant cruelty on her mother’s face when she heard the news, the croon in her voice as she whispered,I always knew you’d fail. Thought you were better than us, but you’re exactly the same. A failure. A fuckup. Blood always outs.
No, I can’t think like that.
It wasn’t the end. She wouldn’t let it be.
“I’m sorry, Meg. I really am. This wasn’t part of the plan.” Theo checked his phone. “Galen, can you meet the courier in the lobby. He should be here shortly.”
Galen nodded and disappeared down the hallway. Seconds later, the sound of the door closing permeated the apartment. She looked at Theo. “A year from now your brother reaches his majority.”
“Half-brother.” He said it with the distracted air of someone who had to correct people constantly. “And yes, my uncle can’t move directly against me in the meantime, but he won’t hesitateto remove anyone who gets too close. They still think they can draw Galen back into the fold.” He shook his head. “If they took you to Thalania, it might even work.”
“We had sex twice. How does that translate to manipulating Galen or hurting you by taking me? It doesn’t make any sense.” People had sex all the time. Emotions didn’t come into it. She couldn’t claim that rule applied to this situation. How could she be in bed with them andnotbe affected? But there was no reason for Galen’s father or Theo’s uncle to realize that. Not so quickly with so little evidence.
What evidence could he even have?Shedidn’t even have evidence that this went beyond an intense physical attraction and what appeared to be Theo’s perverse desire to drop large sums of money on her.
“He must have found out that we shared you.” Something like guilt flared over Theo’s face. “We weren’t as discreet as we should have been in the club.”
Despite everything, her body flared hot at the memory of being caged by Galen’s big body while Theo slipped a hand up her dress. “No, we weren’t very discreet.” She stared. “But that still doesn’t answer my question—why me?”
“That moment in the club was the first time we’ve slipped up since I was exiled. Neither of us has been a saint, exactly, but we’ve been careful.”
