“He saved my life, and youswore, Theo.”
At Theo’s clear displeasure, Lucas chuckled. “I’d be more than happy to disappear. You’d never have to see me again.”
I whirled on him, pointing my finger at his face. “You shut up and let me do this!”
His undamaged arm lifted in a submissive gesture.
“You saynothingunless it’s to help this situation,” I said. “Do you understand?”
Theo’s gaze ricocheted between us. “You just…listen to her?”
After a beat, Lucas said, “She gets what she wants no matter what I do. This tends to be the easiest course of action.”
Theo had the gall to laugh. He dropped the knife back onto his desk. “Her stubbornness knows no bounds.”
Lucas glanced at me, then raised a brow at Theo. “I’ve long suspected you sent her to me because you knew her tenacity would outlast mine. She thrives no matter what you throw at her.”
I curbed the compulsion to kick them both in the knee.
“Yes, she does.” Cogs turned behind Theo’s eyes. “And you came here, even when you thought I’d kill you, simply because she asked you to?”
Lucas drew a breath, peering at the chandelier. Fractured light dappled his unshaven face. He merely shrugged, resigned to his fate.
“I’m trying to understand here,” Theo said. “Give me something.”
Lucas continued his perusal of the crystals. “She’s safest here, and…I promised her I’d stay.”
A troubled expression creased Theo’s brow.
“I have a signed document hidden in my room that states you won’t hurt him, Theo,” I said.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to harbor him as a fugitive. Williams will never go for this.”
“But—” I took in his weathered desk, the riveted window. “This is the safest house we have.”
An unattractive choke emerged from Theo’s throat. “You think he’d besafehere? What do you think people will do to him once they recognize who he is?”
“Once they learn how he’s helped…”
Lucas and Theo exchanged skeptical glances.
I glared hard at both of them. “We’ve all seen what he can do. They’d be stupid to come at him. He’ll kill them without breaking a sweat.”
Lucas snorted. “I’m not a magician.”
Theo dragged a hand down his face.
Gaze distant, Lucas muttered, “I’d sweat a little.”
Theo’s hand paused over his nose and mouth, and he eyed Lucas as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was dealing with. He shook his head and sat. I plopped into a chair when Theo motioned us to sit, but Lucas perched ramrod straight at the edge of his, hands resting on his knees.
“What do you want from me?” Theo asked.
Lucas shrugged one shoulder. “Ask her. I’m only throwing myself on your mercy because it’s the best way to keep her safe.”
Theo hummed. “Your motives, at least, speak well for you.”
Lucas said nothing, but his potent desire to roll his eyes practically washed over me.
