We rise together. My body protests with a symphony of aches, though I do my best to hide the pain. Chloe notices anyway, her hand gentle at my elbow as we head toward the door.
The hinges give a high, plaintive whine.
Glancing back, I catch Alexei’s eye through the open bedroom door. His gaze holds mine for a heartbeat.
Two.
Then his lids fall shut again, his breathing resuming that careful rhythm.
No words. No questions. A gift of privacy I hadn’t expected.
Outside, the night cocoons us like a cozy blanket. Stars—cold points of light against an endless black—pierce the darkness overhead. The air tastes clean after the chemical stench of the warehouse fire and the lingering smell of blood and antiseptic in the motel room.
Chloe tugs me toward the concrete steps leading to the parking lot, where we sit side by side.
“Are you cold?”
“I run hot.” Truth. No lies between us anymore. “You really okay? Didn’t want to ask in front of the guys in case you weren’t.”
“I’m fine.” She snuggles in closer. Scenting me.
The observation stirs primitive pleasure in my chest.
“I need to tell you something.” Her eyes track the empty road beyond the parking lot, checking for threats. She’s learned that much, at least. “Something I didn’t tell Gio.”
I still. This sounds important. “What is it?”
She faces me, moonlight shimmering in her eyes. “I know where the diamonds are. I figured it out right before they took me. I was coming to wake you when they broke in.”
I freeze.
These stupid diamonds nearly got Chloe killed. But without them, I wouldn’t have met her.
Once they’re returned to Roman, maybe she’ll finally be safe.
I exhale and squeeze her fingers. “Where?”
“The globe bar. Supposedly a ‘gift’ from a random parent of one of my kids. I received it last year.” Her bitter laugh is nothing like her usual brightness. “What kind of parent givestheir kid’s kindergarten teacher a gift like this? I should’ve known something was off. But, you know, I’m always?—”
I chuckle, mostly to myself. “Sunshine on Legs.”
“What?”
I can’t believe I just let my private nickname for her slip. “You’re always thinking the best of everyone.”
She shrugs.
I should have paid more attention to that damn globe the night I drugged Chloe.“You’re sure about this?”
She nods. “Why else would someone mysteriously gift me that?”
My mind races, connecting dots, filling gaps. The globe bar. The break-in at her house. Gio’s men searching. Everything fits. The timing lines up with MJ’s own investigation.
But that’s not what seizes the breath in my lungs.
“You didn’t tell Gio.” My statement is flat with disbelief.
She stares down at her hands as she twists them in her lap. “No.”
