He stopped, studying me with his intense gaze.
I swear the guy can read minds.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I want to go home.”
He nodded, not looking surprised. “I gathered that. But not sure the Olysseses agree.”
“I don’t need them to agree. I need you to put in a security system at my apartment. I’m not a prisoner, and I need to get back to my life.”
Putting his hands on his hips, he looked at the ceiling, muttering something under his breath that sounded a lot like “Stubborn females are going to put me in an early grave.”
“I guess there’s no way to change your mind?” he asked after a moment.
“None. I need to go home. I’m nobody important. The fire and Harold were a fluke.”
Gunner sighed. “You’re as close to the family as you can get without marrying into it. If they’re ready to take out Constantine, then they won’t hesitate to use you to get to them. Don’t underestimate your value.”
I blinked at him, definitely not having visions of Liam waiting for me at the altar. Or me walking down in a champagne princess gown with a long train. And I certainly wasn’t thinking of the pretty flowers I’d be holding—pink peonies, white roses, and baby’s breath. And that was exactly the reason I had to get out of here. Whatever it was I felt for Liam wasn’t healthy.
Pushing my visions of a wedding that would never happen to the darkest corner of my mind, I put my hands on my hips. “Will you help me?” Pulling myself up taller, I locked eyes with him. “You should know I’ll go home either way.” But I’d feel a lot better about my decision if I knew my apartment was secured.
Gunner shook his head, and I knew I had him. “I’m going to regret this, but I’ll send someone out there tomorrow. Give me three days.”
My body sagged in relief. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” He held up his hand when I tried to protest. “No, really. Don’t mention it. Especially not to Liam. They’ll be mad enough as it is. No need to announce anything before it’s actually happened.”
And with that ominous statement, he left, muttering curses under his breath. But my last encounter with Liam had strengthened my resolve to get back home.
I was a poster child for bad decisions, and Liam had “wrong way, turn back” written all over him.
10
LIAM
The door creaked open,and I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Dad had been as restless as me. And for the past three nights, he’d come into my study to sneak a glass of scotch.
Studying the dark backyard, I swirled the amber liquid in my glass. “Still can’t sleep?”
“Not sure I’ll be able to sleep until we catch the asshole who did this to me.”
The clinking of ice on glass sounded behind me, and then Dad stepped up next to me. There wasn’t much to see outside besides the pool; the rest of the property was hidden in inky darkness.
If Quinn knew my office overlooked the pool, I was sure she wouldn’t be out there as much. But catching glimpses of her was what got me through the day.
“We’re getting closer. Jude has a name, and he’s checking a few leads with Gabriel tonight.”
Thanks to Jude, we now knew who had hired the assassin, but we didn’t know why. The name didn’t sound familiar to anyof us, so we had to find the guy and make him talk. Luckily, that was Gabriel’s expertise.
“It’s time, son.”
My body locked up, and a swirl of emotions hit me. Euphoria. Regret. Doubt. Resignation. Back to regret.
This was the moment that was supposed to be one of the most important and happiest of my life. And while I was proud to have gotten to this stage, taking over as head of the family also meant everything would change.
And Quinn would move further out of my reach.
