"Thanks," I say and hope like hell they dull the splitting pain in my head. I'm not sure if it's the hangover, the crying, my period, or my fucked-up life, but whatever it is makes it difficult to see straight.
Alec's phone rings and he pulls it out and audibly groans. "Fuck, I have to go." He faces me. "This conversation isn't over, okay?"
"Promise me you won't say or do anything."
Alec holds out his pinky. "I pinky promise."
I slip my little finger into his and give it a firm shake.
He gives his attention to Silver. "Promise you'll keep her safe in the meantime?"
Silver nods. "Yes, but I'm not doing that."
Alec presses a quick kiss on my cheek and tucks my hair behind my ear. "Don't give up, Cor, we'll figure this out." He leaves us behind, the tension of the situation not dying down at all with his absence.
Silver resolves onto the couch and faces me. He rests his arm over the back and props his head on his fist. "There has to be something we can do. Give me time to think and I'll figure it out, okay?"
I sip some of the coffee that's grown cold. He's asking fortime, something I no longer have. But how do I convince him that this is a lost cause and there's nothing that can be done? I've thought about this from every angle I could and not a single solution presented itself that doesn't end in someone's death.
Ricardo has the upper hand, and the deck is stacked in his favor.
24
SILVER
"Do you love him?" The question leaves my mouth before I've had time to push it into the recesses of my mind.
"What? Who?" Cora furrows her brows and my thumb twitches to reach out and smooth out the wrinkle.
"Alec."
"Oh." She looks away and fidgets with her hand. "I mean..."
She doesn't have to continue for me to have my answer. If it were a no she would have said so immediately, and any other response is most definitely a yes. Even if she isn't aware of it, her heart has already made that decision. I see it written on his face plain as day. When he showed up and insisted on sleeping on the couch just to make sure she was okay and that he was nearby if she needed him, I knew with certainty that he was a goner.
There's a strong possibility that she loves Miller, too, especially when she made damn sure that we swear not to tell him. She did that to protect him, and what other reason would there be other than her heart belongs to him.
It's damn obvious those feelings are reciprocated, too. He made that clear when he paid me to keep an eye on her. Not to mention the one hundred million dollars he spent to buy the building she's doing work at. It didn't take me long to figure out the connection, and once I saw how protective he was of her, the pieces of the puzzle only seemed to align that much more.
But what does that mean for me, for us? There are already two men who would do anything for her, where does that leave me? She might love them, but is her heart big enough for another? Why should I even consider myself a prospect when she's already spoken for?
On the other hand, though, I was the one she called last night. Not Miller, not Alec, who was quite literally with her...she sought me out in her time of need. That must count for something.
"It's okay, you don't have to explain," I tell her.
Finally, her blue eyes meet mine. "It's complicated."
I nod. "I know." My arms ache to have her in them, to tuck her to my chest and keep her safe, now, and always. I fucking hate feeling this way, so fucking vulnerable, so fucking alive for the first time in a long while.
"I don't want to go home," Cora says.
"You can stay here as long as you need to." I reach forward and place my hand on hers. "I mean it. I can sleep out here, give you the bedroom. Whatever you need."
She swallows and lets out a breath. "I can't impose."
"You're not imposing, Angel. I'm offering. And if you don't want to stay here, I can rent you something in the meantime."
"No, you're not going to do that." Cora takes a sip of her coffee and sets it aside. "Plus, what if he finds out I'm staying here?"
