"That. Let's dothat," Darius declared.
"I'll think about it. It would probably lead to war if I abducted him. Or another rebellion, at the very least. The Shadow District would fall apart for good," Merrily pointed out, her intrigue fading.
"He can't be that important," Darius countered.
"Tell me you don't pay attention in Cabinet meetings without telling me you don't pay attention in Cabinet meetings," I drawled. "Mer's right, we'd start a war, and the Shadow District is too much of a mess to survive losing him. We need a better plan."
"I'll keep thinking about it. What did you decide about Niall?" Merrily looked at me. "Are you going to ask him to make a bargain with you?"
"It seems like the best call. I think I'm going to try."
"Finally," Darius feigned relief. "Unlike Jonah, we actually want that bastard in our family."
The way Merrily smiled told me she agreed.
"You'll need to come up with something he really wants. Niall isn't just going to play along," Dare warned.
I knew that.
And I had a plan.
The beginning of a plan, at least.
thirteen
NIALL
I ignoredthe knock at my studio door in the middle of the afternoon.
It was probably Larson. He knew I'd ignore him if I was in the middle of something. He'd either knock until I gave up on what I was doing, or he'd leave.
My hand moved over the canvas, sketching the image I hadn't been able to get out of my mind since I left Liv's house directly onto the fabric. I'd paint it later, but I preferred to draw it out before I started, so I had time to figure out exactly what I wanted to do.
It was an image of her sprawled out in bed, her hair a mess and her expression peaceful as she slept in one of my shirts.
She'd tried to hide that it was mine, but I'd noticed.
At the sound of buttons being pressed on the keypad that controlled my studio's lock, I went still.
Larson didn't know the code.
There was only one person who had ever known the code.
The door cracked open, and Liv's head appeared in the doorway. Her hand was over her eyes, and the sight of her messy, white-blonde hair was enough to make my chest fucking ache.
"It's just me, and I'm not looking. Don't worry about your privacy," she called out. "I have news, and a peace offering. I'll wait in my car until you're at a stopping point, but I'll probably barge in here if you don't show in thirty minutes."
My lips curved slightly.
Liv would never make it thirty minutes. Ten, tops.
She shut the door without giving me a chance to reply.
I finished the part of the piece I had been sketching, then walked to the exit.It took me a moment to steady myself before I went out to meet her.
Liv was sitting on the hood of her red Lamborghini with her legs crossed and her hair tied up in a messy ponytail. She fiddled with a fidget spinner, looking more at ease than I'd seen her since I came back into her life.
Her loose, purple athletic shorts and bright red sports bra put most of her body on display. For once, I wasn't completely focused on the amount of her skin anyone who walked past would see.
