He hauls me into a crushing hug, arms like steel bands. I let myself sink into him for a moment, soaking up the strength he’s so willing to give me, and then push gently at his chest. I take a deep breath and shove everything into a box deep in my brain.
“You need to call your brother.”
I sigh. “I know. But I’m not looking forward to DEFCON 3. Nothing else is going to make him happy.”
Liev runs a soothing hand down my spine. “I’m right here. I’ve got your back.”
The video call connects, and it’s not just Brady—Vincent’s standing behind him, arms crossed.
“We just got word about the French guard,” Brady says, frowning. “He’s out, but they’re confident they’ll have a replacement in Vegas by the end of the week.”
I hum noncommittally. “Glad he’s okay.”
Anton had completely slipped my mind amid everything else. A twinge of guilt hits until I remember Liev saying the man had threatened me.
“Tyler Taggert spoke to me last night at Keke’s event,” I say abruptly.
“In Dallas?” Vincent’s face darkens. “What the hell is he doing there? How did he get in?”
“The more important question,” Brady growls, “is how did he know she’d be there.”
“I’m guessing the viral video of me getting punched,” I say, curling my lip. “Hannah says it’s over a million views now. Wouldn’t be hard for someone to look up what the next stop on her tour is.”
Neither man looks pleased.
“It was perfectly cordial,” I add, still omitting the arm grab. “But it was useful. Now I know what they really want. They thinkI have Aaron’s bitcoin password. We’re wondering if it’s hidden on my phone. It’s the same one I had back then.”
Brady looks stunned, and I don’t wait before dropping the second bomb. “Speaking of my phone…”
When I finish explaining the texts, both men are furious.
“Callum’s heading to Vegas, before coming back to Atlanta for a few days,” Vincent says tightly. “He can bring us the phone. Finn can go through it, track the sender, and check for anything hidden.”
“What am I supposed to do without a phone? Plus, I can’t just hand it over for you to go through. I have private things on there, I’d really prefer Finn not see,” I joke hoping to lighten the mood.
Liev stirs beside me. I can practically hear the possessive questions firing in his head.
Brady frowns. “Private things? Like your banki—” His cheeks go pink as he cuts off. “Yeah. Well. Um…”
I laugh, even if it is a bit forced. “I’m just messing with you. There’s nothing bad on there.” Then, because it’s too easy to rile my brother up, “Finn’s old enough to handle that kind of thing.”
Brady turns purple. Liev bumps my shoulder, leaning into frame with a shake of his head. “Ignore her. She’s had too much coffee.”
“I haven’t even finished my first cup,” I deny, bumping him back.
Liev tips his head toward the door. “Her Highness is up.”
“Gotta go,” I say, still smiling. “I have to go to work. My boss is a real asshole when I’m late.”
“Wait,” Brady starts, then changes his mind. “Just… be on the lookout for Callum’s text to rendezvous.”
I give a mock salute and close the laptop.
“Hide all you want from your brother,” Liev says, cupping my jaw. “But don’t hide from me.”
I sigh, the levity draining away, leaving me raw and dejected. “I don’t want to end up pushing you away because of my bullshit. You should probably?—”
He cuts me off with a hard, claiming kiss. When he pulls back, his eyes burn into mine. “Push all you want,malyshka. I’m pretty fucking strong. I can take it.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “And I’m not going anywhere. I belong with you. Whatever comes we’ll face it together.”
