She blinks as if she’d forgotten that I’m jailed in her family’s basement. “Yeah, okay.”
As Cat sprints off to get the key, I reflect back on my mistakes regarding that shiny rock. I hadn’t set off any alarms. Hadn’t made a peep. When I opened the vault to claim the diamond, I spotted a thick envelope. I pocketed that for later—you never know what information might come in handy—and as I went for the diamond, I heard boots rushing toward me.
Had to be Nino’s and his men’s. Who else?
Those are the guys I woke up to. They stared at me through the bars and shared all the ways they planned on torturing me.
They didn’t do any of that, though. Hell, they didn’t even search me. They just knocked me out and dragged me here. In the interim, apparently someone slit Eduardo’s throat.
My knife’s still strapped to my ankle, and I have my gun and the documents from the Ricci vault.
Proof that I was meant to be their fall guy, and nothing else.
If they really thought I’d killed Eduardo, I’d already be dead, my severed head on the way back to Finn’s estate as a warning.
If Nino knows I didn’t murder Eduardo, then maybe that means he knows whodid.
Maybe he did it himself, to ensure he got his way. A truce with the Russians and a secure handle on the family.
The idea is almost too horrific to consider. I don’t even like my dad all that much, but I’d never murder him.
Still, you can’t always predict what people driven to their limit will do.
I’m itching to learn what these documents say. The crisp paper lacks the earthy scent of something stored for years, and aside from the diamond, this was the only thing in the vault.
Must be important. Maybe even important enough to trigger Eduardo’s death.
Cat hurries back to my cell, turning the key in the lock with a soft click.
Pushing away my thoughts, I scoop her into my arms and claim her with a kiss. “I’m so sorry.” I breathe the words into her mouth as I embrace her. “I’m so sorry for what’s happening to you. You don’t deserve this.”
If I had the time, I’d claim her right here.
“I’m sorry I doubted you.” She whispers her truth back to me, into my mouth, my throat, and down into my soul.
I grasp fistfuls of her hair as I kiss her more passionately, and she cups my face in her hands.
Desire cascades through my blood like lava, but it’s more than that. More than lust or the need to fuck her.
It’s deeper. Stronger.
I kiss her cheeks, the salt of her tears burning my tongue. “I need you, Cat. I’d take you here if I could.”
“I know.” She stops kissing me to embrace me, squeezing the air from my lungs. “But we have to go.”
Wait.
I pull back to squint down at her. “We?”
Her voice cracks. “Who can I trust here? Someone killed my father, and I…” She’s going to start crying all over again unless I seize the reins.
Control. Authority. That’s what I do anyway.
“Okay. I get it.” I brush my lips over her forehead. “I’ve got you, Cat.”
She nods, the smallest, saddest of smiles breaking over her lips. “And I’ve got you. I’m with you. Just us.”
My chest floods with warmth. What the hell do I say to that?
