Ian’s entire demeanor changes. Face hardens. Shoulders straighten.
“She knew about Paris. Knows about you.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” He sets his beer down.
“Luckily, we have you buried so deep, she can’t trace who the fuck you are.”
Ian is quiet for a long moment. The pan sizzles behind him. Outside, Sophia is in the pool completely unaware that the reason she's in Greece instead of Paris is because the woman who owns me has been watching her.
“How long has she known?” he asks.
“Long enough that moving her was the only play.” I look at him steadily. “Paris is compromised. She's not going back.”
Ian picks up his beer. Doesn't drink it. Just holds it. “She doesn't know that yet?”
“No.”
“You staying this time?”
“I can’t.” I push off the wall, start pacing, then end up in the exact same spot, leaning back. “It’s too risky.”
“You being here right now is already a risk. You can’t leave.”
“I have three days before Valeria starts her shit again. And when she does, I can’t be anywhere near Sophia.”
Ian takes a step closer, braced. “And shit’s never been this hot on our asses, man. You and I need to stick together if we’re going to protect that girl out there.”
There's something different in his voice. Something underneath all of that—raw and unguarded and slightly desperate in a way I've heard from Ian exactly once before, on a rooftop in Beirut when he thought we weren't walking out.
“I have three days, Ian. In the next three days, you and I need to figure out what our play is without her suspecting a thing. She can’t, under any circumstances, know how dangerous it’s gotten.”
“Agreed.”
I glance out at the pool, making sure she’s still occupied, then face Ian again. “We can’t have her in one location for too long.”
“She’s a smart girl, Reth. If we jet her off from one place to the other, she’ll figure it out.”
“Samuel knows.”
Ian straightens slightly. “He knows…and?”
“He’s in.”
“Fuck me. So, it’s happening?”
I nod.
“Does Mary know?”
“Not yet.” I shift from one leg to the other. “Samuel needs time to move money around. Accounts his parents can’t trace. Properties, exit routes. When everything’s in place, we’ll tell her. In the meantime, he’s keeping Mary and Lucas away from them as much as he can without raising suspicion. But?—”
“Of course there’s a but.”
“Valeria's been circling.” I watch Ian's expression process it. “More visits. More calls. Wanting time with Samuel and Lucas that she never particularly wanted before. Samuel thinks she's sensing the distance. Trying to close it.”
“Is she?”
“She’s sensing something. She doesn't know what it is yet.” I look at my beer. “So her instinct is to pull everything closer.”
