Page 44 of Forever a Thief

“What is that?” Rhys growls.

Shit. Without coming up with any other options, I reluctantly accept the bottle he thrusts into my hand. The little “Drink Me” tag flutters and the lighting around us begins to morph into a darker, more sinister color.

“Just a fun little concoction I had made up. To keep with the theme and all.”

“What. Is. It?” Rhys demands.

“A blend of mushrooms,” Voss responds, then narrows his eyes at me. “I’m done fucking around.”

“Savvy, don’t.”

I lock eyes with Rhys. But what choice do I have? I can toss it into the water and watch Rhys get shot, or I can drink it and save his life. I pop off the top, lift it to my lips and meet Voss’s intense gaze.

What if it was poison? What if there was no antidote? What if poor Alice died?

His haunting words come back to me. I glance over at Rhys, who’s shaking his head no. But I refuse to let him die. Abso-fucking-lutely not. Tilting the bottle, I swallow back the strangely-sweet liquid.

“How fast-acting is the poison?” I ask softly, and Voss sends me a smug smile.

“You have less than two hours left to live, Ms. Grant. I suggest you get the book from your boyfriend and figure out the remaining clues fast. It’s the only way you’ll get the antidote.”

“Enculé!” Rhys lunges forward, but one of the thugs shoves a gun into his gut, stopping him.

“Tick tock…Alice,” Voss taunts.

Stifling back a very harsh curse, I turn toward Rhys. “Where’s the book?” Truthfully, I don’t think I need it. I’m almost certain where the sapphire is hidden, but was trying to buy us as much time as I could. Of course, I could be wrong about its secret location. My confidence dips because, yeah, I could be completely off track. Solving clues and tracking down long-lost gemstones is hardly my area of expertise.

“I don’t have it,” he rasps.

“What?” My heart falls. Without the book, Voss won’t give me the antidote and will most likely kill us both.

Especially if my hunch is wrong.

Chapter Seventeen: Laurent

“Idon’t have the book,” I repeat, signaling Addie and her crew. “But they do.”

All at once, my newest best friends reveal their presence, materializing from behind columns like mythical creatures from the water. Voss and his thugs are surrounded, guns now pointing at them, and the chaos we’d hoped for immediately ensues.

Voss turns to run, but I foil his escape and tackle him, taking us both down. We start struggling and roll right off the edge of the platform, hitting the water with a splash. I wind up on top and, even though I’ve never been much of a fighter, I launch a series of wild punches, catching him in the jaw and cheek. An elbow to his throat has him gasping.

Just when I think I’m holding my own pretty well, Voss manages to flip me over onto my back. He splays a hand over my face, plunging my head underwater and holding it there. I didn’t get much of a breath before my unexpected submergence, and I end up getting a mouthful of water. If only I could reach the knife sheathed at my side…

Fuck. He’s using all of his body weight to keep me pinned beneath the surface, but I manage to coil my muscles and twist, sending a knee straight between his legs in the process. I’ve been accused of being sneaky and not playing fair in the past, and you can bet your sweet ass no statement has ever been truer. I’ll do whatever it takes to defeat this asshole, not drown, and ultimately, save Savannah.

Because, yeah, maybe there’s a little bit of a hero lurking inside of me after all. For sure, a morally gray one, but a hero nonetheless. Guess he was just waiting for the right moment to come out and save the day.

Because now I have someone to fight for. I’m not just choosing Savannah over the sapphire. I’m choosing connection over emptiness, belonging over loneliness…and love over the false identity I built my entire life around.

The expensive suits, watches, hotels, cars and fine wine were nothing but a part of my emotional armor. It’s so clear to me now. How I purposely surrounded myself with beautiful things, because things can’t abandon me. Then Savannah came along and quietly dismantled that belief simply by seeing me instead of the image I crafted.

And if this asshole thinks he’s taking that away from me, he can fuck right off.

My direct hit to the family jewels causes Voss to fucking howl, and he finally releases me. I jerk up, breaking through the water. As I suck in a lungful of air, I glance around, searching for Savannah. Meanwhile, Ryder and Knox grab Voss and drag his soggy ass back up onto the platform while Delaney keeps a gun trained on him. Brighton is straddling a guard, holding a knife to his throat, while Hunter has the other thug pinned against a column, his head in her weapon’s sights. And then I see Addie with her arm around Savannah’s shoulders, leading her away from the chaos.

Now I finally understand the benefits of working with a team. How they have your back. How they become your family, the people you depend on when the going gets tough. I’ve never had that before because I’ve always been a solo act. By choice? Maybe by necessity—see the above mentioned abandonment issues. But now? Now I know I’m never going to have to do anything on my own ever again.

And the idea of having a little group who looks out for me and, hell, maybe even cares about me? Well, that makes my fucking chest tighten with emotion.