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“And she’s going to, what? Easily accept the truth? After you dated for . . . how long was it?”
“I’m not trying to get into this now. Trust me, would you? She’s our only chance, and as memory serves, she wasn’t exactly Daddy’s little girl.” His brow furrows like he’s determined to convince me—or himself. “I think she’ll help us.”
He’d better be right, for all our sakes.
Chapter Twenty-Three
June
“This is just like something out of a movie.” We’re sitting in the middle of nowhere, an hour outside the city, parked along the side of a road that’s seen better days. Considering we’ve been passed by a total of two vehicles in the twenty minutes we’ve sat waiting for this Sophia person, I get the feeling it’s not used much and therefore not repaired much. Or maybe it’s the other way around, like a chicken-and-egg situation.
“If it helps you to think that way, go right ahead.” Theo is more tense than ever, which is saying something, since he’s pretty much always tense. I’ve never before met a person who I can honestly say just needs to get laid.
At least now I understand where that tension is coming from. “Were you and this woman really serious about each other?” I ask while we wait for any sign of what’s probably a pretty fancy car.
“June,” Adrian warns.
“I’m only asking. It’s better than sitting here in silence.”
“I don’t know about that,” Theo mutters, checking the rearview mirror. “I kind of like silence.”
And I’m so stunned. “I just want to get an idea of what could happen. Was she surprised when you called her?”
“Putting it mildly,” he grunts. “I told her I would explain everything and made sure she understood to keep this meeting secret. Between only us.”
The slightly panicked look I throw Adrian must get my point across, since he reaches across the back seat to take my hand. For all we know, Sophia could show up with an army of her dad’s men. This could be it, right here. We could die on the side of the road and get buried out here, where nobody would ever find us. I’ve seen that in movies too.
Which is why my heart jumps into my throat when a sleek black sports car comes cruising up behind us. I see it in the driver’s-side mirror, getting bigger and making my heart beat faster. Theo sits up straighter behind the wheel, and the tension thickens while I squeeze Adrian’s hand hard enough that I feel his joints moving.
“Come on. She’ll want to see all of us. No surprises.” Theo opens his door, and I have to fight the urge to pee myself out of fear before opening mine and stepping out into the unrelenting sunshine.
“Just relax,” Adrian murmurs once he’s at my side. “We can handle this.”
Once the Mercedes comes to a stop and the driver steps out, I have to wonder whether that’s true. “You’ve got to be kidding,” I whisper as the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in person emerges. A thick cloud of black curls drifts around her head thanks to a sudden gust of wind. Her cream-colored sheath dress and nude heels are drool-worthy, along with the massive diamond ring she wears on her left hand and the Birkin bag she carries over one arm.
“She’s magnificent,” I whisper, overwhelmed. “I want to be her when I grow up.”
She stops short of crossing the road to meet us, coming to a stop and raising her sunglasses so she can study Theo with narrowed eyes. “It is you,” she announces, like she didn’t quite believe it until now. There’s disbelief in her husky voice, plus something else I can’t identify. Anger? I sure as heck hope not.
“In the flesh,” he replies. “Thank you for meeting me out here.”
“Well, when your ex suddenly returns from the dead and asks for a meeting, you cancel your waxing appointment and you show up.”
She reaches into her bag, and I gasp at the sight of a gun that she points straight at his chest. “If only to find out what the hell he was thinking, letting you believe he was dead all this time.”
“She is incredible,” I whisper in awe. I mean, I am swooning. Even her gun looks elegant.
She frowns, glancing my way. “Who the hell is this?”
“Hi, Sophia,” Adrian offers after clearing his throat. “This is June. She was mixed up in all of this completely by accident.”
“Would you at least let me explain before you blow me away?” I can’t tell if Theo is nervous or what. If anything, he sounds more hopeful than he has since he first pulled a shotgun on us at his front door.
“Oh, you better believe you’re going to explain yourself,” she purrs, her crimson lips tipping upward at the corners in a grim smile. “I’ve been waiting with bated breath ever since I took your call.”
“What was the one thing we went out of our way to prevent when we were together?” he asks, staring at her with an intensity I didn’t know he possessed. I guess that’s what happens when someone’s holding a gun on you. “Your father could never find out, right? Guess what? He did.”
“That’s all it takes to make you run away with your tail tucked between your legs?” she demands. Never once does the gun waver.
