“This isn’t happening. This…can’t be true.”
“I’m sorry, okay, I’m sorry, but it is. The man you’re living with is hiding as many secrets as we are. And he’s damn good at keeping them and at keeping his nose clean.”
He presses me against the door. “I want you far, far a-fucking-way because your dad has a lot of enemies, aside from us, for the shady shit he’s pulled over the years. You aren’t safe here.”
“Sean—”
“I miss you so much,” he murmurs, gripping my face in his hands, his eyes roaming over me. “I fucked up, we both did, but you weren’t something we saw coming.”
Mind racing, I realize my mother, her security, everything I’ve worked for will disappear if they see their plans through. But it’s my father’s eyes I see before I speak up. “And you’re sure they’re not going to hurt him?”
“We’re going to take back the town he stole and give it to the people who deserve it. It’s greed-coated money he’s stacking up. Their money.”
Roman’s words the day I confronted him run through my mind.
“He corrected their pay. It’s no longer an issue.”
Sean shakes his head. “That’s the kicker of seeing is believing. Any convincing devil worth a damn can look you in the eye and make you believe he doesn’t exist.”
I swallow.
“That still doesn’t explain why I’m the secret.”
“You are for more reasons than one. At first, you were the way to get in, infiltrate his house, aid in the search.”
It takes everything I have not to slap him. I jerk my face away and he forces it back. “Listen to me. At first, I mean early, when we first met, I thought it was a good idea to bring you in. You were a surprise. It started with me. This is on me, and it’s also why Dominic was such a prick to you in the beginning. He didn’t agree.”
Sean pulls me by the wrist to step away from the door before opening it and poking his head out into the hall. A second later, he closes it and exhales. “We can’t stay in here much longer.”
“What are the other reasons?”
Silence. That damning silence. “I would tell you if I could.”
“You bastard,” I swallow again, and again, his confessions have me circling back to the beginning. “That’s why you wouldn’t kiss me at first. That’s why you let me make the decision to sleep with you. It had to be my decision because you were using me. That’s so fucked up, Sean.”
“Look at me.” I do. His eyes cover me in a haze of regret. “I love you. And I’ve been in love with you since this started, Cecelia. And you fucking know it.”
They’re the most painful words I’ve ever heard and feel more like body blows at this point because I’m sure I’ll never know if they’re true.
“So, what, now you’re going to jeopardize your grand plans because you care about me?”
“Plans change. And we’ve got enough of them. With him, we’ve been patient.”
“And you really don’t think I’ll tell him?”
He presses his forehead to mine. “I know you won’t. Dom does too. It’s the others we can’t convince so easily. You are the target’s daughter.”
“He’s still my father!” I shake my head. “This isn’t real life.”
“Unfortunately, it is. Can you go back to your mother’s?”
“No. Sean, you know I’m here to take care of her. She’s still not well, and if I leave now, I forfeit my inheritance. If it were just about me, it would be different.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it goes down the way it’s supposed to. Arm the house, yourself, but don’t tell him.” The haunted look in his eyes is enough to tell me his fate if I can’t keep this secret.
“Why did you tell me?”
“I just told you. You’re my priority. Not only because of how I feel about you, but because I brought you into this, it’s my fucking fault.” He runs a hand through his hair before slapping it on the door next to me. “I swear to God. I thought it would be safer to bring you in. There’s too much going on to hash out today. Just know I fucked up, Dom and I fucked up, and we all need to…stay away from each other. The longer we aren’t seen together, the more it’ll look like…”
“Like you used me.”
He nods. “One day, I’ll beg you to forgive me, but for now, I need you to listen and hear me. This is real.”