I stare at her in shock. “You were watching?”
She nods. “Riveting stuff. Couldn’t look away.”
“Then you could have stopped me. Why let me get this far?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she asks, like I’m stupid. “To help you realize that no matter how far you run, no matter where you go… we will always find you.”
The fear that sparks inside me has nothing at all to do with the threat. It has everything to do with one simple word. A word that acts as the line in the sand, ensuring I’m firmly on the outside looking in.
We.
12
LEO
“What the hell were you doing back there?”
She gives me an innocent smile which, on Brit, is lethal. “What ever are you talking about?”
“You were flirting with me. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
She smiles and drapes herself on the arm of the recliner I’m sitting in, positioning herself so my arm is wrapped around her ass. Which of course is exactly the moment Jax and Gaiman choose to walk in.
Great. Just fucking great.
“Pardon, boss,” Jax says with a wicked smile. “Are we interrupting something?”
“Jaxson Harper,” Brit says, with a smile that matches his, “have you been working out? You’re filling out.”
“I was going to say the same thing about your—”
“Any news about Anya’s movements?” I ask, cutting off any potential sparring match between the two. When they get going, they’re insufferable.
Jax pouts, but Gaiman cuts right to the chase. “She’s searching, but so far no luck. Our guys have succeeded in throwing her off the scent.”
I pull my hand out from around Brit and get out of the armchair. “Good. But I doubt it’ll stay that way for long. She’s closing in.”
“Does that mean we need to get out of here?” Gaiman asks.
“That bitch isn’t going to chase me off,” I say. “I’ll leave when I’m good and ready. And if she gets wind of the fact that we’re here, all the better. She’s got something of mine.”
“I never did say congratulations,” Brit says. This smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’ll make a good father. If you get the kid back, that is.”
I glare at her. “If?”
“You know what I mean,” she says with a wave of the hand. “I never speak in absolutes anymore.”
“That’s because you’ve spent too long with Belov,” I snap. “I’m different.”
“I can see that,” she says appreciatively, her eyes running down my body.
I glare at her, trying to figure out why she’s embarrassing herself.
“Jax. Gaiman,” I say gruffly. “Get out.”
Jax gives me a wink before he leaves the room. “We’ll make sure the wife doesn’t hear anything she’s not meant to.”
I head for the door, push the dumbass out, and slam it right on his smirking face. Then I turn to the blonde siren who’s got her innocent smile back in place.
“What?” she protests mischievously. “A girl can’t have a little fun?”
“I’m serious: what the fuck are you playing at?”
“You seem really tense, Leo,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders. “I’m just trying to loosen you up a little.”
“And piss Willow off in the process?”
“That’s just a delightful bonus.”
“What is it with you two?” I ask. “I get what you were trying to do. You had a part to play and Belov was watching. But I know you, Brit. A tiny part of you was enjoying hurting her.”
She looks off to the side, and I can see her struggling for control. She’s become a master at concealing her true feelings. But that’s easier to do when no one knows who you really are.
I know, though.
I know everything.
“You’re reading too much into it,” she says finally.
I put myself in her line of sight, forcing her to look at me. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“Okay, so maybe I’m jealous,” she snaps. “Is that what you wanted to hear? Well, there you go. Sadistic bastard.”
“You’re jealous of Willow?”
She purses her lips and looks away. I take the moment to study her.
Her beauty has changed over the years. The softness that I used to admire is all gone. It’s been washed away by blood and tears. I used to think she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.