Secret Babies of the Wolves (Box Set), page 30
Her eyes narrowed. “So you don’t have feelings for him?”
“I didn’t say that!” I snapped. “I just don’t know how to stick a label on it.”
“What about when the two of you met?” she prompted impatiently. “Did you feel anything about him then?”
I remembered the unexplainable sense of relief I had gotten when I first looked in Rhys’s eyes. Like it was a good thing we were meeting. Like I was going to benefit from having him around. Violet must have noticed my hesitation.
“Did you?” she insisted.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” The thought had me so freaked out that I couldn’t help getting a little defensive over it. “Look, all my feelings about him are hard to explain, okay? When we met, I felt like it was supposed to happen. And even though I know who he is and what he does, I’ve still been…attracted to him all this time.” Why was I telling some stranger all this, anyway? Maybe I felt like I had some obligation to explain why I had gotten in so deep with her fiancé.
“Why shouldn’t you be? He’s attractive. He’s successful. He’s capable and easy to get along with.” She was so dispassionate about it, so much more clinical than I would’ve described him. I mean, all of it was true, but it sounded more like she was weighing the pros and cons than admiring his attributes. “What’s not to like?”
“He’s a criminal. I’m a cop. I was raised to hate people like him.” People like my father.
Violet’s eyebrows raised, either in intrigue or understanding. “I see. So what is it about him that keeps you interested?” She sounded more curious than demanding.
“I…” my cheeks were starting to flush as I forced myself to admit, “I like being around him. I don’t know. He makes me laugh, and he challenges me. We just work. It feels right. And I’ve never had that with anyone else.”
Staring down at the ground, I tugged my hair out of its updo so I would have something to hide behind. Rhys definitely wasn’t off the hook yet. We were going to talk about him keeping this from me. But as angry as I was with him, it didn’t change how I felt. I wasn’t sure anything would.
“How interesting,” Violet said. Confessing all this to her was almost definitely a mistake, but there was no taking it back now. “Do you believe in the concept of fate, Brianna?”
Even though I didn’t know where the question had come from, I answered, “Not really. I don’t like thinking I can’t make choices for myself.”
The tiniest hint of a smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Of course. What about soulmates?”
“Uh. No,” I mumbled, feeling my face turn three more shades of red as I realized what she was implying. Me and Rhys? Soulmates? That is what she’s saying, isn’t it? I never liked the idea of fate in any form, and I didn’t believe in love at first sight. But that wasn’t exactly what she was talking about. “Why do you ask?”
“It’s just something I’ve thought about a lot,” she said with an innocent shrug. “But I don’t have any personal experience with it. It sort of sounds like you do, though.”
“Hang on, you’re jumping to conclusions!”
“Am I? You just said”—she started counting off on her fingers—“you felt like you were ‘supposed’ to meet him, you’re attracted to him despite your better judgment, and he’s the only person you’ve ever felt this way about. You also got awfully upset when I suggested that you don’t care about him.” More than anything, she seemed genuinely fascinated by the situation. “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. But if that’s really what’s going on, I don’t see any point in fighting it.”
“Wait, what?” I called as she turned toward the door. “Seriously? Just like that, you’re giving up?”
“‘Giving up’ suggests this is some kind of fight. Based on what you just told me and what Rhys said downstairs, I lost as soon as the two of you met.”
“What did he say?” I asked by reflex.
Violet paused at the door to look back at me, “I’m sure he’ll tell you himself soon enough. Regardless, you shouldn’t think of me as a threat to your relationship with him.” After a second of hesitation, she added more seriously, “If this is real, you shouldn’t let it go. Not for anything. Good night.”
As the door closed behind her, I stood still, silent, my head buzzing with a million different thoughts. Soulmates. Bullshit. And why was she acting like it’s such a sure thing? What the hell did Rhys say to her to make her come up here and interrogate me like that? Why was that answer enough for her to give up? Is she playing me or something?
I need to talk to Rhys. That was the loudest one, the one that kept repeating. This whole engagement thing had shaken me, and the thought of getting an explanation and reassurance from him was the only thing that comforted me at all. Did that mean something?
“Ugh.” Now that Violet had put that idea in my head, I couldn’t seem to get it out.
16
Rhys
When I got up to the 35th floor, before I could knock, I found a note taped to Brianna’s door.
Rhys,
I’m out by the pool if you want to talk.
-B
Well, the fact that she was giving me an opportunity was encouraging. So I went up to the roof like she said and found her in one of the covered cabanas on the wall’s perimeter, looking out onto the city. She didn’t look up, even when I took a seat in the chair beside hers. During my conversation with my dad, she had apparently changed into something more comfortable; her legs curled up into her chair were almost completely bare, her brown-speckled skin covered by a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top. Just looking at her, seeing her the same way she’d fallen asleep in my arms so many times, I wanted to hold her. But I knew I was still on thin ice.
“I’m sorry.” That seemed like a safe place to start. “I should have told you about Violet earlier.”
“Mm-hm,” she agreed.
“I don’t have any actual feelings for her. And I’m pretty sure she feels the same way about me. The engagement was more a business transaction than anything.”
“She told me.”
That was a surprise. “You talked to her?” And it didn’t turn into a fight?
Brianna nodded. “She explained the whole thing. I figured from the way she talked about you that she wasn’t super invested herself.” Shooting me a hard glance, she went on, “You still lied to me.”
“I know. It was just so much easier to focus on being with you and pretend it was that simple, but…” I shook my head. There was no point making excuses. “Does it help at all that I’m going to break off the engagement?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Why?”
For some reason, the question stung, as if she was doubting my feelings for her. Maybe I hadn’t made them clear enough yet. Maybe I needed to fix that. Reaching for her hand, I told her plainly, “Because I want to be with you, bella.”
“So what?” she answered, her tone was weighed down with sadness now as she stared at her hand in mine. “That’s not how you people decide things. It doesn’t matter what you want. It just matters what’s suitable.”
My first thought was to argue, to say she was assuming the worst of us again. But really, she wasn’t wrong. Most of the time, duty took priority over personal desire. “Not this time.”
“Why? What makes this any different from the rest of your life?”
“It’s different because it’s not just about what I want. It’s about what I need.” Unable to keep resisting my beast’s urging and my own desire, I scooped her up in my arms and pull her into my lap, her legs straddling mine. She didn’t object, staring up at me with her vivid eyes and seeming even smaller than usual. “I’ve already told you how I’d feel if someone tried to take you from me. Would you be fine with me marrying some other woman?”
“I never said anything like that.” Her shifter blood showed through the growl in her voice and the fire in her eyes. “Especially not some woman who doesn’t care anything about you. You should be with the person who wants to be with you.”
“It almost sounds like you have someone in mind,” I teased.
“Shut up.” She leaned forward and kissed me roughly, grasping at my shirt with both hands. Even when she freed my lips from hers, her hands stayed tightly clenched. “You never did…anything like this with her? I mean, it was always just business, right?”
“Of course it was. I hardly know her,” I assured her, hands resting on her thighs. “And just so we’re totally clear, what you and I are doing here is a first for me. I’ve never wanted any other woman like I want you.”
Brianna’s smile was soft, thoughtful, as she slid her hands up my chest to drape them over my shoulders instead. “Need,” she corrected, bringing her lips close to mine again.
“Exactly.” The kiss I pulled her into was slower than the last one, and by the time I let her go, she seemed satisfied that the matter was settled. As she was leaning against my chest and I ran my fingers slowly up and down her spine, I thought about what my dad had said. That I should tell her exactly how much I needed her. That I needed to explain about the whole mate thing. Somehow. I still wasn’t sure how to do it in a way that would make sense, but he was right; I needed to try. As I was figuring out how to start, though, Brianna beat me to the punch.
“You can’t act like this isn’t screwed up, though,” she muttered.
“What?”
“You being stuck in a fucking arranged marriage,” she said, like it should’ve been obvious. “Your family treating relationships like they’re currency. I mean, not just your family. Your kind of family.”
“I get it,” I muttered.
“And Violet. She was so cold about the whole thing, like choosing to be with someone because you actually care about them is silly and frivolous.” She sat back away from me, frowning hard, obviously upset. “Like all she is is a bargaining chip for her family. Is that how your parents think of you? Is the same thing going to happen to Ellie?”
I knew for a fact there were already plenty of families interested in snagging Ellie for one of their sons, not only for the connections but because of our bloodline. The thought of my little sister being married off and pressured into having children with someone she hardly knew made my skin crawl. The concept had never bothered me before. I had grown up around this. I had been taught it was just how things worked, and I’d accepted that. But Brianna was forcing me to look at it more closely instead of the distant, objective way I’d always viewed it in the past. Now that I was seeing what an actual relationship was like, it was easy to realize that the forced ones were wrong.
“It’s really not an unusual thing,” I said, trying to reason through it for Brianna and for myself. “This is just what’s expected of a boss’s younger children. To succeed in this business, you have to be an opportunist.” And my family was nothing if not successful.
“Wait, younger children?” Brianna repeated. “Are you saying those ‘expectations’ don’t apply to Gabriel?”
I let out my breath in a controlled sigh. “Yes. As our dad’s oldest son, he has a lot of privileges no one else in the family does.”
“You mean like not doing any work?” she asked critically.
“Don’t say that.”
“Why? You’ve told me yourself that he’s always delegating his tasks out to other people—mostly you. Whenever there’s a problem, you’re the one rushing to solve it, not him. That’s why when your dad needs something done right away, he goes straight to you.” As much as I felt compelled to argue with her, as much as I knew my brother’s position made him pretty much beyond reproach, I couldn’t help but admit she was making a solid point. “If anyone here deserves special privileges, it’s you.”
“It’s not that simple.” Shaking my head, I told her, “I don’t want to talk about business right now, bella.” I don’t want to think about how fucked up and backwards some of our rules are.
“We’re talking about your family,” she pointed out. “I can’t help that they’re one and the same.” Still, she must’ve seen how uncomfortable the topic was making me. After a few seconds of silence, she got up and took both my hands to pull me to my feet. “It’s getting late. We should be in bed already.”
“When you say ‘in bed,’ do you mean ‘asleep’?” I asked, following her toward the elevator, grateful that she wasn’t pushing the subject any further.
“I guess that’s going to depend on whether or not you can get me back in the mood,” she said with a playful smile. As if it were a question. As if she didn’t melt any time I touched her just right.
“I think I’m up to the challenge.” And I was more than willing to get lost in my feelings for her so I wouldn’t have to think about how justified her criticism of my family was.
17
Brianna
For some reason, after the night of Violet’s visit, Stefan was strangely friendlier to me. When we saw each other in passing, he would smile at me—just slightly, but it was there—and I started being invited to the family dinners they apparently had once a week. Ellie was, of course, delighted to see me there and talked my ear off as much as usual while Gabriel kept shooting me badly-disguised glares. I tried asking Rhys what was up with the change, but he said it was just because our relationship was out in the open now.
A couple of weeks later, during one of our morning chats, Ellie mentioned seeing Violet in the elevator earlier, headed downstairs. “Scandalous,” she giggled.
“Wait, what was she doing here?” I asked as I was putting a pie crust in the oven to blind bake. We had discovered that Ellie had more of a knack for baking than other sorts of cooking, so we were making quiche Lorraine again that morning.
“Oh, you don’t know?” She grinned, delighted as always to share gossip, while she was sautéing onions for our meal. “Since her engagement with Rhys ended, Violet’s been getting awfully close with dear Gabi. So, since his place is above mine, I think it’s safe to say that’s where she was leaving from.”
“Wow. I wouldn’t have guessed that match,” I laughed.
“I could’ve. But then, I know them a little better than you do. See, Violet’s her dad’s oldest child, so I think she always felt like Rhys was kind of a downgrade for her. And Gabi’s been crushing on her for years.” She started to reach for the plate of cooked bacon on the counter, but I slapped her hand away once again, causing her to pout as she went on, “Anyway, it was Rhys’s idea to get them together. He’s hoping it’ll help make up for him dumping Violet.”
“‘Dumping’ her makes it sound like she was his girlfriend,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. “I think ‘ending their contract’ makes more sense.”
Ellie stole a knowing look at me and cooed, “Aww, did I hit a nerve, sorella?” She had been calling me that for weeks, but unlike most of the Italian she let slip when we were together, she wouldn’t tell me what it meant. When I’d finally looked it up and found the translation was ‘sister,’ I couldn’t bring myself to make her stop. No, I wasn’t actually part of their family. No, I never would be. But…it was a nice thought, in some ways.
Unfortunately, I had to shoo her out a little earlier than usual, since—for the first time in weeks—I finally had some actual work to do. I settled onto the couch with my laptop and looked over the files Tom had sent me while I waited for him to call. We had been keeping in touch, of course, but it seemed like he got more and more uncomfortable with my absence all the time; he was constantly asking when I was coming back, whether I was finding anything helpful to use against Antony. I tried to reassure him that I was fine without rubbing my relationship with Rhys in his face, but he was determined to stay anxious and worried for me until I was safely back in St. Louis.
When my phone rang, I grabbed it and went right to business, “Hey. So I’m reading over these transcripts, and I don’t think—”
“Brianna.” A low, unfamiliar voice stopped me mid-sentence. “It’s nice to finally hear from you, even if it’s by accident. Enjoying your little vacation in Chicago?”
“Who…?” I didn’t finish the question, as the sinking feeling in my gut was giving me the answer. I realized since I was expecting the call from Tom, I hadn’t bothered to check who was calling before I’d answered. “Antony.” It was almost a question, but not really.
“Now, that’s no way to address your father,” he chided. This didn’t make any sense. He’d never called me himself before. He’d had his minions call and harass me, sure, but he was too important to do it himself. Apparently, he’d changed his mind. “I half-expected you to hang up as soon as you realized who was calling. After all, you’ve been running and ignoring me for this long. Why stop now?”
“If you didn’t have a literal army supporting you, maybe I’d be more inclined to deal with you head-on,” I hissed, holding my phone tight and trying to pretend that just hearing his voice didn’t scare me. “What do you want?”
“A conversation.”
“We’re talking now,” I pointed out.
“An in-depth conversation. We have a lot to talk about, young lady.”
“Like hell we do. I don’t want anything to do with you, and you know it,” I snapped. “That should be the full extent of the exchange.”
Antony let out a sigh. “You sound just like your mother. She didn’t like to compromise either.”
“Don’t talk about her like you know her. Or me. I already know you won’t actually go near her, so there’s no point throwing that bluff out again, either.” I forced myself to take a slow, deep breath as I realized how much I was raising my voice. I couldn’t let him get the best of me and psych me out.
“You’re right that I don’t plan to threaten her, but not for the reason you think. Now, answer my question: are you enjoying your stay with the DeMarcos?”
“None of your business,” I growled.
“I’m just curious as to what makes you think you can trust them over your own flesh and blood,” he went on, unbothered by my resistance. “They’re the same as I am. Even Rhys.”
