Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
“I would never smoke in front of a lady.”
“I’m not a lady. I’m your sister-in-law.”
“Which means I respect you even more.”
Affection moved into her gaze. “How are you?”
“I’m sure you two can figure it out.” I leaned sideways into the chair, one elbow on the armrest, my knuckles against my cheek.
“Axel wanted to come by, but he was afraid it would piss you off.”
“And he was right.”
“So he thought he would send me instead.”
“I can’t get mad at you…so, smart move.”
A little smile moved on to her lips. “I made you something. Gave it to your butler.”
“Thanks.” I wasn’t as hungry as I normally was. Didn’t lift that morning either.
“I’m surprised she said no.”
I’d only been told no once before, but it wasn’t really a no. “It’s complicated.”
“She chose the safe option. Not that complicated.”
“I don’t think she would have chosen the safe option if I hadn’t made the wrong choice. I offered her almost nothing, and she was still putting all her chips in the pile. But I fucked up and said a lot of shit I can’t take back.”
“Why don’t you just tell her that Bolton twisted your arm?”
“I was going to if I thought she would choose me, but it was obvious her mind was set. I didn’t want to lose her and lose my chance to avenge Killian too. Too much of a risk.”
“But maybe she would have made a different choice if she knew that, Theo.”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “But something else happened to make her pick Bolton, though I don’t know what it is.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“She called me, and when I didn’t pick up, she called Bolton. For whatever fucking reason, that made her choose Bolton. A fucking phone call.”
“Why didn’t you answer?”
“I was in a meeting with the Colombians. Ever since Draven riled them up, they’ve been a fucking pain in the ass. Keep asking for more than they deserve. If they want their product in Europe, they have to go through me and accept my terms. Period.”
“That didn’t answer my question, Theo,” she said. “Because Axel always took my call, regardless of what he was doing. When the Colombians were about to kill me and my father, all I did was drop my location to him because I knew that would be enough. The second he felt his phone vibrate, he would check it to make sure it wasn’t me before he ignored it. And if it was me, everything else could wait. So, why didn’t you answer?”
Guilt rushed through me because she was right. “Because I thought she wanted to continue the conversation we’d already had, and I didn’t have the heart to deal with it.”
All she did was stare at me.
“But I called her back a minute later, and she didn’t answer.”
“What if she needed help, Theo?”
Another wave of guilt flooded me, picturing her with a flat tire on the bad side of town…or worse.
“And you weren’t there?”
I already felt like shit, but now I felt worse.
“If she was genuinely scared and Bolton was there for her, then it does make sense. You ended things when she was prepared to leave her marriage to be with you. You were still the first one she called when she needed someone—and you didn’t take her call. It makes sense, Theo.”
“If she were my woman, I would have taken that call. I would take all her calls.”
“But she wasn’t Bolton’s woman either, and he still answered.”
I stared at the fireplace and felt the self-loathing wash over me.
“If Axel hadn’t come, I would be dead…or worse. And I’m not sure if we would have gotten past that. He would have hated himself for not being there, and I would have resented him for not protecting me like he’d promised. I understand her perspective. When we feel threatened, we switch into survival mode, and we examine our reality and our choices in a very different manner.”
I kept my eyes on the fireplace. “We’re making a lot of assumptions about this phone call.”
“All we have are assumptions, Theo. Why else wouldn’t she tell you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because she doesn’t want you to feel bad. Because she doesn’t want to admit that you were the first person she thought of…and you failed her.”
I turned my gaze back to her, speaking to her differently than I did to Axel because she had a feminine touch that made even the harshest words still feel soft. The two of us had a natural chemistry when we met. I could feel it across the dinner table. That attraction had deepened into a familial bond, and now there was nothing between us except for a love between a brother and a sister. “What do I do?”
“I—I don’t know, Theo.”
“She said she didn’t want to see me again. That she’d made her choice.”