Ruthless Rival (Cruel Castaways 1)

The water cascaded around us through the glass. Arya’s face betrayed nothing. She turned to face me. “When did you start coming here?”

“As soon as I moved back from Boston to New York.”

I’d only had Arsène and Riggs in my life. Arsène had rented a three-bedroom converted apartment in Midtown and let me live rent-free while I’d made a name for myself at the DA’s office. I’d had no money to my name and lived off my friends’ leftovers for a few months. But even at my lowest, when I couldn’t even afford a gym membership, I would come here.

“You love water.” Arya eyed me curiously, as if unearthing something precious, an archaeologist brushing the dust off a mummy. I wondered if she’d finally recognize me. “Christian?”

“Yes?”

“Are you hiding something from me?”

“I’m hiding your book from you,” I said, not missing a beat. Not technically a lie, but not the whole truth either.

“I feel like there’s more than that. You would tell me if you were . . .”

She didn’t complete the sentence. Neither of us spoke for a moment. Arya was the first to take a step forward. She pressed her hand to my chest.

“I’ve been burned in the past. I don’t know if you understand what you are offering me, but my confidence in other people—especially men—is shredded right now. My sibling, my twin, my blood, died before I could ever know him. The first boy I loved ran away, then died. The man who was supposed to protect me, my father, has lied to me my entire life. In between there were others. Men, boys, guys. It always ended on a bad note. If I let you in, you have to promise not to take advantage. To be completely honest and true, as I intend to be with you. This is the only way this could work. Because in four days’ time, my world will be turned upside down, and I’ll need stability. Poise.”

I’d died? That was fucking news to me. Only not really, because I wouldn’t put it past Conrad to say anything that would make his daughter stop talking about me.

Ah. But that means that she did talk about you.

I clasped my hand over hers, using my free hand to produce something from my pocket.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” I lied, knowing damn well I was not fulfilling my end of the bargain. That I wasn’t true. I would tell her who I was. But not now. Not yet. Not like this. When I was so close to losing her. And I couldn’t lose her.

Because deep down, I knew, Nicky was still there, scared of being rejected by the golden girl sitting at the piano, back ramrod straight, sneaking smiles at him when no one was looking.

I pried her hand open from my chest and pressed something into it. My apartment key. It was the closest thing she was going to get to my heart.

“I’ll hold you when you fall.”

She smiled, and my heart broke a little, because I knew in that moment that I was destined to lose her.

“I believe you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ARYA

Present

“Honey.” Jillian put her hand over mine that morning at work, when I told her about Christian giving me a key to his apartment and mentioned that oh, by the way, I’d also been sleeping with him throughout my father’s trial. You know, that old thang. “I don’t know how to say this without sounding offensive and brash, so let me just be both for a second—on a scale of one to ten for crazy, when one is completely normal and ten is Christopher Walken in an award-winning movie, you’re currently sitting at twelve. What were you thinking? The man is about to detonate your father’s bank account and take an entire hedge fund company down with him.” She leaned forward on my desk, reaching to check my temperature. I was grateful Whitley and Hailey weren’t at the office yet. Jillian and I were early birds.

“My father had it coming.” I clicked the pen in my hand rapidly, pulling away from her. “He sent dick pics to an intern and asked his former secretary if she’d blow him for a hundred grand. And fired Amanda for the great sin of not wanting to sleep with him. His bank account is the least of my concerns now.”

“Jesus, Daddy Conrad. I did not see that one coming.”

“Yeah. Neither did I.”

Jillian slid off my desk with a sigh, making her way to her seat. “All I’m saying is that you had a weird feeling when you met this guy, and your instincts have yet to fail you. I’m not defending your father’s actions. I’ve seen firsthand how you wanted to tear the skin from your own flesh when you found out about his wrongdoings. I’m just not sure starting a relationship with the man who is holding Conrad accountable is recommended. Or advisable. Or, you know, sane.”