In other words, my brother’s wrong. Walker knows exactly what he’s doing. And so do I. He’s trying to scare me away from Kace and back to him. Anger simmers in my belly. Adrian crosses to the desk across from me. He’s tall and broad, his goatee and strong jawline accenting the confidence about him. He indicates the note in my hand. “May I?”
I hand him the note. He reads it, and then his lips quirk. “Bold. Cocky. I might like him.” He sets the card down. “But I’ve killed people I liked about as much.”
My temper flares. “This is my brother you’re talking about.”
“And?”
“He’s my brother.”
“If he tries to hurt you, we won’t choose him, Aria. We’ll choose you.”
“He won’t try to hurt me. He’s my brother.” I’m a broken record and I don’t even care. “We are family. We’re close. We’re a part of each other.”
“I said the same of my brother. Now he’s dead. He would have preferred it to be me.”
My lips part in shock. “You—you killed him?”
“It was him or me. And we were close, Aria, but money and power changed him. It happened and I never saw it coming.”
My hand goes to my throat. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“You don’t need to say anything. Just listen and think. You don’t know where Gio’s been, or what he’s been doing.”
“He told me.”
“Eight months later. Maybe it’s longer than that. Maybe he wasn’t telling the truth at all. I know what you’re facing. Many of us at Walker know betrayal by someone close to us. That’s why Kace hired us.” He leans on the desk toward me, his brown eyes meeting mine. “He’s a good man, Aria. He loves you. He wants you protected. You need to entertain the idea that Gio might be dangerous.”
“Did Kace ask you to tell me about your brother?”
“Yes. I did.”
At the sound of Kace’s voice, Adrian pushes off the desk and turns toward him. Kace gives him a nod and steps into the office. Adrian glances at me. “I hope he’s the brother you deserve.” He heads for the door and disappears.
I’m now alone with Kace. He stands in the doorway, in a thin, sleek black leather jacket and boots, his dark hair a rumpled, spiky mess, as if his fretting fingers have been running through it. Because of me. Because of Gio. “I thought you were meeting me at Riptide?”
He closes the space between us and drags me to him, cupping my head and resting his forehead against mine. “I had a bad feeling about this.”
I pull back to look at him. “You thought he would hurt me?”
“I don’t know what Gio will or will not do, Aria. But I believed you’d fight. I thought he’d hurt you emotionally during that fight. I decided you might need me. The way I needed you in California.”
My fingers curl on his chest. “You don’t trust him,” I press.
“I told you, baby. I don’t know him, And I share your fear that you don’t know him either.”
My words. My truth. Both I agree are hard to swallow. Instead of trying to respond, I hand him the card and he reads it before glancing up at me. “You know—”
“Yes. I know he didn’t really fool them.”
“He wants you to walk away from me.”
“That was my first thought, too, but Kace, if that’s true, then he’s not after the formula. And he wants it. He also believes you are the path to getting it. He needs me to stay close to you.”
“Then what’s his agenda?” He indicates the note. “What is he trying to prove?”
“I don’t know,” I say, my brow furrowing in consternation. “That I need him, too?” I wave that off. “That feels too basic. I’m back to I don’t know. I just don’t know.” I pull my phone from my purse. “I’m going to call him.”
He nods and leans on the desk. I punch in Gio’s number and it goes straight to voicemail. “Come to dinner tonight. Or I can meet you for dinner. We need to talk, Gio, and clearly, you knew I’d come to see you or you wouldn’t have left the note. Enough with the games.” I disconnect. “I should have just told him that I’m coming out as myself, but after this game he’s played with me, I need to think about what I’m going to say. And I don’t know what he’ll do, especially when Sofia and her people are out there. I can’t believe he didn’t take my call.”
Kace catches my arms. “What if he wants the formula, but not enough to put you in harm’s way and he sees me as harm’s way? Remember, we believe Sofia was behind the note that led you to the auction and me.”
“Now you’re just trying to make me feel better about Gio.”
“I’m trying to make you look at all options. Let’s go to Riptide and then we’ll come up with a plan. Or we can skip Riptide and just get right to it.”
“No. No, I am not altering anything for Gio. Not anymore. Let’s go to Riptide.”
“Aria—”
I push to my toes and kiss him. “Thank you for worrying and showing up. Thank you for convincing Adrian to tell his story. I needed to hear it.”
A few minutes later, I’ve texted Crystal a heads up that I’m on my way and shortly after, I’m bundled up in my coat, and Kace and I settle into the back of the SUV. It’s then that I decide that my life has been one big puzzle. Gio and I were always the two pieces that fit, and deep inside, I always believed that together, we’d find the missing pieces. Now, I’m not even sure we’re living inside the same puzzle.
CHAPTER NINE
The first snowflake of the season, or at least my first snowflake of the season, hits my nose as Kace and I exit the SUV in front of Riptide. It’s almost as if the universe is sending me a message: I’m entering a new season of life. Or perhaps the universe is just driving that point home, reminding me that yes, change can be a shock, but with a proverbial nice warm jacket, it can also be a blessed relief. And the truth is that life is changing for me, but I’m proud to say that I’ve been smart and brave, looking for answers, thanks to my own ingenuity.
And with Kace by my side, I’m excited about living life, about my future, for the first time in my life.
As if he’s read my mind, Kace’s arm slides around me and we press into the snowy wind, on a path that leads us to the doors of Riptide. We enter the lobby, both of us shivering, but with smiles on our faces, our worries temporarily banked. “I love this time of year,” I say, greeting the doorman and handing off my coat. “We’ve finally escaped the heat.”
“It’s a magical time of year everywhere,” Kace replies, handing off his coat as well. “I want to show you Germany while we’re in Europe if we can work it out. They do Christmas right.”
My first holiday with Kace. The future really is a dream I’d never imagined. Change isn’t that scary anymore, not when I have so much to look forward to experiencing.
Scooping me close and into the nook of his arm, he angles me in front of him, and adds, “Next year, we’ll stay home for the holidays. I don’t even know what a holiday at home lo
oks like.”
Next year.
The words are forbidden to me simply because in this context, they assume an odd mix of stability and adventure. “I’d like to experience that as well.”
Tenderness fills his blue eyes and he kisses the tip of my nose. “And we will. This year will be an adventure.”
I’ve barely had time to fully appreciate the impact of his words and he’s shifted me forward again and set us in motion. “Crystal’s office?” he asks.
“Yes. And how do you have full walk-around credentials here?”
“When you make Mark money, he becomes a real teddy bear.”
“Like that man could ever be a teddy bear,” I say, glancing up at Kace. “Maybe with a whip in his hand.”
“That’s another story,” he comments dryly.
My brows dip. “What does that even mean? That’s the second odd comment you’ve made about him.”
“He’s a man of many dimensions, baby, but then, so am I. I’ll explain later.” We reach the open door to Crystal’s office. We poke our heads in together to find Crystal and Mark behind her desk, her on her phone, while Mark hitches his hip on the edge, listening to her call. Her eyes light on us and she lifts a finger. Mark stands, assumed power radiating from him, his gray suit fitted to the long lines of his body. He is refined masculinity, plain and simple, while Kace manages an intriguing mix of cultured man and rugged bad boy. I used to think I wanted refined masculinity. I was wrong, so very wrong.
“Ms. Alard,” he greets.
“We both know that’s not my name,” I say and add, “Aria.”
His lips quirk. “Good to see you grow a backbone,” he replies.
“As long as she doesn’t start walking around with a stick up her ass like you,” Kace says, “she should do just fine.”
Mark’s lips quirk. “Says a man who plays with sticks for a living. Why don’t I put a glass of whiskey in your hand instead?” He glances at his watch. “We can add some orange juice to suit the time of day.”
On that, Mark, rounds Crystal’s desk and, aware that their talk will be about Alexander, I turn to face Kace, resting a hand on his chest but I don’t speak. I don’t know what to say. I’m worried about him acting against Alexander, but in this moment, I realize that back in San Francisco, I felt differently. I wanted him to act. I wanted him to deal with Alexander. It’s as if returning here, to this city, set me so on edge that I stopped trusting my initial instincts. He and I are alike. We’ve lived with a secret, and that secret has controlled us.