“I didn’t say he was unbeatable,” he reminds me. “I said there was only one way to beat him.”
“You’re going to kill him, and then go to jail.” My hands go to his hands where they rest on my hips as if holding onto him somehow keeps him right here with me. “You’ll go to jail, Adrian.”
“I won’t go to jail, Pri,” he promises me. “That’s not how this plays out.”
My phone rings in my pocket, and reluctantly, oh so reluctantly, I retrieve it and glance down at the caller ID to find Logan calling. “Logan,” I say.
“Ignore him,” Adrian orders, hand catching my hip again. “You don’t ever have to talk to him again.”
“I have a bad feeling about the timing of the call,” I say immediately. “I need to talk to him.” I don’t wait for his approval. I can’t take any more surprises. I answer the call. “Logan, what the hell did you mean you’ve been protecting me? What don’t I know?”
“I think you know now,” he says dryly, arrogance in his tone.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I did nothing without the direction of your father. You wanted him to be your hero. I was your hero. I kept you from finding out just how dirty he is. He ended your case against Waters. He did. Your own father.”
“He did it legally.”
“Right. Legally.” He snorts. “He always finds that sweet spot and keeps the dirt under the rug. And yes, I’m fine. Thanks for asking. You hit a fleshy area that will heal up nicely.” His tone deepens. “The charges against Adrian have been dropped. Tell him it’s a gift from a friend.” He hangs up and I go cold.
Adrian catches my hand holding the phone. “What just happened?”
“The charges against you were dropped. He said it was a gift from a friend. He means Waters, of course.”
“Yes,” he says tightly. “He means Waters.”
“Why would Waters do that?”
“It’s an invitation to come and see him.”
“I see,” I say tightly. “I assume you plan to accept.” It’s not a question.
“Whatever I do will be on my terms, not his. So, this is the plan. We lay low and give Blake time to flush out all of the dirty players. He’ll find out exactly where your father stands in all of this. Where Josh stands. Where Ed stands.”
“And we do what?”
“We’re still on a hitlist, Pri. We leave the country. We spend a month seeing Europe, and then we come back just in time for my brother’s New Year’s Eve event in Dallas. I’ll tell him about Alex. And you’ll be there with me. I need you there with me.”
He needs me with him. My heart melts with that confession and I wrap my arms around him. “I can’t leave until I know for sure Waters is released. But yes. Yes to everything. And I need to be there with you. I want to be there with you.”
He strokes my hair. “I’ll make the arrangements. Maybe when we get back, you’ll know you want to spend the rest of your life with me.”
“You think I need this trip to know that?”
“I’ll ask properly when this is over, Pri. And you can tell me how you feel then. Deal?”
“Deal,” I say and I’m in the moment with Adrian, and the month ahead that I know will be a fantasy. Because I don’t know why Adrian is walking away from Waters right now, but I know it’s part of a bigger plan. He’s going after Waters and he won’t stop until one of the two of them is dead.
Chapter Forty-One
PRI
I don’t send anything over to the judge to consider before releasing Waters. There’s just no point. He’s made his decision. He will free the devil. The end. It’s happening. I also don’t talk to Ed again that day. Again, what’s the point? Lucifer apparently has Grace with him, taking her to lunch and comforting her, which I fear is only going to make her crush all over him, but it’s better than her crushing all over Josh. I believe that the love affair she’d had with him has expired.
Instead, Adrian shows me around the apartment, which includes a gym, two spare bedrooms, the library I’d seen earlier, and a weapons room with a padded firing range. I eagerly goggle up and spend an hour shooting, eager for Adrian’s suggestions to improve my skills. But I can tell he’s impressed and relieved I can handle my weapon.
Blake arrives about two o’clock with his wife Kara, who is a pretty brunette and an ex-FBI agent. The four of us sit around the kitchen island, steaming coffee in our cups.
“Obviously,” I say, “my father is involved with Waters. I just want to know if he’s trapped in the situation or if he’s there willingly. Is there any way to know that?”