Chapter 146 149

Chapter 146 149
He just laughs, cutting me off. “Don’t worry, Olivia. I’ve got a handle on this situation.”

“He’s a detective for the FBI, Aleks.”

“As I keep telling you, I’m aware.”

“And he’s here, at Hargrove’s wedding.”

“Why are you telling me things I already know?”

“They’re in cahoots!” I hiss, trying and failing to keep my voice low.

“I always liked that word,” Aleks muses. “Cahoots. A little archaic, but really gets the point across.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“Is that what you like about me?” he asks, wrapping an arm around my waist. That one simple touch scatters my thoughts.

Before I can gather them back up, someone calls my name. I turn to see Rob standing by the imposing golden doors that lead to the grand hall.

“Go speak to your brother,” Aleks tells me. “I’ll be waiting for you outside.” His hand lingers on my hip for a moment, enough to give me full-body shivers, before he slips away.

I head over to Rob. “What’s going on?” I ask.

“Why don’t you stay, Liv?”

“Stay? Like… at the wedding?”

“Stay here,” he explains. “Spend the night at the hotel so that we can talk tomorrow.”

I frown. “I don’t think Mia or Hargrove will like that. They were pretty pissed about the fact that Aleks was here in the first place.”

He runs a hand over his face and sighs. “Can you blame them?”

“I’m sorry, okay?” I say. “I didn’t know he was going to be here. I came down after speaking to Mia, and he was just… here, waiting for me.”

“Of course,” Rob says with a resigned nod. “I’m sure he had some ornate, masterful plan to oversee.”

“You’d know better than me.”

His brow wrinkles. “What does that mean?”

“All of you have ulterior motives. Aleks, Hargrove, you.” When he gives me an incredulous look, I continue. “Come on, Rob. You just wanted to ‘introduce’ us to Steven Kennedy? Thought maybe we’d be good friends?”

He purses up his lips but doesn’t say anything. So I push on. “He’s the detective that replaced you on Aleks’s case, right?”

“He’s an old friend of Hargrove’s.”

“I’m not stupid.”

Rob sighs. “I may not be on the case, Liv, but I know that they’re closing in. It’s only a matter of time now.”

“Is that a fact?” I ask coldly.

“You shouldn’t have brought him.”

“I told you already: I didn’t bring him. He showed up.”

He looks torn for a moment. Then he steps towards me and takes my arm. “Just stay with us, Liv. We’re your family. It’s where you belong.”

“And my child?” I ask, pulling myself free from his grasp. “Does my child belong? Or am I still expected to get rid of it like you expect me to get rid of him?”

“I know you think you care about him—”

“He’s the father of my child,” I snap. “That makes him my family now. It makes him your family, too.”

Rob falls silent.

“You saw Jennifer,” I point out. “You spoke to her, Rob. Didn’t that make you question this witch hunt even a little?”

He shakes his head like he’s trying to convince himself of something. “Isabel—fuck, Jennifer is no longer a factor,” he says. “The girls he hurt are my only concern now.”

“You were wrong about Jennifer,” I point out. “Isn’t it possible you’re wrong about Aleks, too?”

“I know you need to believe that in order to get through this shit, but—”

“No, I do actually believe he is innocent,” I say. “I’m not lying to myself. I am capable of making up my own mind about things, Rob. None of you seem to be able to appreciate that.”

“You’re not safe with him, Olivia.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, Robert,” I fire back just as formally as he said my name. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Before he can say another word, I turn around and march for the exit. At first, I can’t see Aleks, but the moment I step through the gigantic hotel doors, I catch sight of him.

He’s standing by the steps, facing a throng of reporters who’ve got their microphones and their cameras pointed directly at him. I freeze, realizing what he’s doing.

“… Of course,” I hear him say, in a smooth, polished voice very unlike his own feral growl. “I wish nothing but the best for them. Donald and I are very close. Friends first, and now… brothers.”

I head down the steps, ignoring the flashing lights around me. I grab Aleks's hand and steer him gently away from the cameras and down the steps. He lets me take him, smiling and calling a friendly goodbye to the reporters as we go.

My security is gathered around a stretch limo that Aleks must have brought. They part as we pass and hold the door open so I can get in.

Everything inside the limousine is plush and leather and gilded. Just absurd wealth stitched into every inch of the fabric. A mini-bar holds glistening bottles of champagne stamped with some unpronounceable French name that I assume translates as “Not for the Poors.”

I wonder if Aleks even notices that the world he lives in and the world everyone else lives in are not the same.

He gets in after me and settles into the seat at my side. The moment the door closes, it shuts out all the noise and lights from beyond. Silence ensues, cool and comforting.

I close my eyes and let loose a deep breath, but I can’t quite stave off the fear in my gut.

“Did you have to do that?” I ask, keeping my eyes closed.

“It’s always nice to have a little insurance.”

“Was that what that was?” I crack open an eyelid to glare at him.

He smiles and fingers a lock of my hair. “You look beautiful, you know.”

“Stop it.”

His smile only gets wider. “What did your brother want to talk to you about?”

“None of your business.”

He chuckles. “Ah, right. He wanted you to leave me and stay with them.”

I recoil. “Jesus, do you have me bugged or something?”

“I just know all the players in this game,” he explains. “And I know your brother better than he knows himself. He’s worried that you’re going to get caught in the middle.”

“A little too late for that, don’t you think?”

He laughs again, completely carefree. “True enough.”