cold again. Which was who he was before you. I’ll admit that. But it’s different now. All he focuses on is work, and he can’t keep going like this. He won’t approach you on his own because he thinks this is what’s best for you.”
It breaks my heart to know he’s hurting. I thought Ari left because that’s what he wanted. I never imagined it’s for me.
“What do you need me to do? Just tell me where he is, and I’ll go talk to him.”
He chuckles. “Good luck getting close to him. Unlike some people, Ari is not the easiest to sneak up on.”
“So, what do I do?”
His mouth stretches into a wide smile.
“Ari is due back from a job tomorrow night. And lucky for you, I just happen to have a key to his penthouse.”
I finally catch on to what he’s suggesting. “You want me to be waiting for him when he gets home?”
The smile stretches wider.
“It’s the only place you’ll have him cornered. He won’t be able to resist you.”
My mouth stretches to match his grin. “Then let’s do this. Cornering Ari sounds like fun.”
“He’ll kick my ass for this. But if you ask me, the asshole has it coming. He’s been toying with your life for a long time. It’s about damn time you step up and demand he makes up for it.”
I can’t agree more. But I don’t think going to his place is the best way to do it.
If Ari is going to accept we belong together, he’ll need to make that claim himself.
And I know a better game to play on him.
“Actually, I have another idea, if you’re willing to help me.”
Lincoln’s brow arches, and I smile.
“Ari always did admire my devious nature.”
At that Lincoln laughs. “Okay, kid. Out with this idea of yours.”
I tell him my thoughts, and after an hour of working out the details, Lincoln and I settle on how we’ll corner a man who is a master game player himself, both of us smiling to know just how well the plan will work.
Ari
Setting my bag down as I walk into my penthouse, I flip on a few lights and head to my room to change clothes. Being out in bumfuck North Dakota for four days wasn’t worth the four million I was paid for the job, but in the end, I got it handled, regardless of how much of a pain in the ass it was.
Why anybody would want to traipse around the goddamned wilderness to shoot at fucking bighorn sheep is beyond me, but that’s what Bradley Stroud liked to do in his free time, and it set up the perfect scenario for how he died.
Hunting accidents are always so tragic. But they’re also common, so once Bradley’s body is found and the media erupts over the dangers of hunting alone, his company will be no longer, freeing up space for the man who hired me to sweep in and fill the vacancy that is now open.
Yes, it’s a fucked up reason to have to die, but it is what it is. Nobody who climbs the corporate ladder to the top is innocent of having screwed over everybody they stepped on to get there. Every one of them is a sociopath only concerned with money and power.
I just happen to take that from them every once in a while. My conscience is clear.
After stripping off my dress shirt and slacks to pull on a t-shirt and jeans, my phone vibrates over the surface of the dresser, Lincoln’s name flashing on the screen.
I grab the phone and thumb the screen to answer.
“We have a problem.”
The past comes back to slap me in the face, memories of the hundreds of times he’s said that before, mostly about Adeline doing something fucking stupid.
“And that is?”
“Your girl has relapsed, it seems. She’s in Black Orchid now, getting shitfaced.”
My jaw ticks, disbelief flooding me. “She was doing so well-“
“Yeah, she was. But she’s not anymore. You might want to get your ass down here and handle this.”
Why the fuck was Lincoln even there in the first place, and why do I need to do something about it if he’s there already? I ask him those questions, and he gives me his usual grumbling response.
“I was watching your cameras like you asked last night since you were in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t do it your damn self. Adeline had an...episode. And since this is your fucking fault, this is now your fucking problem.