Entranced (The ROGUES Billionaire #1) - Tracie Delaney Page 0,83

with ROGUES, was it?”

“No.” I drew a deep breath through my nose. “The next morning, I told her nothing could happen. That we could never be. I knew how you’d feel about it, and I couldn’t risk our friendship. You meant too much to me. And for seven years, I kept that promise.”

“Yet you couldn’t manage eight,” Elliot said bitterly.

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. “You ever wonder why I went through phases of fucking everything with a pulse, and then bouts of complete celibacy? I tried, Elliot. I tried so fucking hard to forget her. So many strategies. Ignoring her, behaving abominably, cruelly even. Flaunting other women in front of her so she’d hate me. None of it worked. And you know why? Because your sister and I are meant to be. There is no other woman for me. If you make me choose, Elliot, I’ll pick her every goddamn time. I don’t want to lose you, but if you force my hand, then so be it.”

He stared at me for a solid minute. I waited. I’d said my piece. Now it was his turn.

“You know what the worst part is?”

“No.”

“You lied to me. She lied to me.”

Couldn’t deny that.

“Yes, we did. And neither of us were particularly comfortable about that.”

“But not so uncomfortable that it stopped you.”

I scrubbed a hand over my forehead. “What do you want me to say that I haven’t already? Sorry? Yes, I’m sorry. You’re my best friend. I love the fucking bones of you. But I love her, too, Elliot. I’m so in love with her it hurts. Right here.” I curled my fist and pressed it to my chest. “I could have lost her. We all could have lost her.” My voice broke.

Silence stretched between us, setting an uncomfortable atmosphere but one I refused to shy away from. I kept my gaze trained on his, my eyes pleading but ultimately unapologetic. After an age, Elliot let out a long, heavy sigh and got to his feet. He took a seat beside me.

“If you harm one hair on her head, or put a single crack in her heart, I’ll fucking kill you.”

And, without waiting for a response, he pulled me into a rough hug. Relief coursed through me. I’d have chosen Athena—I hadn’t lied about that—but losing Elliot from my life would have been torturous.

“I’ll never hurt her,” I said. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making her happy, I swear.”

“Damn straight you will.” He broke a smile, genuine and bright. “I fucking love you, man, but don’t ever lie to me again.”

“Don’t go all soppy on me,” I said, my lips twitching at the corners. “Otherwise I’ll have no choice but to tell Brie you’ve turned into a pussy.”

“Do that and you’ll have a busted nose to go with that fat lip and bruised cheek.”

I chuckled, so happy I almost felt giddy with it. Athena was safe, Elliot had forgiven me for my subterfuge, we’d gotten the Addison’s deal. Life didn’t get much better than this.

“I’m gonna find him, Ryker.”

I broke from my reverie as I remembered something. “Athena told me he knew her, knew you.”

Elliot’s eyebrows shot upward. “What?”

“Whoever this guy is, Elliot, he chose Athena specifically to get at you. My guess is that it’s steeped in a business deal gone wrong somewhere. Find the deal, and we find the man.”

He tugged on his bottom lip repeatedly, his gaze somewhere over my left shoulder. “I’ve pissed off my fair share of people over the years.”

“Haven’t we all. That’s business. But this is criminality, pure and simple. Whoever this guy is, he knows what he’s doing. While Athena slept, I carried out a little research. The money has already disappeared without a trace.”

“There’s always a trail.”

“True, but he’s covered his tracks well. It could take us years to find him.”

“I don’t care if I’m looking for a speck of dust in a field of wheat. I’ll find that fucker. I’ve got all the time in the world.”

“We’ll find him,” I said. “We’re in this together.”

We bumped fists. “Damn straight.”

29

Athena

Out of all the cities in the world, Paris in springtime was my absolute favorite. And what made it even better this year was being with the man strolling along beside me, my hand firmly clasped his, the sun warming our faces.

Four months had passed since I’d been released by the man who’d kidnapped me. Four months in which Ryker barely allowed me out of his