not the muscle—steps forward and produces a folder.
“Thank you,” Clementi says, and the man steps away. He passes the folder to me, and I open it.
“Cash trail. Your enemy is much closer to home than me or my family, Damian. My sons were used.”
“Your sons let themselves be used,” I say as I leaf through the pages. I’ve known about my enemies being close to home for a long time. This just confirms it. “I appreciate you being up front with me, Arthur.” I close the folder and stand.
He reaches out to place his age-spotted hand over mine. “I gave you the information. I condemn what they did. Let me punish them. My sons—”
“I will punish your sons, but their lives will be spared. I gave you my word and you know I’m good for it.”
I hope he won’t stoop to begging. My answer won’t change, and he’ll only humiliate himself.
He nods his head. “I trust your word. Thank you, Damian.”
I gesture to Tobias. A moment later, I’m back in the SUV.
“Where’s my brother?”
22
Cristina
I meet my uncle’s eyes as soon as I’m on the sidewalk. “Uncle Adam?”
“We should get off the street before anyone sees us together. Get in the car. It’s safe,” my uncle says.
I turn from him to Lucas and back. “With him?”
He nods.
“Are you sure?”
“Please, Cristina. We don’t have much time.”
Lucas opens the back door and after a moment’s hesitation, I climb in. Although I’m not sure it is safe because I’m not sure I trust my uncle. But I need to hear what Lucas has to say.
As soon as he closes the door, I lean toward the front seat. “What’s going on? Why are you here with him?”
“We’ll talk soon,” he says, half-turning his head, the look on his face worried. I notice he has a few more grays around his temples and the line between his eyebrows seems to have deepened.
I watch Lucas walk around the car to the driver’s side door. Cars honk their horns at us. Lucas is double parked, blocking traffic and from the look on his face, he couldn’t care less. He gives the man in the car behind us the finger, then climbs into the driver’s seat, starts the engine, and pulls away from the curb.
I look over my shoulder into the café. “Is Cash going to follow us?” I can still see my bodyguard sitting in the same place, sipping his cup of coffee.
“No, why? Is that going to be a problem? If you need a babysitter, we have your uncle. He’s a real joy to be around.”
“Well, he’s supposed to stay with me. Damian said—”
“I doubt Damian knows you called me so I wouldn’t worry about what he has to say.”
“So, he’s just going to let you take me?”
He glances back at me. “Don’t be dramatic. I didn’t exactly take you. You walked out of that café and into my car of your own free will.”
“Won’t Damian find out?”
“You weren’t going to tell him? You seem to tell him everything else.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
I look out onto busy Manhattan traffic. “Where are we going?”
“Your uncle’s place.”
I’m surprised, but I guess it makes sense. No one to see us or overhear us there. Liam will still be in school and there’s no one but the maid.
It’s a twenty-minute ride, Lucas parks his car in the garage beneath the building, and he and my uncle both climb out when we get there. I can hear how hard my heart is racing when I’m alone in the car. My hands, still clasped around my coffee cup, feel clammy as I unclasp them when Lucas opens my door.
“Are you coming?”
I put my untouched coffee in the cup holder and undo my seat belt to climb out, ignoring his proffered hand. My purse is strapped across my body. Touching the small bag, I remember I have protection if I need it.
I glance at my uncle before following Lucas to the elevator. We ride in silence. Lucas is the only casual one among us. He’s humming a tune and scrolling through his phone like he hasn’t a care in the world.
When the elevator doors slide open on arrival, my uncle steps out ahead of us. Lucas gestures for me to go ahead of him, but we remain standing there for a moment as we study one another. I’m still awed by how similar he and Damian look but also how starkly different. The look in Lucas’s darker eyes is one of those differences. It’s