Dusk (Dangerous Web #1) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,55

could forget that you’re his sister, I can’t forget that you’re now Reid’s wife. My detailed plans of the future involve your husband. I’m sure you know that he is a genius when it comes to all things technological. His ability is unmatched, not only in what he knows, but what he’s able to learn in a short time. I saw it when we fought for our country. I watched him under duress. I saw his honor and commitment. I was fortunate enough to be considered his friend. Through that time, I knew without a doubt that Reid would be an invaluable asset to my plans. I don’t want to consider the need to replace his skills.”

Replace Reid?

“He doesn’t—I don’t believe he wants—to be replaced.”

Sparrow’s chin came up and the hint of a smile came to his lips. “That’s nice to hear. He told me something different.”

I stood. “He said he wants to leave you and the Sparrow organization?”

“No,” Mr. Sparrow clarified. “He said he would leave if you did.”

I thought for a moment. “That makes me, what, the consolation prize?”

“No, Lorna. This isn’t about what you are. It’s about my eyes opening and accepting that sometimes plans change. I don’t fucking welcome change, but that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t stop it from happening. My choice is to accept it or risk greater loss. My role in...all of this...is to lead. If I can’t accept that my friend found a person he loves, it makes me a shitty leader. If that’s the case, everyone should leave.”

There was something about Reid telling Mr. Sparrow he loved me that made me smile. “I love him too, every day more than the last. I suppose it could look like I’m an opportunist—”

“Because you chose a life of danger, a life of secrets, and a life that will include isolation? What part of that was an opportunity for you?” He lifted his arm toward the window. “You were given a golden ticket to get the fuck away from here and” —he looked back at me— “you didn’t choose the freedom of a new life. Hell, you chose love. That doesn’t make you an opportunist, Lorna, perhaps a martyr.”

“No, Mr. Sparrow. Being with Reid isn’t a hardship.”

Sparrow nodded and looked down at a chess set sitting on a round table between two chairs similar to the one I’d been sitting in. When he looked up, his gaze was again dark and clouded with emotions. “This chess set is never to be moved.”

“Okay.”

“I trust very few people.”

I nodded.

“I don’t know you well enough to make an informed decision. I trust Patrick and Reid with my life and have. I also trusted your brother. He trusted me, and I let him down.”

I wanted to interject, to tell Mr. Sparrow that he hadn’t let Mason down, but I couldn’t make the words form as Sparrow continued speaking.

“The thing is, by trusting them it means I should trust their intuition. You had and have their trust. The most vulnerable a man can be is in sleep, and for the last few months, you’ve been beside Reid in his slumber. That’s the kind of trust that isn’t earned easily.” He walked back to his desk chair and spun it toward him. “I can’t ask you to trust me. You don’t know me, not really. And what you do know or should know is that I let your brother down in the most grievous way.”

“Why do you want me to trust you?”

He let out a long breath. “Because this...this tower was constructed to house the people who mean the most to me and to Sparrow. I will spare you the details, but when it comes to creating a home-like environment, I’m at a complete loss. Before” —he feigned a grin— “when we all moved in here, we were finding our way in both the takeover and in our assigned space.

“I’ve seen the change in Reid. I’ve seen a man who can work twenty-four seven suddenly care about dinner and getting back to his—not mine but his—home. I’ve listened to a man who could say ten words in a day give me an oration about what matters most. I don’t want your presence to divide us. I need those two men on my side every hour of every day. I will work diligently to make my dreams a reality, and in the process, not let either of them down while helping to fulfill their goals.

“I asked you here tonight knowing that for