or get yourself killed. Men like Steiner, they don’t let go. Not when they have an ace up their sleeve. And you, love, you’re that ace now. He has everything he needs to blackmail you into the next century.”
“You…” Josie was still stunned that York hadn’t yelled at her. Yet. That he was still holding her. That he had called her love again. “You know Milo?”
“Of course, I do. His family has been around for a long time. They’ve been running Steiner Financial for a few hundred years now. Steiner is an asshole, and the most manipulative prick out there. It’s almost too coincidental that he’s a snake shifter.”
“Well, he has jaguar guards.”
Something flashed across York’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything.
“So now you know everything,” she sighed.
York leaned back into the sofa, rubbing a hand across his chin. “And he wants you to steal a vase?”
Josie nodded her answer. “Is it very precious?”
“Not even a little bit. It’s a piece of junk, if I’m honest. I mean, sure. It comes from the eleventh century, but apart from that, there is nothing special about it. This is exactly why I think this job is a test for you. He’s testing your abilities, seeing what you can do and how far he can push you.”
Josie blanched. “I can’t work for him.”
“And you’re not going to,” York vowed. “No mate of mine is going to be manipulated by a piece of shit like Steiner.”
She swallowed hard, her emotions reeling back into tears. He had called her his mate. “How mad are you? Do you hate me?”
York exhaled. “No, Josie. I don’t hate you. You were put in an impossible situation. I just need to know…” his eyes met hers. “What we’ve been doing, our dates, and all of that, has it meant something to you?” The vulnerability burning in his eyes, the pleading in his tone made her heart clench.
A stray tear raced down her cheek as she nodded her head. “I wanted to tell Johanna the second I saw her. I’ve come close to telling you a couple of times, but Steiner keeps sending me threatening pictures of Mia, and Gammy, and you.”
“And me?” he asked.
Josie nodded, confused by his question.
“Josie, you know that as a shifter, I can sense lies. It’s pretty easy for me to decipher what you’re thinking just by your scent. I know you’ve come to care for me.” He swallowed hard, and Josie almost told him that he was putting it too mildly, but he was too quick and went on. “I’ll help you take care of all of this. I will. Because Steiner has no right. But you need to stop stealing.”
“I know,” she whispered, ashamed of her past.
“Okay, good. If you want a thrill and some adrenaline, I’ll build you the most insane Parkour course. Fuck, I’ll buy you a pool and stuff it with deadly wildlife. No more stealing.”
She nodded again, knowing he was exaggerating. There was no way he would actually do those things. It put her in danger, and he was dead set against that.
“Now that that’s out of the way, I need to think of a plan to get you out of this mess. All that, while pinning Steiner down once and for all.”
Josie stiffened on his lap. “I’m going to be involved in this plan, right? If you plan on taking him down, I want in. The fear and stress he has caused me took years off my life. I want some kind of revenge.”
“As much as I hate to involve you, there’s no way around it.”
“So, what are we going to do? A bit of entrapment?”
“I’m not sure yet,” York’s hand had left his chin and was once again on her back. Josie tried not to read too much into it. “I need to think about all of this for a bit. But there is not a chance in hell you’re staying here alone. Not without some kind of protection.” He was rattling off all of the things he would do to keep her safe, and heaven knows Josie was grateful for it. Yet there was one part that they hadn’t discussed.
And it was the part that had her wringing her hands in her lap.
“York,” she whispered. “What about us?”
“What about us?” he asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts and racing words.
“Well…” she broke off. “I mean, after what you’ve learned… What does that mean for us?”
York was quiet, watching her for a solid minute before he