The Scotch Series: The Complete Series (Scotch #1-3) - Penelope Sky Page 0,68

hugged me, holding me so tight it didn’t seem like he wanted to let me go. “I’m so sorry…”

I held on to my brother, recognizing his cologne instantly. The last time I saw him on his feet, he had come to the city for Christmas. It was just the two of us in my cramped apartment while the snow fell outside. My radiator was broken, so we spent an entire day freezing until he managed to fix it. At the time, it was terrible. But now it was a cherished memory.

He pulled away, the same sadness in his eyes. “I don’t have a lot of time.”

“How did you get in here?”

“We don’t have time for that either,” he said quietly. “I need to get to the point, London. Crewe is a paranoid man.”

“Do you have a plan?”

He nodded. “But you aren’t going to like it.”

“Do you want me to destroy the detonator. I know he keeps it on him most of the time. I don’t know where he puts it when he sleeps…” But if I did enough digging, I could figure it out. He couldn’t keep it from me forever.

“That won’t work,” he said. “Even if you recover it, he’ll have a way of overriding it.”

“You think?”

“Definitely. Crewe always covers his tracks. He’s not a guy you fuck with.”

But yet, you did. “So you’re saying there’s nothing we can do? We aren’t even going to try?”

“There’s only one way out of this. And it’s not a plan either of us will like.”

He was going to ask me to kill Crewe. There was no other way. But the idea of ending his life, stabbing a knife through his heart, brought me nothing but pain. I had every right to do whatever was necessary to save both myself and my brother, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Despite what he’d done to both of us, I didn’t want to hurt Crewe.

“You have to get him to fall in love with you.”

I stared at him blankly, unsure if he really said those words. “Are you insane? That’s never going to happen. I thought you were going to ask me to kill him.”

“That would never work,” he said. “Crewe is too smart for that.”

“And he’s too hollow to feel anything real for anyone—especially me.” Crewe had a line of beautiful women at his beck and call. He could be with princesses and foreign diplomats. He could go to Milan and find a model. There was no way I would ever be enough to keep him around.

“I don’t believe that. He took you to one of the biggest social events of the year. He could have taken anyone, but he chose you.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” I had to admit it was odd to bring some boring American girl. But I couldn’t read too much into it.

“We both know you’re smart, witty, and beautiful.” It was the first time Joseph paid me a real compliment. “The guy would be an idiot not to feel something for you. You’re charming and a smartass—in a good way.”

Since we were in a rush, I didn’t have time to even crack a smile. “I seriously don’t think that’s going to work. We have to think of something else.”

“Just be whatever he wants you to be. Be whatever fantasy he likes. Say the things he wants to hear.”

Easier said than done.

“The only way he’s gonna give up that detonator is if he actually starts caring about you. Otherwise, he’s going to hold it over both of our heads for the rest of our lives. It’s the only way out for both of us.”

I was willing to do anything to free my brother, even something as sinister as this. I didn’t think it was likely to succeed, but I had to try if there was no other alternative. “I’ll do my best…”

“Thanks.” His eyes filled with clouds as the silence stretched between us. He put his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “Does he treat you well?” Joseph cringed like he didn’t want to truly hear the answer.

Even if he didn’t, I would have lied about it. “Yeah, he does.”

“Really?” he whispered.

I nodded. “It could be a lot worse. He doesn’t hurt me.”

Joseph suddenly looked away like he was ashamed of the thoughts in his mind. He was probably thinking about the things Crewe did to me at night when we were in bed together. Ashamed that he couldn’t save me, he couldn’t look at me.

“He’s not