Caleb comes into the room and clears his throat before plopping on the chair again. I release the steak and take a seat opposite Caleb—two feet away from Liam so I won’t be tempted to touch him again.
“I still vote we take Liam in after we rescue his grandfather,” Caleb says without hesitation.
“No,” I say, at the same time Liam says, “Agreed.”
I look at Liam. “Why did you agree with him?”
His eyes have lost some of the charm, some of the spark that is so innately Liam. “That was the deal, remember?”
“But that was before,” I stutter. “Before your grandfather was kidnapped, before I learned Scarlett was to blame for half of the thefts.”
“Wait, what?” Caleb asks.
“It’s a long story.” I sigh, turning back to Liam. “I’m not turning you in.”
He shrugs. “I’ll just turn myself in. But then you won’t get credit, and all your work to prove yourself to your supervisory agent will have been for naught.”
My cheeks and chest burn, and my heart slows to an uncomfortable crawl. “What?”
“Oh, come on, love. You think I didn’t know before I kidnapped you? You think it was a coincidence Caleb saw me across the street from the restaurant that night?”
Caleb and I exchange a confused glance, but Liam continues.
“I purposely waited until Caleb saw me. I knew he and Amelia were going to be there. And I knew he’d call you first. I had to lure you in. Though, I suppose there was a fifty-fifty chance I could have ended up with the other agent.” He smirks, but something in his eyes is different, darker. “I know what you’ve been trying to prove, trying to gain. And now you will. You’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted.” He sits back, his face expressionless, which is so unlike Liam.
My throat threatens to close. Is that why he took me? Why he chose me? Not because I was Seraphina, but because I was hungry to prove myself? It was an act.
Yet somehow it was always real for me. And that realization lands like a bullet in my chest. A kill shot. That’s what he delivered. He lined up everything so perfectly. He used me and manipulated me every step of the way to get what he wanted, painting it as a prize for me. I knew this. I knew it, and I still fell for it.
My heart sinks, falling down a familiar rabbit hole in my chest—the one that knows I won’t get it back anytime soon.
I swallow the lump in my throat, and tear my gaze away from Liam, focusing on Caleb, who is looking at me with nothing short of pity. I hate it so much.
I stand and walk out of the room. The second I close the door behind me, the kitchen erupts into yelling. Mostly Caleb. But I don’t pay attention. Liam used me. Or…
My heart stops beating. Is he conning me right now? Making me think I didn’t matter to him, so he can leave me behind? My heart wants to believe that version of the story, because I can’t handle the other one.
Regardless of whatever Liam is trying to do, it won’t work. I’m in this now and I’m going to save Grandpa Henry whether he wants me to or not.
I pull my badge from my pocket and use the butter knife I stole from the kitchen earlier to pop the gold shield off. There, where I hid it nearly seven years ago, is the key to the Spartan box.
My heart hammers so loudly in my chest I can no longer hear the men outside the door. I slip the box out of my bag and stick the key in. The lock clicks, and I pull open the lid.
Chapter 34
Liam
I knew I shouldn’thave come back and now I’ve got a shiner to prove just why it was so foolish.
Agent Harris means well, but the man hasn’t run out of steam since I stepped down here forty-five minutes ago. I didn’t come back for him; I came here forher.Then I proceeded to break her heart with lies. Out of necessity. When she told me she wanted Caleb involved, I saw my chance and I took it. I had to convince her that bringing her along was purely selfish. I want her to go back to hating me. To resist fighting me when I insist Caleb take her and leave. Because my heart refuses to stop causing a circus in my chest until I know she’s safe.
Time is running out for my grandfather. I need to get out there and rescue the man who raised me, or die trying.
Caleb mutters another curse, something about how I don’t know anything about women and how he’s going to haul me to prison himself when this is over.
It’s not a mystery that I hurt Serena. Her pained face appears in my mind again, and I pinch my eyes closed before opening them again.
“Well, this has been enthralling. Let’s do it again sometime,” I say.
