Page 131 of No Longer Mine
“I’m not her,” she said softly.
“I don’t want you to be.” I closed the distance between us, bringing her hand to my lips.
She exhaled slowly, as if she’d been holding that breath for a long time. “I don’t want to be another scar.”
“You won’t be.” My voice was firm.
“Are you going to be upset if I continue to target elite assholes?” She wouldn’t look me in the eye as she chewed on her bottom lip.
I rubbed her hand between mine. “I don’t know. I don’t like it. I don’t want you to do it, but I want you in my life and I know I can’t control you.”
Her lips twitched. “Even though you’d like to.”
I shook my head and planted another kiss on her knuckles. “I don’t want to control you. I want to see your thrive. I want to be the one to help you get there. I want to see who you really are and celebrate her every single step of the way.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she tried, unsuccessfully, to blink them away. “What if I tell you that I don’t want to be with you?”
“You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me.”
I yanked her into my arms and pressed my nose to the top of her head. My phone rang in my pocket, and I knew that avoiding work was no longer an option.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Scarlett
Dimitri opted to stay back.Don picked him up in the SUV while I caught the subway to go meet Oliver, much to Don and Dimitri’s discouragement. There was nothing wrong with me continuing to take public transportation. I enjoyed people-watching when I was out and about. I liked blending in with others. I didn’t want to constantly live my life in the backseat of someone else’s car.
Dimitri’s team was pushing for him to attend a benefit at The Met so he could continue to rub elbows with the city’s most elite. He wanted me to go with him, but I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. After all, he did say he wanted to protect me but then again… I had pushed for him to not hide me. But at The Met? That seemed like a huge splash. The paparazzi would eat it up, and as much as I thought I was ready for it… I now wasn’t so sure as I sat alone with my thoughts.
Obviously, I wanted to be seen with the most eligible bachelor of the city and make sure everyone knew he was taken… But with that came the inevitable spotlight and I thought I’d been ready… I really had.
But instead of telling Dimitri all of this, I merely smiled and told him that I would have to pick up a dress on my way backhome, and the last thing I wanted to do was drag him and Don all throughout Manhattan. I also didn’t know if it was the right move for us to show up together, so I insisted that I meet up with him there. It would take him off the market but maybe not shine such a bright light on me. At least that was what I told myself.
I got off of the subway and headed toward the safe house. It was the only place Oliver ever felt safe meeting about business. The door automatically opened when I got to the safe house. It was brand new and didn’t look like Dimitri had kicked it in just a few months prior.
Oliver was seated at the kitchen table in the middle of the room. Monitors surrounded him at every angle, as well as three different keyboards. I didn’t know what they did differently, but I knew Oliver was particular.
He tapped a few keys, and the wall of monitors behind him flickered to life. Surveillance footage, city schematics, encrypted files… All of it shifting in an endless stream of controlled chaos. This was where Oliver thrived—deep in the weeds of secrets and shadows. He picked up his glasses off the table and placed them on his nose.
“Alright, what do you need to tell me that one couldn’t wait and two needed to be spoken about in person.”
He punched a key on one of the boards and an image flickered onto one of the monitors. I frowned as I stepped closer to get a better look. It was… Vanewood?
“What am I looking at, Ollie?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Someone burned Vanewood to the ground.”
“What?” That couldn’t be right. No one else hated that place as much as I did. But also, it technically belonged to me. “When?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. A few weeks ago, I guess.”
It hadn’t been that long since I’d been there last. I chewed on my thumbnail as I thought it over. Who would do that?
I blinked, and my voice came out a whisper. “Dimitri.”
I stared at the screen, barely hearing Oliver’s voice as he explained the satellite timestamps, the forensic heat readings, and the theory that it had been burned from the inside out. It didn’t feel like victory. It didn’t feel like closure. It felt like the ground was shifting beneath me again.
Oliver paused, his fingers hovering over the keys, like he wasn’t sure he wanted to confirm the thought blooming in my head.
