Liam and I are spending the night in the loft above Crossroads. Apparently it used to be Dominic’s residence, before he met London. Now it’s used exclusively by the club’s elite members. Although clean, tastefully decorated, and full of modern conveniences, it’s still clearly a fuckpad.

From the discrete hooks on the ceilings and walls of each room, to the bulk of a St. Andrews Cross beneath a cover of red silk and the sumptuous drapes tied with a familiar brand of nylon rope, it’s clear the walls have witnessed some serious kink.

Luckily for me, Liam doesn’t seem the least bit interested in sex. And though it’s the furthest thing from my mind at the moment, I honestly don’t know how I’d react if he offered. Would I surrender? Would I serve? I’d like to think I wouldn’t, but a part of me knows better.

The remains of our takeout dinner sit on the kitchen table between us. Neither of us had much of an appetite. As I picked at my lo mein, Liam discussed the particulars of my offshore account. What it means and what it doesn’t mean.

Turns out getting rich off stolen diamonds isn’t exactly something you can tell the IRS. I can’t access the money all at once or transfer it except in small quantities and with extreme cautionary measures. If I ever do decide to retire on an island, though, I’m all set.

“Who did Maddoc steal them from?” I ask at length.

Liam shrugs. “You give me too much credit, Eden. I didn’t know about the diamonds at all until I found them. But if whoever Maddoc took them from knew he did, I doubt he’d still be alive. It’s more probable that Maddoc killed whoever owned them. Or even that he acquired them through purchase or trade.”

I rub my aching forehead. “Do I even want to know what he’d trade for a cool thirty-six mil worth of diamonds?”

“No, you don’t,” he says with certainty.

I look up, meeting his stare. “Alexis said… she said I’d like him.”

He smiles slightly, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Irish charm, remember?”

I sit back in my chair. “So what do I do now? Live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder?”

“No. You live the rest of your life knowing that you don’t have to look over your shoulder. Eden, I know I’ve broken your trust. I’ve lied to you. But you have to know—somewhere inside you—that everything I’ve done was to protect you. I promised to keep you safe, and that promise is still intact. No matter what you do or where you go, you’ll be safe.”

“You can’t promise that. Not when we’ll be in different states. Or are you planning to follow me to Seattle?”

Liam shifts in his chair, looking down. “Actually, I’m returning to Ireland.”

A spike hammers straight through my chest. “What?” I whisper.

His eyes flash up to mine. In the blue depths I see the last, fragile hope of my heart wither.

“Everything has a price, Eden. Everything. You’ll be safe because you’re mine. You’ll always be mine. An ocean won’t change that.”

“Liam?” I croak.

He shakes his head. “It’s best you don’t know, dove.”

“Fuck you.” I jump to my feet, my chair falling as I round the table. “No. No! You tell me right now what the fuck you’re talking about. No more lies!”

Glittering aqua eyes fix on mine. With eerie precision, he says, “I was never engaged to Alexis. That wasn’t the price of your freedom. The price was taking my place at my father’s side.”

After everything I’ve been through in the last months, I’m surprised I still have the capacity for shock. For horror. For heartbreak. My hand falls, catching the corner of the table. I don’t feel the sting.

“No,” I gasp. “You can’t.”

He touches my face, the barest graze of fingertips along my jaw. “Everything has a price. This one is worth it.”

* * *

I scream. I sob. I pound fists on his chest. I beg him to take it back. I tell him I’m not worth it. I tell him to take the money, that I don’t want it. I tell him to disappear—that the man who can find anyone can surely make it so no one can find him. I tell him that no one is worth this sacrifice. Not his mother, his half-siblings. And definitely not me.

He takes my abuse. He doesn’t subdue me. And when I finally collapse into a weeping puddle, he carries me into a shadowed bedroom. He undresses me, helps me under the covers, and pulls the blankets to my chin.

When I ask him to stay, he removes his shoes and slides in beside me. I burrow into his chest, holding him to me as tightly as I can while my tears slowly dampen his shirt.

He sings to me, stroking my hair until I sleep.

* * *

I wake up in the morning to an empty bed and a memory of a kiss. On his pillow is a note. Five words, unsigned.

I cry until I have no tears left, then stare at the words until my tears begin anew.

London finds me sometime later. She helps me shower and dress in borrowed clothes. I’m childlike, numb, and easily manipulated by her gentle yet firm commands. After she’s forced me to eat toast and drink coffee, she calls Dominic, who arrives with a plane ticket to Oregon and the money I’d stashed in the bus depot. I don’t ask how he knew where the locker was or how he accessed it. Liam must have found the key in my purse.

Liam.

“He’s not coming back, is he?” I ask hoarsely.

Dominic’s dark eyes shine with sorrow. He knows I’m talking about more than just Liam’s physical presence.

“I don’t think so,” he says softly. “You don’t have to forget him, Eden, but you do have to let him go.”

My eyes burn with fresh tears. God, when will they stop? Wiping my eyes roughly, I swallow back a sob. London squeezes my shoulder, offering comfort I don’t feel.

“It’s wrong,” I whisper.

“Yes, it is, but he made the choice. He did what he thought was right, and he did it to keep you safe. To give you a future. Don’t cheapen his gift by resenting it.”

I take a deep, shaking breath and square my shoulders. Dominic nods approval and hands me my plane ticket. London gives me my purse, thick with envelopes of cash. Liam already told me that I don’t have to declare cash on a domestic flight. Good thing, because I have no idea how I’d explain half a million dollars.

I’m a rich woman.

And a broken one.

Everything has a price.