The hallway above the ballroom took me right towards the upper meeting rooms in the Berling Straits.
It hadn’t been difficult to slip by Cam’s men. His efforts were admirable, but he was as subtle as a bull in a dress. Liam Berling had proved a reliable ally despite our disagreement at Madison, alerting me the moment his security spotted the two heirs. Cam would be evicted by Berling’s security within five minutes, and Gabriel would be kept busy by a socialite who had an unhealthy obsession with him.
As for Karin Beckett… I would be the one to see her out.
She was the last thing I’d expected to see tonight. Just the sight of her made me feverish with anticipation, but what came to mind this time wasn’t my memories of watching her from afar. It was something real and tangible. A fucking torment.
Ten years I had dreamed of holding her again, tasting her again, and that night at Madison, it came true. I gave in, and it was the best damned mistake of my life.
This time, Karin had been real in my arms. She had been more than a fevered dream, more than the poor imitations of her that I sought out in my desperation.
I knew I was insane for kissing her. It had nearly killed me those years ago to let her go, and now whatever progress I made in attempting to forget her—futile as they were—had been completely eradicated. I was back to that boy of eighteen years who fucking lost his mind when she left.
This was getting too dangerous for me. I needed to leave for London right away, hence my meeting with the executives to find a decent buyer for my firm.
A turn down the hallway brought me to the private meeting room I was searching for. I entered without knocking.
“Finally.”
I shut the door behind me, taking the seat across the scowling woman in the room. “Your holiday’s not to your liking, I assume.”
My mother glared back at me. “Do you know how long you’ve been ignoring my calls?”
“Not long enough, apparently.”
“I want out of that fucking box.”
That fucking box happened to be a Manhattan property I owned under a false name. Leave it to Estelle Valentine to make her brief stint in a luxury apartment suite sound like hell.
“Better an apartment for three weeks than a prison cell for the rest of your life.” I smiled faintly. “But if you wish to leave, the door’s always open. I’m not going to stop you.”
Estelle remained in haughty silence as she busied herself with arranging the skirt of her black evening gown, still intent on looking beautiful even while on the run.
I knew she wouldn’t take me up on that challenge. This meeting had been tricky enough to arrange with Ryland and Cam’s men crawling the city searching for her and watching me. I had to pull favors with Berling just to arrange this meeting for us in his territory, and Estelle knew better than to jeopardize herself.
“You’re working to get me out, aren’t you?” she said. “You won’t abandon me like your father.”
“No promises. You did try to kill me just three weeks ago.”
Estelle became defensive. “You betrayed me.”
“You broke our agreement,” I countered as I withdrew a packet of cigarettes from my jacket. “We explicitly agreed never to bring up the matter again, but you just had to get greedy, didn’t you? I’m simply levelling the playing field. If you can’t be trusted to keep yourself in check, then I’ll be the one to do it.”
Estelle said nothing as she took the stick I offered. She put it between her lips, leaning forward for me to light it for her.
“On that note,” I murmured, cupping a hand around the small flame, “after this debacle is over I’m relocating to London. And you’re coming with me.”
Estelle choked violently on her inhalation as I smiled and sat back.
Karin had been wrong about me again. Unlike Ryland, I had no illusions of forgiveness. I simply didn’t deserve it.
I had a plan from the moment Ryland came to ask my help those months ago, and it had been in motion ever since.
Estelle wasn’t going to jail, and neither were they. I was going to keep both parties in their respective corners of the ring and maintain this fine limbo between them; basically have my cake and eat it.
My mother looked less enthused about that idea.
“I’m not leaving this country,” she hissed.
“No need for a fuss, moving to a foreign place is so easy a child could do it. I did it, if you recall, so I’m sure you’ll have no issue.”
Estelle’s hands tightened in her lap, giving her the look of a petulant child. “If you care about me at all, you won’t do this to me.”
“But I don’t care,” I said softly. “You’re nothing to me, just like I’m nothing to you. The only thing saving you right now is the fact that we share the same blood in our veins.”
No matter how much we despised each other, Estelle and I were the only family the other had. If she was gone, I’d be truly alone.
Somehow that bothered me more than anything else. It seemed utterly depressing to be standing alone in a sea of seven billion people. If I vanished one day, no one would know or care.
Estelle wouldn’t either, of course, but that would mean she’d be alone too. My absence would finally affect someone, insignificant as it may be. I wouldn’t vanish like I never existed, as if a clean-up crew had just wiped me out like little more than a party mess.
There was a certain comfort in that.
“I’m keeping you alive for me, not you, so either you do as I say, or I hand you over to Ryland Wyatt. Take your pick.”
“You’re just like your shit of a father.”
“If I’m anything like him, I’d be out the door yesterday.” I gave Estelle a once-over. “It’s becoming more appealing by the minute, to be honest.”
“You think you’re so clever,” she sneered. “Always so witty and sarcastic. It’s your biggest flaw. If you hadn’t been so full of yourself, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“If you hadn’t pulled the trigger on your own boyfriend’s fucking head, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Of the two of us, I think I’m better off.”
Estelle burst out in shrill laughter. “Better off? Darling, you’re halfway to the grave! I know that look on your face, I’ve seen it before. It’s her, isn’t it? Karin Beckett. She’s back in touch.” She cocked her head, her smile dripping poison. “Have you fucked her yet? No? That’s not surprising, a girl like her would never let someone like you lay a hand on her.”
“Watch yourself,” I said softly. “Speak her name again and I’ll take you straight to the authorities. In fact, give me a reason why I shouldn’t. You did send shooters after her sister.”
“But not after the one you care for,” Estelle countered. “You betrayed her, Theo. You covered up her father’s murder for years. She’ll never forgive you no matter what you do.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice. And you chose me. Even now, you’re choosing me.” Estelle smiled, looking pleased with herself. “You can act as defiant as you want, but you’re still my son. I brought you into this world from my own body. Nothing changes that, not even that girl.”
As much as I disliked hearing it, it was true. We were tied by our blood, both of us selfish and fucked up, and nothing was going to change that.
Karin deserved better than this. I’d be damned if I let her light be snuffed out by my darkness.
“You have two weeks to get ready.” I got up and buttoned my jacket, eager to be done with her. “Your new documents will be ready by then.”
Estelle looked relieved, as she should be. My plan was flawless; a new name, a new background, and a new future for her. Ryland would never be able to find Estelle no matter how much influence he held. I had built a career on making things vanish—evidence, lawsuits, and now, persons.
God, he’ll be bloody furious. I had that to look forward to, at least. The heir was used to getting his way, and it’d be fun to see him groveling again. I found that I’d acquired a taste for it ever since he came asking for help with Estelle those weeks ago.
“Unless you’re at death's door,” I added, “don’t contact me again.”
“I will wait two weeks. No more than that.”
My lips twisted. It was just like Estelle to make demands when I was the one saving her ass.
“There seems to be some miscommunication,” I said evenly. “I’m moving according to my schedule, not yours. It could be two weeks, and if I want, it could be two years. But only until I decide when—and not one fucking second before—you will sit on your ass and do absolutely nothing. I’m a hairs-breadth away from throwing you to the wolves, so don’t tempt me.”
I shut the door on another round of outraged protests, glad to be done with the matter. Right now, I had another pressing issue to deal with.
It was midnight, which meant it was time for the princess to be heading home.