Chapter Twenty-One
Edgar opened the door on the first knock. He frowned, obviously taken aback by their early return. His gaze fell on Ally, taking in the shocked woman’s expression, and he took a deep breath.
Trey realized the veteran thought they’d received bad news—Ally’s reaction might fit both categories.
“Jessie found Vincent.” Trey guided her through the door past Edgar and into the living room, straight to the sofa. “He’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“He’s alive,” Edgar said, almost as a prayer.
“Yep. Ticked off as hell, according to Jessie.” Trey settled beside Ally on the sofa.
The older man’s forehead furrowed. “Will she be able to handle him?”
“Of that I’m sure.” Trey nodded. “She’ll have him here tomorrow, one way or another.”
Edgar moved to stand near Ally as she sat. “Excellent news.” His tone was neutral, the canned response rolling out.
“Yes. Yes, it is.” Ally replied.
He looked at Trey, raising an eyebrow.
Trey didn’t say anything.
She cleared her throat. “It’ll be tight, but we can make the meeting. Just over a week should be enough for him to clean up and get his act together.” She brushed imaginary dust off her knees and turned to Edgar. “You need to prepare the room for Vincent’s return.” She drew a shaky breath. “Let’s take everything breakable out so we don’t end up paying the hotel extra. Make sure there’s plenty of water in the fridge.” The sadness in her voice made Trey’s heart ache. “The usual.”
Edgar nodded before turning to Trey. “I’ll bring your personal items out here, into the main room.”
“Sure,” Trey said. “No problem at all.” He rolled his shoulders back. “I guess my business is done here.”
“I guess so,” Ally said. She entwined her fingers before pulling them apart and entwining them again. “Yes. I believe your official duties are pretty well over.”
The older man looked at Ally, a trace of a smile on his thin lips. “I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ll be busy in the other suite for the rest of the night, probably stay there until Vincent’s return.” He nodded at the pair. “See you tomorrow.”
Before either of them could reply, the veteran had left the room, closing the door behind him.
“So. Vincent’s going to be back in the morning,” Trey said.
“Yes.” She rubbed her hands together. “Edgar’s used to having to whip him into shape. The meeting… I’ve got the entire script memorized—I’ll be there to prompt him.” She shrugged off her jacket and unbuttoned the top of her blouse, taking long, deep breaths. “We’ll manage.”
She turned and locked eyes with him. “Now I’ve got to deal with you.”
He blinked, taken aback by her strong words.
“He’s done something awful, and you’re here to confront him. We spoke about it before, at dinner. You wouldn’t tell me then, remember?” Her eyes met his. “I want you to promise you won’t hurt him. Do what you want legally—sue the hell out of him, drag his name through the mud—but my family already had to deal with losing my parents.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You think I’d kill him?”
“I know you could.” It came out as a whisper. “I saw how you dealt with those men.”
“I won’t. That’s not what I believe in.” It wasn’t a lie. One of the first things Dylan had impressed on them all when he formed the Brotherhood was the need to skirt the law but not break it—and taking it into their own hands by killing was wrong. “But I have to see him, talk to him. I need to confirm it’s him.”
“I understand.”
He looked into her eyes and saw that she did. It wasn’t everything he wanted, but it’d be enough for now.
“I want you to know—I didn’t set out to have any of this happen.” He reached out and touched her bare arm, stroking the soft skin. “When I first saw you at the bar, I didn’t know who you were. Then Dylan and Jessie introduced us, and I wanted to keep it professional, keep it by the rules. But the way you looked, the way you felt… That thought went off the tracks before we left my office.” He drew a long, controlled breath to steady himself. “I never felt the need to grow, sitting in my room with my monitors and my computer toys. Finding you was like someone yanking me out into the sunlight. I realized I needed to get out of the darkness to survive.”
She let out a soft gasp, her lips parting just slightly.
He kept talking, afraid to stop. “I can’t stop thinking about you, I can’t stop wanting to be with you.”
“You stopped me before, saying we couldn’t do anything until Vincent was found. Was that the truth?” she whispered, holding him at bay.
“Yes.”
Her lips twisted up into a sad smile. “Damn it, this is my one night not having to worry about where he is and what he’s doing, my last night of freedom before I go back to being his keeper. I want to spend it with you doing things I’ve only dreamed of.”
“But…” He didn’t believe he was saying it. “This can only be for tonight. Tomorrow it’s all going to change.” The words stuck in his throat. “I can’t walk away. I need you to know that. I have to finish this with Vincent.”
“I don’t care. You promised you won’t kill him, and that’s all I need to know. That’s all I want to know. Right now, I want to forget tomorrow even exists—there’s only us, here and now. Tomorrow you can tell me everything, all the ugly details, and I’ll deal with it then, along with Vincent.” She stared into his eyes. “Give this night to me, Trey. Tomorrow can take care of itself.”
Trey licked his lips, suddenly unable to find the right words. He leaned in and kissed her hard, pulling her into his lap with his hands tight on her ass.
She didn’t fight him, didn’t try to pull away. Her hands went to his shoulders as she kissed him back, shifting against the arousal pressed almost painfully against the front of his dress pants.
“You asked me about this bow tie.” He squeezed her ass, watching her attention drop to the black scrap of fabric. “Allow me to demonstrate what else it can be used for.”
He picked her up and carried her to the door of her suite.
Ally laughed and opened the door, allowing him to carry her through. She pushed it shut behind them, closing out the rest of the world.