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One problem: I can’t let her go. My arm tightens around hers as if there’s any way to hold her in place so she doesn’t have to go through with this. She isn’t ready, it isn’t right.

“I have to go.” Though she looks panicked, she unwinds her arm from mine and rolls her shoulders back. “Just do what you have to do, okay? Don’t keep me waiting.”

I don’t think I’ve ever respected anyone more than I respect her now, watching her sail away like she’s used to attending galas like this and has seduced dozens of powerful men. Theo and I watch as she approaches the stairs where Matteo chats with an older couple.

An older couple he quickly forgets as soon as she enters his line of sight. “There he goes,” Theo mutters while my blood begins to boil. It’s sickening seeing him look at her like she’s the main course of a feast he can’t wait to dig into. His black mask shadows his eyes but does nothing to hide his interest.

This is what we want. This is working.

When he touches her arm, the fury building in my head explodes into pure, seething rage that only my brother can ease. “She’ll be fine. This is what’s supposed to happen. Give her credit.”

To hell with credit. I’m going to kill the fucker twice. Now I understand why Theo acted like he did after taking Derek down. The entire party fades away until all I see in front of me is Matteo grabbing June by the arm and leading her deeper into the mansion. We follow at a distance, weaving our way through the crowd, until we watch them exit through a pair of French doors.

“Slow down,” Theo warns, inclining his head toward one of the guards standing with his back to the wall, hands folded in front of him. We can’t make it look like we’re following on their heels.

I don’t know how I do it, but I manage to wait until Theo moves again. We take our time, almost meandering until we reach the open doors and step out onto the flagstone patio. It’s blessedly quiet out here, the night sky spangled with stars, lit torches leading the way down a gravel path cutting through the rose garden on the way to the conservatory.

I want to run, but instead I keep watch over my shoulder, taking one measured step at a time. This cannot be obvious. “We’re in the clear,” Theo assures me. We won’t be in the clear until this is over. I can’t bring myself to say it.

June’s voice rings out from inside before we’ve even reached the partly open door. “Wow, you’re really into flowers, aren’t you?”

“I appreciate beauty.” Fuck, he is so smarmy, so obvious. “Which is why I couldn’t resist getting you alone. Where did you come from? My dreams?”

It’s time to put this prick out of his misery. When we enter to find Matteo attempting to nuzzle June’s neck, she’s the one who looks miserable. When she spots us, I expect her to drop to the floor from relief.

Theo rushes over to where they are standing. Before he spots us, my brother has him by the neck. Matteo tries to reach for the gun in his waistband, but Theo grabs it before he can.

“What took you so long?” June blurts out, stepping away from them.

Matteo’s mouth falls open in surprise before he quickly snaps it shut. “The fuck are you doing in here? What is this?”

I crook a finger, drawing June to my side. “Wait outside. We won’t be long.”

“You better not be.” She doesn’t hesitate to make her escape, scurrying out and leaving the three of us on our own.

“All right, you assholes. What are you trying to do here?” Matteo folds his arms, looking back and forth between Theo and me.

“You don’t know us?” Wearing a grim smile, Theo raises his mask, resting it high on his forehead, so Matteo will know who he’s facing.

The man lets out a sharp breath filled with what sounds like disbelief. “You’re dead. You’ve been dead all this time.”

“I guess I didn’t get the memo.”

Matteo then looks at me, his face hardening in recognition. “I don’t have to ask what happened to the guy I sent after you.”

“I want to know why,” I grunt. The clock is ticking, but I have to ask. “Why me? Why did you hire him to kill me?”

“Why did you lie to me?” Matteo counters. It might be my imagination, but I’d swear I can smell acrid fear seeping from his pores. It’s stronger than the cloying scent of the exotic flowers all around us.

“When did I lie?”

“It would’ve been one thing to leave a kid alive when I told you to take out everyone inside that house.” He lowers his brow, his voice a growl. “But you lied in your final report, saying the targets were eliminated. I know that’s not true.”

“You posted that job?” Fuck, if I had known that came from him, or that there were kids involved beforehand, I would never have taken that job in the first place.

I can’t believe that’s what this was about. A rare fit of conscience. Blowing away Mom and Dad would have been just another day of work, but creeping into the bedroom of a three-year-old who likes spaceships and dinosaurs? I hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it.

And I won’t be ashamed of it now. “Fucking sue me,” I tell him with a shrug. “I guess my principles got in the way.”