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That’s all I’ve ever known. Pain, and shame, and self-hatred.
Except with Ford.
“Are you going to run away this time?” I ask him when we ride the elevator up to the apartment.
“Not this time,” he says quietly.
We step out into the apartment—
All the furniture is built and the boxes are cleaned up.
“This must’ve taken all day,” I say as he walks past me.
“Worth it,” he says, without looking back.
Chapter 17
Ford
It’s early the next morning when I stand in the living room and look out at the city. The shower’s running and I listen to the dull noise of the water through the pipes and think about Kat’s body wet and glistening as she rubs her creamy skin down. I shiver and sip coffee and have to count to ten to keep myself from storming upstairs and kicking down that fucking door.
There will be time for that later. Fuck, I want to make sure I devoteplentyof time to Kat’s body, but right now I have business to attend to. I turn away and head to the door, but pause in the front hallway and stare down at the side table I put together and positioned just so the day before.
Sitting in the very middle is Kat’s phone.
With the screen off, it’s a simple thing. Reflective glass, a clear case with little balloons on the back. I reach out and pick it up, and Grandpop’s words echo back through my head. I could take it right now and ship it off to Lanzo—he’d be able to crack in and download all the data within minutes, no problems, no questions asked—and that might be all the information I need. Kat might be a little suspicious or worried, but I’ll buy heranother phone and get her all set up and she’ll never realize what happened.
I could do this. We could hurt her family and she might not even know it was me that betrayed them. I could have everything I want—Kat as my wife and control of my family—and avoid the ugly fallout.
But Iwouldbe betraying her. Grandpop would know, Lanzo would know, and worst of all, I would know.
I told Kat I’d protect her. I swore that I would, even if I said I couldn’t necessarily keep her safe from myself, and doesn’t that include my own family? Doesn’t that include Grandpop?
I put the phone back down and step away from it. Sweat beads on my back and under my arms. I want to do this—I want to destroy her—I want to ruin them all and ascend to the top of my family and take my rightful place—but the look in her eyes when she asked me not to hurt her echoes through my mind.
She doesn’t deserve it.
I pull away, ride the elevator downstairs, and think about her phone on the drive out to the Arc family mansion.
Two weeks ago, I would’ve taken the fucking thing, no hesitation. She meant nothing to me when this all started, but that changed and I can’t tell when it happened. At some point, she shifted from unfortunate collateral damage in my lifelong struggle to win my family’s top prize to someone important to me, something precious that I don’t want to break.
I’ve always been a winner. I’ve always been ruthless. But if I looked at myself in the mirror right now, I wouldn’t recognize the man staring back out at me.
When did I get so fuckingsoft?
The car parks out front and I head inside. Grandpop’s expecting a full report on what I’ve done so far and I’m dreading the look on his face. I’m dreading the feeling of failure that’s sitting my gut and the knowledge that I’m going to let my one chance at finally taking control of my family slip between my fingers.
All for a girl.
For fuckingKatherine Stockton.
Grandpop’s sitting at his desk when I enter. He looks up and nods as I take a seat across from him and lean back in the chair. “You look rested,” he says and laughs when I grunt in response. “How’s the engaged life treating you?”
“I’m not cut out for this sort of work,” I grumble.
“Ah, Ford, my boy, it’s almost done. You’ve been living with the girl for how long now? Three days? You shouldn’t need too much more time to grab her phone and steal her secrets.”
“I haven’t had a chance,” I say and can’t meet his eye. “But I’m working on it.”
