Chapter 27 #2
“You can thank Tallie for that,” Brenden says and I’m pleased at the note of pride in his voice. “I went through those papers a dozen times and never saw it, but she noticed in a single pass.”
Arsen grunts, snapping the paper down to his desk. “What would you have me do with this?”
“We didn’t steal from you.” It’s my turn to speak.
Brenden puts a hand on mine for support.
“That’s what you’ll tell people. Instead, we aggressively audited your books by comparing them to the Davis half, and the only way to plausibly make that happen was by robbing them.
Otherwise, they’d lie to you. You’ll spin this as a service we performed, and as payment, you’ll forgive Sam this one single time. ”
Silence stretches. Arsen’s eyes go unfocused as he looks out across the office.
Brenden sits very still like he’s primed for something terrible to happen and I can barely handle the stress.
I want to scream, pace, go running for my life, and it’s only Brenden’s touch keeping me from melting down, it’s knowing that he’d do anything to protect me, that he’d die to keep me safe if it came to that.
And I’d do the same for him. I’d throw away everything to make sure my husband walked away from this, and it kills me knowing how much he’s sacrificing in this meeting to protect my younger brother, it kills me that he’s doing it for me, but it also makes me love him in a way I didn’t ever expect I could.
That’s real love, I realize in the depths of the quiet, where my life hangs in the balance.
The willingness to give everything to another person and the ability to make it happen.
It’s not enough to say it. Brenden’s sitting there is proof that his actions live behind his words, and that’s enough to fill my heart with joy and terror at the bigness of what we’re building between us.
Because this is the end for him, the end of his plans, the end of his freedom. I get the sense he’s been working toward this outcome for a while, even before I came into the picture, and now he’s throwing it away. He’ll never get another chance like this to truly disappear.
He’s staying for me.
“I’ll need guarantees,” Arsen says finally, not looking happy. “Your sister will have to be involved, which means Alexan too.” He rubs his temple. “What a fucking pain in my ass. I’m still tempted to kill you both.”
“What if I sweetened the deal?” The idea hits me hard and I rush to get it out before Brenden can stop me. He already looks like he’s going to jump onto my chair and physically shut me up. “I’ll convince Sam to give the Brotherhood a massive cut on his dealings.”
“He’s already going to do that.”
“But a bigger one and I’ll make sure it’s enforced.”
Arsen’s lips curl. “I can enforce it as well.”
“He’ll be useful, I swear, he needs some direction.”
“Fine, and you’ll do that directing. Tomorrow, when this news is spread through the organization, you will talk to no one about the terms of our agreement save for Riley and Alexan and Sam. Anyone else will be left in the dark.”
“That’s no problem,” Brenden quickly confirms.
“You will destroy every copy of the stolen ledgers and return the originals to me through Riley. If I ever hear of this again, I will kill you both. I do not care if your death triggers an investigation in my family. Sam’s business will be folded into Brotherhood operations and he will pay a very heavy tax for a long time to compensate me. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Patron,” I say, doing my best not to tremble.
“And for fuck’s sake—use my god damn door when you leave.” He sits back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. Nobody moves for a long beat until he abruptly flicks a hand. “Get out now before I change my mind.”
Brenden stands. “Thank you, Patron.” He gives a slight nod of respect, and I know what that costs him.
I take his hand and lead him across the room, out into the hall, back through the house, and out to the front door. Arsen’s security team ignores us. Clearly, they’d been briefed already. We step out into the evening and our feet crunch over gravel as we walk down the twisting driveway.
I stop halfway toward the gated end and turn to my husband. His face is wreathed in moonlight and he looks troubled. I touch his cheek and get on my toes to kiss him.
“That was good, wasn’t it?” I kiss him harder when he doesn’t reply. “I know it wasn’t easy for you. I know what you gave up—“
“Tallie—“
“Listen to me first, okay?” I touch his lips with my fingers to silence him.
“I know you worked hard to build yourself an escape from this life. You wanted out so badly you were willing to risk everything, and then I came along and screwed up your plans. I know this isn’t what you wanted, Brenden, and I’m so, so sorry I did this to you.
I know you’re trapped with me now, and maybe you’re going to hate me, but—“
He pulls me tightly into his arms. “You think I hate you?”
“I’m afraid you’ll resent me. You don’t want to be here. You wanted your freedom—“
“Tallie,” he says, sounding frustrated. “Don’t you get it? You are my freedom.”
I stare at him in surprise. I knew feelings were beginning to build between us, but his words strike me like a volcano erupting in my stomach. Tingles run down to my fingertips and I swallow back tears.
“You really mean that?”
“Baby, I could’ve run a thousand times. If all I wanted was escape, it’s been here for me to take whenever I wanted it. But the moment we said our vows, you became more than a wife and a partner. You became the reason I want to stay. You gave me purpose.”
“Brenden…”
“All my life I’ve been hiding. I’ve gone from job to job, sneaking in the shadows, briefly making friends but only at the shallowest level.
People have been nothing more than marks or partners, but never permanent.
Riley’s the only person to stick around in my life.
I’ve never wanted more, at least until you. ”
I bite my lip. “I feel the same way.”
“You make me want to be me. No more masks or hiding, none of that bullshit. You make me want to figure out what I actually want out of life.”
“You make me feel whole.” I reach up, tug his hair down, and kiss him hard again. I hold it there, tears sliding down my cheeks, his fingers digging into my hips as his mouth devours mine.
He pulls back only long enough to look me in the eyes. “I love you, Tallie.”
“I love you too.”
Another kiss, still lingering on the driveway of the man that should kill us.
Before him, my life was a spotlight. I was a Sarkissian daughter, which meant I was held to impossible standards. Everyone saw me, everyone judged me, and I was constantly fighting against assumptions and misunderstandings. I was a lesser-Annie, a malformed loser, at least until Brenden.
He makes me want to be myself. Not someone else’s idea of who I should be, but actually me.
“We should go,” he says at last, backing off with some effort. “I don’t think Arsen wants us hanging around in his driveway making out.”
“Can we go home and make out instead?”
“I plan on doing much more than kiss you once we’re behind closed doors.”
“Promise?”
“I really love you, Tallie, and I look forward to defiling you for a very, very long time.”
“What a flirt.”
We walk together through the gates of the Sarkissian mansion and if I’m grinning it’s because I have a home to go back to and a husband there to fill the space and to warm my bed and to make me want to dig down deep to see what’s hidden in there and to bring it all out into the light.