29. Tori
TORI
Once upon a time, my father had been my biggest fan, the most avid supporter of my love for languages and word puzzles, and my strongest protector.
I could still remember the time he and Michelle had taken me to a county fair when I was six years old, and I’d begged to go on the miniature roller coaster with its flashy blinking lights and multicolored flags that hung from the posts marking the first drop.
It was hardly more than a hill, that drop, but sitting in that roller coaster car, it seemed like a mountain to me.
As the nose of the car tilted upward, and we clinked along the track, getting higher and higher above the fairgrounds, I was instantly panicked.
My stomach was full of butterflies. I’d grabbed for my father, who was sitting next to me.
“I want to get off the ride,” I told him. “I changed my mind.”
“Shh, I’ve got you,” he had soothed me, taking my hand in his large, strong one. “You’re a brave girl. After this little hill, it’s all smooth sailing.”
It turned out he was right. That first drop felt like flying to me, and I hadn’t just gotten through the ride—I’d loved it, laughing with every swoop and curve. My dad held my hand the whole time.
But now that I knew the truth about my father, about his involvement with KZM, the world had dropped out from under my feet. I had no father. I had no hand to hold.
Except I did. I had Stefan’s. I hadn’t just grown apart from my dad—I’d grown up. The most important man in my life was now my husband. And now that he had confided in me—about how he felt, and about his family’s business—I knew we were strong enough together to face anything.
I came home from school Monday night to find the condo empty, the cleaning staff having come and gone and Gretna’s dinner waiting in the stove for me and Stefan to enjoy.
It was nice knowing that everything was taken care of, that I could just sit back and unwind as I waited for my husband to arrive.
When I heard the front door close, I looked up from the homework I had spread out across the table. He looked as handsome as always, wearing one of my favorite suits and a sleek silk tie. It made me want to tangle my fingers in it and pull him close for a nice, long, welcome home kiss.
But as I got up and approached him, I noticed that he looked more tired than usual, lines visible at the corners of his eyes and mouth. In the past, he would have put on a brave, stoic face and pretended that everything was okay just to avoid questions from me. Now, he was honest.
“Long day,” he said, setting down his bag.
“Good thing you’re home now,” I said with a smile, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him in for a tight hug.
He immediately hugged me back, burying his face in my neck.
It made my heart soar with pleasure and love.
“You look tired,” I told him gently after I pulled back.
I smoothed his hair back from his face and he smiled at me, some of the exhaustion and tension easing from his forehead.
“Rough day at the office,” he said. “But I have some good news.”
I perked up immediately at that. “Tell me,” I demanded.
He laughed, relaxing his face even more.
“Come sit with me,” he said.
He poured himself a drink and then settled into the big leather chair in the corner of the living room that I often studied in. But it was big enough for the two of us, and I crawled into his lap, my fingers working to loosen his tie and undo the top button of his shirt.
He let out a sigh of contentment.
“Better?” I asked.
“Better,” he confirmed before dropping a kiss on my cheek.
“So what’s the news?” I asked.
He laughed again, shaking his head. “You’re not going to believe this, but I had a chat with your friend Gavin today.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
I knew that Stefan hated Gavin, so I could only imagine that his good news had something to do with him scaring Gavin away from me for good. But if my husband thought that was going to stand with me, he was about to realize he’d been wrong.
“It’s not what you think,” Stefan assured me, clearly seeing the concern on my face.
“You sure I don’t need to call someone to retrieve the body?” I asked, only half teasing.
He smiled. “Trust me, it wasn’t like that. Do you know anything about his family?”
I shook my head. “I know he has a brother, and that they were raised by a single mom. But we never really got too deep into it,” I said. “We mostly just talked about school stuff.”
“Gavin’s brother works for the DOD,” Stefan told me. “His name is Frank Chase. He’s actually my contact there, but I never made the connection between the two.”
I absorbed the information. “So does that mean…?”
Stefan nodded. “Gavin wanted to get close to you for more complicated reasons than it seemed,” he said. “Not that I doubt he was attracted to you—but I that’s not why he befriended you to begin with.”
It all made sense. The way Gavin had shown up midway through the semester, the way he’d been interested in me right from the start, how he’d worked so hard to maintain our friendship, even when I gave him the cold shoulder.
And despite the fact that my ego was a little bruised, I couldn’t help remembering what Gavin had said the night we went out for pizza.
Something about how his interest in me hadn’t been part of the plan. This had to be related.
“So he’s working for the feds, too,” I said.
Stefan took a drink from his glass. “I met with him this afternoon. Apparently after I made contact with the DOD, they planted Gavin in your life, trying to use that connection to figure out if I could be trusted, or if I was a bigger part of the trafficking ring than I’d led them to believe.
If I was somehow trying to play both sides. ”
“That’s pretty smart,” I admitted. “Using me to get to you. I never saw it coming.”
“They’re good at what they do,” he said. “Gavin told me that if it had turned out I was involved in the trafficking, they were going to try to convince you to testify against me. Or give up evidence, if there was any to give.”
It wasn’t a great feeling to realize that all these months I had been manipulated by both sides—and kept completely in the dark. But now everything was finally coming to light.
“But there isn’t any evidence,” I said. “This is all your father’s doing. Not yours.”
I should have known that Gavin was keeping something from me—especially after everything that had happened that night at the club.
No wonder he’d tried to convince me that Stefan was the one responsible for drugging me.
He’d been trying to turn me against my own husband.
It was a lot to take in. I understood Gavin’s motivations, but I still felt betrayed.
Stefan continued, “Now that I’ve proven myself, I can use Gavin to pass critical proof against my father to the feds. It’s all coming together.”
All this new information was a shock, but I was thrilled that my husband trusted me enough to bring me on board.
“So what happens next?” I said.
He looked at me, and I could see the emotions warring in his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about your request. And I hate the idea of putting you in danger. But you’re right—you’re a valuable asset. So…I’ve found a way you can help me bring down KZM.”
“Tell me. I’ll do anything,” I said.
“I’ve already arranged everything with Gavin.
He and I met on the UChicago campus today, in plain sight of plenty of witnesses.
We discussed how the situation would work, but mostly we made it look like I was a jealous husband confronting him about his interest in you.
We made a big scene, and I threatened him.
I said I’d kill him if he ever touched you again. ”
“I bet Gavin didn’t like that,” I said. Even knowing it had been staged, I was a little turned on. I loved it when Stefan was possessive.
Stefan laughed. “He actually let me give him a black eye.” He held up his hand, still curved in a fist. “Just to make sure it all looked real.”
I took Stefan’s hand and kissed his knuckles.
“But that was a one-time deal. I can’t be seen in public with him again,” Stefan told me.
“And that means I can’t hand over any documents to him without it looking suspicious.
That will have to be your job. Anything I get that will be of use to the feds will have to go through the two of you.
You’ll have to pretend you’re exchanging class notes. ”
“Of course.” I nodded eagerly. “I can do that. I’m grateful to be able to help.”
He reached up to take my face in his hands, and he kissed me softly.
“Thank you.”
Then he kissed me again, deeper this time, until I was almost out of breath.
“There’s something else,” he said, looking into my eyes.
“I owe you an apology, Tori. I’m sorry I kept in you in the dark for so long about your security.
Everyone in your life has been keeping things from you, and I don’t want to be that man anymore.
I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.
I’m only going to be honest going forward. Because I love you.”
“I love you too,” I told him before kissing him again.
But before we could take it anything further, he pulled away and stood, tugging me to my feet. Then he led me across the living room and through the foyer, to the front door.
“I need you to meet someone,” he said.
He opened the door. There was huge man standing out there, with the bearing and crewcut of an ex-military soldier, waiting patiently in the hall with his massive arms clasped behind his back. He nodded at me. I could see he was chewing gum.
“This is Bruce,” Stefan said. “He’s your new bodyguard. He’ll be with you at all times, prominently visible. Even when you’re at school.”
“Okay,” I said to Stefan, and then I held out my hand to Bruce. “Hi. I’m Tori.”
The man shook my hand, firmly but gently. “Good to meet you, Tori,” he said. I’d been intimidated at first, but when he flashed me a small smile, I smiled back. I liked him.
“He’ll be with you even when you’re with Gavin,” Stefan went on. “So if my father has anyone watching, he’ll believe there’s no way you could be saying anything you shouldn’t. My father is well aware that Bruce works for me, and he’d never think that he or I would betray him.
“It’s important that we make a big show of the fact that I’m watching you. My father’s more inclined to trust me if he knows I’m keeping an eye on you 24/7.”
“I understand,” I said. “So he’ll be standing outside the door all night, too?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bruce said. “Barring short breaks, as needed.”
Stefan nodded at Bruce, who gave him a brief nod in return, and then Stefan and I went back into the condo together. We sat down on the couch, and Stefan took my hand.
“There’s one more thing,” he said. “Even with the cover I’ve set in place, we have no chance of making this work unless you can convince my father that you’ve accepted the situation.
So you’re going to have to pretend that you’re on board with the business, or at the very least, that you’re not concerned with what my father and I do behind the scenes. ”
“How am I supposed to do that?” I asked, my heart beating faster now.
“We’ll figure something out,” Stefan said. “But this is vital. Otherwise, he’ll be watching everything we do with a magnifying glass, and we won’t get away with anything. We won’t be able to see this through.”
I put my hand on his arm. “We may not, regardless,” I said. “But we have to try.”