Page 66 of Hush Money

Tamsyn would be dead now. Dead.

I glance back at the bed, where Tamsyn lies peacefully asleep on her side, with one of her hands tucked under her chin. What would I have done if all her beauty and vitality had been snuffed out today? Or if she’d survived but was badly burned and had to live with excruciating pain and surgeries? The questions make my gut cramp into one big knot. How would I have lived with myself? Hell, how am I living with myself now?

That voice starts up in my head. Don’t let her go. That voice is the reason I followed her to Europe the day I met her, turning myself into an international stalker. It’s the reason I didn’t want her working far away in the city. That voice whispered at me yesterday. It’s screaming at me now. Meanwhile, another voice pipes up. My own speaking voice. The one that made the graveside vow to Big Ralph. I’ve got her now.

I’ve made this mess. It’s time for me to clean it up. Past time.

The bottom line is that Tamsyn will never be safe with Ravenna alive. I now know that beyond any shadow of a doubt. Tamsyn will always remain the focal point of Ravenna’s jealousy. And I now realize that Ravenna is willing to do anything to eradicate a perceived enemy.

Which means that I can’t do anything to put Tamsyn at risk. I’ve got to be willing to do anything necessary to protect her, which is my duty as the man in her life. Anything.

I slump into the nearest chair and rest my head in my hands, overcome by rising emotion and sudden absolute clarity. Ravenna is determined to hurt me. I’m determined to protect Tamsyn. And I now know what I need to do, no matter how much I don’t want to do it.

I’ve got to be every bit as ruthless as Ravenna to accomplish my objectives.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

TAMSYN

I wake up late the following morning, feeling a bit hungover after yesterday’s events, but also strangely energized. Especially when I remember Lucien’s tenderness last night. The easy flow of his hands all over my body. The quiet intensity that was unlike any other time we’ve been together.

I brush my teeth and throw on some clothes, eager to see him again and find out if there have been any developments in the search for Ravenna. I’m halfway down the stairs when I realize that my suitcases are lined up against the foyer wall nearest the front door.

Huh. That’s weird.

I find Lucien in the breakfast nook sipping coffee and leafing through a stack of papers in a file as he sits at the table. I’m so startled to see him wearing a suit and looking like a corporate titan again after weeks of casual linen and swim trunks that I forget about my luggage. Something about the way his jaw is set reminds me unpleasantly of the aloof stranger from the day we met.

“Good morning,” I say.

He shoots me a glance, then immediately reverts to his paperwork. “Good morning.”

I head for the coffeepot on the sideboard, pausing on my way to smooth his hair and give him a forehead kiss. I hate to disturb him any further when he seems so focused, but I can’t resist.

He surprises me by pulling me in for a quick and hard hug, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing his nose against my neck so he can breathe me in. I wouldn’t have minded lingering for a second or two, but he quickly turns me loose and returns to the paperwork, a muscle pulsing in his jaw as he lowers his head.

So I focus on coffee. “You have a meeting? With everything going on right now?”

“I do. In the city this afternoon. The Vanderbilt deal has flared up again. So I may get called to Tokyo.”

“Tokyo?”

“Yes. It’s a tricky time. As you know.” There’s a funny catch in his voice now, something that makes me glance over my shoulder at him as I pour. “I want to make things as easy on you as possible.”

I take my coffee and head to my seat at the table, frowning because I don’t like the sound of that. “Okay…?”

“It’s, ah, time for you to go back to the city. You can stay in my penthouse until your apartment is ready.”

“Oh. Okay.” Luckily, the sugar and cream give me something to focus on while I gather my thoughts. I feel a tinge of disappointment. Way more than a tinge. I’m not going to lie. It’s not that I didn’t know this was coming. My stay at Ackerley was always just for the summer. The transition will be a bit sooner than expected, true, but this is not a surprise. Nor is it a tragedy. “When will you be back from Tokyo?”

He hesitates. “I’m not sure, but that’s not the point.”

I glance up from stirring my coffee, unsettled by the sudden edge in his tone. “What is the point?”

“The point, Ms. Scott, is that this seems like a good breaking point for us.”

My heart skips a beat. It skips several more when we lock in on each other and he stares at me the way I’ve seen him stare at the annoying Mrs. Hooper. As if I’m a particularly persistent, buzzing fly he needs to smack away from his head as quickly as possible.

I swallow hard and hope my voice still works. “Breaking point?”

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