Page 89 of Not Mine to Keep

Izzy did the talking while I closed my laptop and tucked it into my travel bag in preparation of heading out.

How would I survive the night in Nashville with this woman?

After Izzy finished her recap of the new problem involving Gabriel, Calliope shared, “I forgot to tell you this last night because I was distracted”—a blush worked up the column of her throat—“but Leo is onto us. Think he works with Gabriel, though.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He knows we haven’t—hadn’t, er, um ...” I hated how much I wanted to seal my mouth over hers and catch her nerves with my tongue as she worked through what she was trying to say. “He knows,” she said with an emphatic nod, as if those two words were sufficient enough to understand.

Not wanting to force her to spell out what she was saying with Izzy present, I went ahead and said, “Not surprised Gabriel would ensure at least one of your guards was on his side.” Pinning Izzy with a hard stare, letting her know I was still on the fence about Gabriel, I added,“But we’ll keep an eye on Leo in light of thispossibleGabriel-setting-this-all-up-from-the-get-go theory.”

“What if Marcello’s behind this?” Calliope asked. “Is it possible he’s trying to frame Gabriel?”

My gut reaction was no, but I wouldn’t rule anything out. “If Marcello wanted you dead, he could’ve done it long before we met, never giving us a chance to save you in the first place.” I grabbed my bag, then gestured toward the door. “And if he had any dirt on Gabriel, he would’ve shared it with Armani by now.”

“Does this change the plans for the party?” Calliope looked between Izzy and me.

“We may need to modify it a bit if Gabriel’s been screwing with us, but the party is still our timeline to end this. We’ll continue keeping Gabriel in the dark about it as well.” Izzy managed to sound more confident than I could’ve. “At least Armani and Marcello will be there, and with any luck, Rocco will decide to crash the party.”

Placing Calliope in that sadistic bastard’s line of sight wasnotwhat I wanted to think about right now.

“Is there a special place in hell for someone who helps have their father killed?” Calliope whispered, letting go of me. And were we back to that again? Guilt over that madman? “Shit, I hate when I refer to him as my dad.” She closed her eyes and visibly trembled like a chill had rocked through her, and I had to resist the urge to warm her with my body heat and calm her down.

“There’s definitely a reservation in hell for Armani and Marcello. Not you,” Izzy said before I could. “Jury’s still out about Gabriel.” She gave me her big, sad brown eyes at the last part.

Clearing my throat, my emotions mixed the fuck up about everything, I rushed out, “If you plan to rehearse tonight, then we need to go.” I wasn’t in the mood to think about Gabriel or Rocco without my mood turning south again.

Calliope opened her eyes and nodded.

“Good luck tonight.” Izzy hugged her when I wished it had been me instead. “If only I could be there, too.” She elbowed me. “Maybe record a song or two?”

“Sure,” I grumbled, then directed them both to leave the office, because I could barely breathe in there anymore.

We made it maybe five steps before my admin, Patrick, stopped us. “I couldn’t let you leave without getting to meet you.” I thought he was offering his hand to shake hers, but instead, it was to look at her wedding ring. “Looks perfect on you.”

Calliope gave him a little nod and smiled. “You have great taste, thank you.”

“Me?” Patrick slapped a hand to his chest and smirked. “Your husband dragged me and the store manager there after hours and had him teach him everything there is to know about diamonds. Took him forever to pick out the right one.”

Notwhat I needed her to hear or know.

Calliope’s green eyes flashed my way in surprise, and I wasn’t sure how to dig myself out of this hole.

“We have to go.” I snatched her palm with my free hand and nodded my goodbyes to everyone lingering around us. “Later.” We fast-walked to the elevators, and I dodged everyone else trying to stop my mission to extract this woman from the building without another word being said.

Once we were alone in the elevator and the doors closed, I dropped my workbag, and my wife took me by surprise when she pushed me against the wall, fisted my shirt, and kissed me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Calliope

Nashville

“It’s fine. I’m fine. I can do this and be totally—”

“Fine?”

At the realization I wasn’t alone while spiraling in the women’s bathroom of the hotel, I looked up at the mirror and gasped. “Nala! Imani!”

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