Page 22 of Escape You

“I can do that.” Chase leaned on the office door. “Mia and I still have things to discuss.”

A knowing smile pulled on Rossi’s lips before he pointed to the grand staircase on his left. “Of course. You’ll need time to get to know each other before the wedding this weekend. She’ll be in your old room.”

My heartbeat spiked at his words. We were getting married in less than a week. That gave me no time at all. I shot a glance at Chase who was as shocked as me.

“If I’m going to stay here, I’ll need to be able to see my second in command.”

“That can be arranged. We don’t want your crew to think you’ve abandoned them.” The old man nodded to Alex. Apparently, that was all he needed to do to make my request happen.

“This way.” Chase gestured for me to follow him.

He sauntered down the long hallway. The stark white crown molding and intricate woodwork on the ceiling gave the space a woody smell. Settees in dark velvet were placed outside every bedroom door. I’d never seen a penthouse this big. When we reached the end of the corridor, Chase fished a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. When he pushed it opened, he reached in and turned on the light. His hand brushed my arm, and a warmth spread through me.Focus.

“Do you keep the key?” I put out my hand.

He flashed me a smile. “Only if you want me to.”

I shook my head. “Make up your mind. Are you pissed at me or not?”

He glanced heavenward before he ushered me inside and shut the door behind him. When I opened my mouth to protest, he gripped my elbow and walked me to the bathroom, where he ran the shower. “I meant it before. I can help you get out of here, but you have to trust me.”

I pulled away from him. “I meant it too. I do not trust you. How do I know this isn’t another one of your lies?”

“Another? When did I lie to you before?” He braced his hand on the bathroom vanity to look me in the eye. “When I met you, I thought you were a bartender.” He rubbed the sexy stubble on his cheek. “An incredibly beautiful bartender who wanted me for the night. You were the one who didn’t want to know about me. You can’t be mad at me for that.”

“I’m not mad at you. I just don’t trust you. It has nothing to do with before…” Before we slept together, before he rocked my world. I pushed the hair away from my face. “You are literally the devil’s spawn.”

To my surprise, he chuckled. “I’m not like Jac. Up until a few days ago, he was no one of consequence in my life.”

Yeah, Vic had already sent me Chase Rossi’s bio. He hadn’t been raised by someone like Rossi, but that didn’t mean Chase didn’t have it in him to be as heartless as his grandfather. I cradled my stomach. We’d all heard stories of other crews and what’d happened to them when they went against the New York faction. No one ever crossed the Rossi family.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Chase reached out for my hand but didn’t touch me.

“Do you live in this house?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Mom asked me to. He’s family. I was curious to meet him.”

That felt like the truth. “Could you leave if you wanted to?”

“Not yet.” His gaze regarded me with such intensity that I glanced back at the king-size upholstered bed in the other room.

“Why not?”

“I can’t tell you.” He shook his head slowly.

“You do realize this plan of his is demented, don’t you?” I saw the surprise in his eyes when his grandfather dumped this bomb on us earlier. Chase had gone from looking at me as if I were a vision to being afraid to even touch me. I hadn’t decided which one of his reactions was worse.

“I do. Maybe we can help each other. Stop this wedding from happening?”

“How do we do that?” If he were anyone else, I might trust him and tell him I had a plan to bring down his grandfather. Well, a plan to come up with a plan. As of right now, I didn’t have a damn thing but the old man’s belief that I wasn’t smart enough to bring him down. I didn’t want to misplace my trust in Chase and lose the element of surprise.

“I don’t know yet.” He pursed his lips. He was back to being pissed at me. “Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

For a moment I considered telling him I was pregnant with his baby. But what would be the point? I didn’t want my child caught up in the old man’s madness. No doubt he’d take the baby and send me far away or worst.

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