Page 31 of Unleash You

“You should ask her. It’s not for me to tell her life story. You never know. Maybe she kissed you because she likes you. Who can resist this face?” I patted his cheek, and he shoved my hand away.

“No one can kiss a stranger like that.”

“Wait, what? Is that what all the glares were about? You like her?” I exhaled loudly. Rebecca was a good person, but she wasn’t the kind of woman Zack was used to. Her life was complicated, to say the least. “I’d stay away from her. She’s not for you, man.”

He rose to his feet. “Come on. Let’s go see if the bartender’s still mixing drinks.”

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all night.”

“Unless you wanna go upstairs and patch things up with Anabelle.”

“Tomorrow. I’ve done enough damage for one night.”

When we reached the upper terrace, Derek’s bodyguards rushed through from several directions and went inside. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Shit. Did someone try to break in or do something?

I patted Zack on the back. “Hey, man, I’ll see you inside.”

“Yeah. You okay?”

I nodded, and he took off. If he suspected something was up, he didn’t show it. Zack had a knack for knowing when to let things be. For several beats, I stood there trying to decide if I should go back to Anabelle’s house and keep watch.Calm the fuck down.This couldn’t have anything to do with her. Though if Smith and Marcel were after Rebecca out of revenge, there was a good chance they were also after the only family Charlie had left...Anabelle.

“Derek, what the hell is going on?” I asked when my brother walked out of the house, ashen-faced.

“Have you seen Valentina?”

Christ, I hoped this wasn’t a case of mistaken identity, and they went after Valentina instead of Rebecca.

9

Now We're Here

Anabelle

“It’s past noon, and he still hasn’t come over?” Zack tinkered with the bottles in my paint case.

“I was with Derek all morning. Give him a break.” I fell for Zack’s bait every time. Always rushing to defend his brother.

“How’s he doing?”

“How do you think? He’s out of his mind with worry.”

Last night while I reveled in my pettiness over Wesley hugging another woman, poor Valentina was kidnapped by her ex and Derek’s ex. I felt guilty for letting her go after him on her own with just Will, who also felt terrible over the incident. I just had no idea how dangerous those two could be. Derek never made it to bed. He spent all night looking for her.

“Yeah, I saw him briefly over breakfast. Mom made him eat. He scarfed down his food and went back to his study.”

“It’s all my fault. I helped her leave the house unnoticed. And now her ex and Derek’s ex have her kidnapped. What in the world is wrong with people?”

“She’s a grown woman. If Valentina wanted to go after her kid, she had every right to. My brother will find her. This is not your fault.” He came to stand next to me and put his arm around me. “I like this one. What is it?”

“It’s nothing. Just a way to pass the time until Valentina comes home. I can’t even think.”

He cocked his head, outlining the dark smudges on the oversized paper tacked on to my easel. After a while, he shook his head, brows furrowed. “It looks like the shape of a woman.”

“What? No.” I glanced at the sketch, that sort of looked like Rebecca.

Zack didn’t ask who the woman on my drawing was. We both had been thinking about the same person, for completely different reasons, of course. “I don’t trust her. She’s too perfect.” He turned to face me, but his gaze settled on something behind me.

I spun around to find Rebecca taking a stroll through the woods. Even out of her smoking hot dress, she still looked insanely hot. No wonder she had Zack and Wesley drooling all over her. “I need to lose like ten pounds.”

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