Page 22 of Release You

“Well, you didn’t show it.” I crossed my arms.

“I’m good at poker.” He sat on the sofa, running a hand over his mussed hair. The muscles on his arms rippled with the effort. He was doing it on purpose, no doubt. “I could show you a few tips if you want. You’re a horrible liar.”

“I’m a perfectly good liar, thank you.” Soft bubbles filled the hole in my chest. Henry wanted me as much as I wanted him. For now, that was enough. “What do you need from me?”

He licked his lips and cleared his throat. “It appears you were right. You do have a skill I can use.”

“What are we stealing, Henry?”

“My mother.”

“Your mother?”

That killed the mood. I plopped myself next to him. Tessa Cavalier had been the genius behind all the parties at this hotel. She’d also been a ray of light in my life after my parents died. Until she got sick.

“I’m always up for bending the rules a little and maybe breaking a few unnecessary laws. You know that.” I furrowed my brows.

“More like complete disregard for the rules, but we can use your word.” Henry grinned, reaching for my hand.

“Fine.” I shrugged. “We’re talking about kidnapping here. I mean, does she want to be stolen? Or come with us?” Swiping a few trinkets, mostly art, here and there was actually fun—not that I’d ever admit that to Henry—but this was major. “How is she?”

“Worse.” He glanced down at his hands. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and my heart squeezed tight. “You should’ve seen her. She can barely move or speak.”

“Where is she?”

To break into a hospice would require some planning, but it was totally doable. We’d need uniforms, access cards, and a few favors—lonely security guards were my specialty.

“Cavalier Manor.”

Well, fuck. Cavalier Manor was a fortress and with reason. The place was drowning in expensive art and furnishings. Lisa and I hadn’t even been allowed to walk on the rugs. While Henry’s mom had been an angel to us, doing everything she could to fill in the void our parents left behind when they died, Henry’s aunt had been a real bitch. She’d never let us forget we were at the manor to work. I was ten, but she didn’t give a shit.

“That’s going to be tricky. She’s home. Why would we take her away from that? And where would you take her?”

Henry opened his mouth, but the words didn’t come out. He apparently hadn’t considered the logistics. His mom needed special care he couldn’t provide. “I thought she could come here. Nikki, I haven’t seen her in years. I thought she didn’t want to see me, but today?—”

“Wait, you saw her at the manor?”

He nodded. “She seemed afraid. But there was nothing in her eyes to tell me she wasn’t happy to see me.”

“Okay. You have access to the manor, so this may be easier. We just need to come up with transport.” The desperate look in his eyes tugged at my insides.

I wanted to hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay, but this was us. Nothing was ever okay.

“I don’t have access to the house per se. But I can get us inside the grounds.”

Exactly how much of his fortune did Henry lose? “You can’t even go into your own home? Why?”

“My uncle. After you left, he moved me from Tucson to another boarding school in Canada. My heart was so broken I didn’t care about anything anymore. Never thought to ask about Dad’s estate either. When I finished school, I came back to find out my uncle had inherited everything from Dad. I confronted him, but he showed me Dad’s will. It all looked legit. He kicked me out of the house and told me never to come back. Even told the guards to shoot me on sight if I ever so much as came up to the gate.”

“Motherfucker.”

Henry chuckled. “My thoughts exactly.”

“He took everything.” I blew out a breath.

So this was why Henry wanted revenge. His uncle had betrayed his dad’s trust. My stomach sank, and I wanted to punch something. No. I wanted to punch Jonathan Cavalier, that greedy asshole, just like his wife. Because of them, Henry,the Prince of Paradise, had ended up living a very different life than the one his parents had planned for him.

“So, are you really an architect?”

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