Page 53 of The Eagle's Vault

What game was she playing?

“Finn wants you back.” She practically squealed with girlish delight, as though we were in the middle of a slumber party, gossiping about boys. “You won’t find someone as good as him. He’s attractive, financially stable, smarter than any other man I know.”

Then maybe you should divorce my father and marry him instead.

The fear churning in my gut since we read Edoardo’s note in the vault shifted. It rose in my throat and bubbled up, bursting out in a way I hadn’t intended. “He never let me be me. He always made me feel”—Fuck, the same way you make me feel, Ann!—“like I was useless and ugly and immature. He told me I wasn’t allowed to go to Rome without him.”

“It’s a business trip, sweetheart. Why would he care about that?” Had she listened to a word I’d said?

“I’m done with him.” My father, Isaac, and my other two brothers were bad enough. I didn’t need to share my life with someone who was more controlling, more overprotective than them. Finn had even convinced me to put school on the back burner for a year. “So please, stop talking about him. I’m never going back.”

There was a pause on the other side, and at least three times, I had to stop myself from apologizing or saying I’d give it a shot, just to take the sting out of my harsh words. Instead, I took a long breath and said, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for dinner.”

“Isn’t it a bit late for—” she began, but I cut her off.

“Italians eat really late, Ann.” And with that, I clicked off, severing the connection with a vicious tap.

My breaths came out in ragged gasps, a tidal wave of emotion threatening to break through the dam I’d been holding up for so long. My fists clenched at my sides, knuckles straining around my phone. I hated this. I hated all of this. The lies, the secrets, the pretending—it was all too much.

Fury pulsed through my veins, fueling a desperate need to let go.

So, I did.

The phone in my hand flew like a missile, shattering against the far wall, shards of glass and plastic ricocheting off the pristine walls.

The pigeon flew off with a grunt.

The room fell silent, the sound of the phone smashing into the wall ringing in my ears.

Holy shit. I’d destroyed my phone—the one Dad doled out for work. Guilt gnawed at me, making my stomach twist as I knelt to collect the fragments.

“What did that phone—”

I spun so fast, I nearly fell over. When had Jayce come in?

“—ever do to you?”

Of course, she’d be quiet. Jayce was a thief, after all. Noise was her enemy. How much had she seen?

“It slipped.” I focused on a fractured piece of glass that was once my phone’s screen.

“Slipped, huh?” Jayce said with a hint of amusement. “I saw the whole thing. Heard about your ex, too.”

I swallowed hard, feeling my cheeks burn. “I thought I was having a private conversation.”

“Nope, not so much.” Jayce shrugged, her indifference less of a surprise today than every other time she brushed things off. She paused, looking out the window. “The guys are setting up for the kidnapper exchange. Couple of hours from now.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

Jayce glanced back at me, her eyes searching mine. “You really going out for dinner?”

“I don’t have any plans.” I sank to the floor, staring at the shattered remnants of my phone. And maybe that was the problem. I had dreams, sure, but no concrete plans. My dreams of Rome had given me the strength to call things off with Finn. But if he’d been with me, I would have been touring the city instead of… all of this insanity with Reynolds Recoveries.

“Well then, we should go out for dinner.” Jayce crossed the room and returned with a wastebasket. She knelt in front of me and tossed a piece into the basket. “As soon as we clean up your slip.”

“But I’m supposed to stay put.” That was the only rule Scarlett had given me, and I wasn’t about to break it.

“That was last hour’s plan.” Jayce’s casual tone didn’t fit my reality. “Scarlett got in touch with Giovanni. They’re meeting him tomorrow, so there’s no risk of his goon coming after us tonight. And since the kidnapper hand-off is tonight, we’re clear from Edoardo and the kidnappers, too.”

---