Page 118 of The Love Bandits

I expect one of Roark’s goons to come out with him, but he appears to be alone, unless Ryan’s tucked away in the backseat. Please let Ryan be in the backseat.

I pick up the necklace case and get out of the car.

“You got it?” Roark says, his countenance brightening. “I knew you could do it.” He looks happy to see me, and some fucked up part of me still wants his approval—same as when he first trained us up. It pisses me off.

“Where’s my brother?”

Something I don’t like passes over his face. “Let me see the necklace.”

“Not until I see Ryan.”

“He’s at the house,” Roark says, but anger flickers across his face before he shuts it down. “Couldn’t be bothered to get up.”

Ryan’s a lot of things, but he’s not lazy. He’d be itching to leave Roark’s place. It would be driving him nearly crazy by now—over a month in. He’d be here if he could be.

“Where’s your muscle?” I ask.

His jaw flexes again, and I know. I just fucking know.

Ryan’s gone.

Somehow he convinced Roark’s goons to turn on him, because otherwisethey’d be here, and they got him out.

A smile threatens to spread across my face, stopped only by the question of why Ryan hasn’t reached out to me if he escaped.

The back door of the car opens, and Mrs. Rosings pops her head out. “Where’s the boy?” she asks, delivered as coolly as a queen, and Roark suddenly looks like he’s going to be pushed over the edge into cardiac arrest.

“Dahlia,” he gasps. His gaze darts to me. “You got caught.”

He sounds disappointed in me, and I’m relieved by the anger that pumps through my veins.

I grab his collar and shake him. “Does my brother still have both of his hands?”

“He won’t if I get ahold of him again,” he says tightly, every line in his face rigid as he removes my hand. “He won’t have either of them.”

Mrs. Rosings clucks her tongue and steps out of the car. “You taught the boys to steal. Who do you have to blame but yourself if they turned against you?”

“You shouldn’t be here,” Roark says, his voice hoarse. He’s staring at her as if she’s an apparition, a ghost, agoddess. I’ve never seen him look at anyone that way. Maybe the reason he sees her that way is because she’s a person who’s bested him. Surprised him. Beaten him.

I know a thing or two about that. It’s hard not to fall all over yourself to impress a woman whose skills are superior to yours.But I have a feeling Mrs. Rosings is even less tolerant of bullshit than Lainey.

“No, I shouldn’t be here,” Mrs. Rosings says, “but you tried to steal my necklace. An interesting way of reaching out, but I confess I’m not interested in renewing our acquaintance. You willnotbe taking the Heart of the Mountain. Besides. We’d agreed to exchange the necklace for the boy, and it’s clear you don’t have the boy.”

His gaze stuck on her, he says, “I can see you haven’t changed.”

“Neither have you.” The expression on her face leaves little doubt that she considers that to be very bad news for him.

“Where’s Ryan?” I ask again, needing the confirmation that he took off on his own and didn’t get hurt.

Roark turns toward me, his expression bleak. “I treated you like sons.”

The little boy I was would want to regain his approval, but he stopped feeling like a father the moment he sent my brother to do what my conscience had ordered me not to. “You threatened to cut my brother’s hand off to force me to steal a multimillion dollar necklace,” I say flatly. “You refused to let me quit when I told you I couldn’t do it anymore. You wouldn’t win father of the year unless your only competition was my actual father.”

He watches me for a long moment, his eyes tired. His face looks like a deflated balloon, the extra material having nowhere to go. “He convinced the guards to help him. They cleaned out the museum. Your watch too, Jake. I’m guessing Ryan’s not planning to give any of it back. He’s not the sentimental type. He’s trying to take over for me.”

My heart feels like it’s going to choke me.

He’s not wrong about Ryan. A mark is a mark to him, and he’s never let any of them slip under his walls and matter. ButImatter to him, and he did this for me. So yes, I think he will return the watch.

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