Page 86 of Burn With Me

Paris’ brows are drawn down low and there’s a slight v forming between his eyes, the look of concern. Whereas Shep has his arms crossed as he glares at me. One is worried, and the other is pissed. Makes sense—that’s how it’s always been. Paris rarely gets angry. He just pushes everything down and moves on to the next addiction of self-harm—tattoos, piercings, drugs, alcohol. Shep is always pissed. Only now, he’s lost the will to control it on the outside.

“Enough is enough.” Shep is the first one to speak. He drops his arms and steps closer to me, walking across the room until he’s standing only a few feet in front of me. “I think it’s time you come clean and tell us what’s going on?”

“Are you in love with that girl?” Paris asks.

I raise my head and meet his gaze. Am I in love with Aurora Summers? “I … don’t know.” It might not be the answer they’re looking for, but it’s an honest one. I don’t know what love even means.

Paris tilts his head to the side. “Then is it obsession?”

“I … maybe?” I curse silently and grit my teeth. “I don’t like her being away from me,” I admit, “but with my father—it’s complicated.” More than complicated, it’s downright wrong. Even if our parents’ marriage is only temporary, we’re still technically step-siblings. That knowledge, however, doesn’t seem to have any bearing on my own volatile emotions. Regardless of knowing how we’re connected, I want her. More than anything sometimes. More than my next breath, more than I want my father to die.

That last thought hits me like a freight train. My jaw drops and my hands clench into fists at my sides. Do I want to protect Aurora more than I want to see my father pay for his sins? The answer should be simple. It should be a flat-out no. I’ve spent years hating him, months working against him with the FBI to try and get them solid evidence. I’ve put my life on the line without a second thought, but putting hers on the line? It’s out of the question.

“This is fucking ridiculous,” Shep snarls. “I told you she was going to distract you and get you hurt, and here you are—following her around like some sick, sad puppy.” He shakes his head. “Does Damien know already? She’s not going to stick around, Isaac. You know this. Even if, by some miracle, all he does is divorce her mother rather than kill her, she’ll be gone. Shit like this—relationships built on lies and backstabbing … they don’t last.”

“I don’t want to lie to her.”

Silence meets that statement. When I look up, it’s to find Shep slack-jawed as he gapes at me. “You can’t tell her the truth,” he says.

I bite my tongue.Can’t I?It’s a risk, for sure, but if she knows then maybe she’ll finally start to listen to me. Maybe she’ll stay away.

“Isaac!” Shep steps forward and grabs ahold of my shoulders, shaking me slightly. “You cannot tell her who your father is or what he does. If Damien ever finds out, then you’ve essentially signed her death warrant. He doesn’t leave loose ends. You know this.”

“She already knows some of it,” I tell him. “She knows he’s dangerous.”

“But does she know what he’s involved in? Does she knowwhyhe married her mother?”

I shake my head and he blows out a breath—a relieved breath. “Listen,” he says. “We’re here for you.” He gestures back with one hand at Paris. “Both of us. We’ll do whatever you need us to do. We’ll follow you and swallow the backlash without question, but her … she’s just a girl, Isaac. She doesn’t belong to this world. You know it. I know it. I know you like her. I know you want her but ignore your obsession. If you want her to survive Damien Icari—Let. Her. Go.”

Let her go?My stomach riots. My chest caves inward. My mind fogs over.Let her go?A million thoughts race through my head. My skin prickles as if a million tiny insects are crawling all over me.No. Never.My whole body rebels at the idea.

Paris strides across the room, the soft, quiet whisper of his footsteps drawing both Shep’s and my attention. Paris doesn’t usually insert himself between us, but when he does, it’s because he’s got something to say. Shep’s other hand falls away from my shoulder and he takes a step back as Paris stops at our sides.

“You want to keep her?” he guesses.

I nod.

“Is she trustworthy?”

I shoot a look to Shep, who presses his lips together. Damn it. I don’t know. An angry Aurora is unpredictable. The way she’d seduced me at the Gods and Goddesses party is proof. Her meager, albeit amusing, attempts to fight back when I’d been trying my damnedest to get her to leave the school were biting and ingenious. Where others might have backed off and shrunken into themselves, she stepped up and fought back. I lit a fire under her and all she’d done was make it burn hotter.

The lack of an answer has Paris sighing as he anchors his hands on his hips and looks down, a barrage of emotions flittering across his face. “If you can’t trust her, then you just need to take care of the issue at hand. Up your timeline so to speak.”

“The Feds—”

Paris holds up a hand, effectively stopping me as he levels me with a look. “The Feds are part of the problem. They are as much of a danger to you and her as Damien is.”

“I agree,” Shep says with a nod.

“It’s too late to back out of the deal I’ve made with them now,” I tell them.

Paris sighs. “Yes, so there’s really only one option you have.”

“The party,” I agree as he meets my gaze. Paris stares back at me, unblinking. “I need clear red-handed evidence, and I have no doubt that my father is using this reception as a way to conduct business he otherwise wouldn’t be able to.”

“Using Emilia Summers’ business connections?” Shep clarifies.

“Yes.”

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