Page 159 of High Roller

“Are you sure we can’t have sex?” I say, my voice a little breathier than normal.

Victor chuckles. “Not a chance, Spitfire. It’s been a rough day, and I don’t always know how to be gentle with you or Grace.”

“I don’t mind a little rough.”

“Enough,” he says, sternly. “The answer is no.”

I fall quiet and he pulls me close to his chest.

Grace returns a few minutes later, and I excuse myself to brush my teeth and change into a t-shirt for sleeping.

When I come back, Grace and Victor are already beneath the covers, with Grace backed against Victor’s chest.

When I climb in bed, I face both of them and smile.

“Thank you both for letting me stay. I don’t think I’m ready to sleep alone after everything that happened today.”

When my head hits the pillow, the exhaustion of the day hits me, and tears slide down my cheeks. Grace leaves Victor’s arms and scoots closer to me.

“It’s OK, Lili. We’re here. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to survive this,” I whisper. “I just want to enjoy what I’m feeling for the two of you. Now I have to worry that Finn is going to have snipers out looking for me or anyone I care about, and you’ll all be in danger.”

Victor kisses Grace’s shoulder and climbs over both of us so that I’m the middle spoon now. The gesture makes me feel safe and cared for, and that makes me cry even harder.

How am I supposed to let these two beautiful people go? For a moment, after Victor first told me about Hunter’s plan, I believed I might be able to keep them. But Phineas has proved to be ruthless and more of a monster than I ever imagined.

“Grace is right, Spitfire. We won’t let anything happen to you. Just relax and try to get some rest.” Victor’s voice is soothing in my ear after several minutes of crying against his chest. Grace stays behind me and gently rubs my back.

“I know you mean that. My fear is that your protection won’t be enough against Phineas and Miranda.”

My mother-in-law is even more ruthless than her son. She just wears a dress and pretty lipstick when she stabs someone in the back, so people don’t catch on to her ruthlessness.

“I promise you, sweetheart, our resources, and strength are vast. And Hunter Novak is not someone you fuck with. Now that he’s involved, he’s going to make sure Miranda Brandt never does anything in this town again, and her son will go down with him. He’s ruthless on his best day. Trinity getting shot is going to make him cruel and unstoppable.”

He’s right about Novak. But seeing Trinity go down today and watching her blood spill onto the pavement gave me reason to doubt that I can be protected. Still, I nod against Victor’s chest and try to close my eyes. There is nothing to be done tonight. Tomorrow is another day, and I’ll wake in the bed of two people who care about me, instead of alone in a monster’s bed.

After it sounds like they’ve both fallen asleep, I whisper into the dark. “I love you. Both of you.”

Chapter 46

Victor

Thehouseisquiet.

Grace and Lili are finally asleep, tangled together like ivy vines, both clinging to each other and to the illusion of safety. I should be with them. Should be taking comfort in the miracle of getting Lili home alive. Instead, I’m in my office, bathed in low lamplight, staring at a bottle of scotch.

It’s not even my favorite. Too smoky. But it burns clean and punishes the throat, and right now, I need to feel something sharp. Something real.

Hearing Lili whisper that she loves me was too much. The feeling is mutual, but I can’t say it. Not yet. So I slipped out once they were both sleeping, and now I’m sitting here unsure of what to do next.

The leather of my chair creaks when I shift, the quiet sound loud in the stillness. My body aches, not from injury but from tension. From the brutal restraint it took to keep myself together all day. I press the heels of my hands against my eyes, exhale through my teeth.

The phone rings.

I don’t check the caller ID. The only people who would call at this hour are the other owners of the High Card.

But I’m met with a different familiar voice.

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