Page 161 of High Roller

I leave it untouched.

My phone buzzes. An email from Owen.

Subject: Urgent Update on the Grace Situation.

I open it.

**I know there’s a lot going on right now, mate, but thought you’d want to know—Sampson Lindon killed himself six months ago. I’m looking into it, but Grace’s name was apparently in the suicide note. His wife Kara did not take that well.**

**Call you tomorrow. I’m at the hospital heading up Novak’s security for his wife. At least I still have a job.**

I reread it twice.

Sampson Lindon. Grace’s ex. One of the two from that long-ago throuple she rarely talks about.

Six months. Just enough time for grief to curdle into obsession. For Kara—the one who always made my skin crawl back in college—to unravel.

My blood runs cold.

I set the phone on the desk and sit. Pick up the scotch. Swirl it. Watch the liquid cling to the glass like blood on skin.

Because if Sampson’s gone... and Grace’s name was in that note...

We need to find out where Kara Lindon is.

Now.

Neither of my girls are safe. With that thought, I pray to every Catholic saint I’ve ever heard my mother invoke that I have what it takes to protect them.

I push away from the desk and step out into the hall. I glance at the stairs but head for the bedroom first, each step muffled against the rug. When I open the bedroom door, the soft scent of their bodies post shower hits me.

The room is dim, lit only by the moon spilling across the bed. Grace’s arm is draped over Lili’s waist. They’re wrapped around each other like they’ve always belonged that way.

I move to Grace first. Brush a kiss against her temple. It’s familiar. Comforting. Her softness feels like home. She murmurs something I can’t quite hear, her face shifting toward me before she stills again.

Then Lili. I stroke her hair back from her forehead, press my lips to her skin and breathe her in. She’s chaos and burning passion. A different kind of comfort. Together, they are everything I’ve ever needed.

I step back, lingering a moment in the doorway.

Then I close the door. Lock the image in my mind like a prayer, and stalk down the stairs and out to my car and slide into the driver’s seat. The leather is cold beneath my palms as I grip the steering wheel.

As I start the engine, I dial a number I hate calling.

“Victor? It’s nearly two in the morning. What’s wrong?”

“Hola, Papa. I need your help.”

Iknow,Iknow.It's rude of me to end on a cliffhanger like this. Will Trinity Novak survive a dangerous surgery? Can Victor keep his family in tact? You'll find out very soon! High Reward, the conclusion to Victor, Grace, and Lili's story will be out on June 13th! I split it for the sake of my paperback lovers. If I'd kept it as one book it would be so thick that my only option would be a different trim size for the paperback and I'm not about to cause a riot.

But I'm bringing you the second half as quickly as I can!

---