Page 86 of High Roller

I grab the bag and open it. “Where are we moving?”

“My house,” he says gruffly. “I’ll be back when it’s time.”

The door slams behind him and I shake my head. What the hell got into him? The clothes inside the bag aren’t quite what I would pick out if I were shopping, but I like them because Grace selected them. Part of me wants to ask how she made her choices. I wonder if I’ll get to see Grace, or if I’ll be alone at Victor’s house. Surely he still has to work. I can’t imagine him just holing up at home to babysit me.

Then again, that might be exactly what he has to do since he’s the one who made this mess. I suspect Matteo and the others don’t enjoy cleaning messes up for each other. They will if forced, but not when it’s a mess of someone else’s making. In this particular case, it’s a mess that could have been avoided by not kidnapping me.

I get dressed and sit on the sofa to wait for Victor to come back. When he does, Grace is with him, which surprises and delights me.

“The clothes fit,” she says with a smile. “I was worried.”

“You’ve got a good eye. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. The shirt reminded me of your eyes.”

“We have to move quickly.” He tosses me a jacket. “Wear this out until we are sure we aren’t being followed and put the hood up. You’ll resemble Bellamy who just came in wearing this jacket. You’re close enough in height, and the bulk of the jacket should hide the weight difference.”

I put the jacket on and pull the hood up. It’s a puffy jacket that conceals how slender I am, and the clothing not being quite my style now seems like a good thing if they are concerned about us being watched.

We make our way out to the parking lot where I climb into the backseat of an SUV I don’t recognize. Owen and Tobias are sitting in the front.

“You’re going with Owen and Tobias. Grace and I will travel together to my house. Bellamy is staying here for a little while.”

My head is spinning as Victor rattles off details. Is all of this really necessary? I don’t see how Finn could know where I am. But if he really is trying to take down Victor and his friends, he could just be watching the place to be safe. He can be a paranoid man when it comes to his enemies.

According to the clock on the dashboard display, it takes us twenty minutes to get from the club to our destination.

“Is this Victor’s?” I ask as I stare at the massive home.

Owen laughs. “Victor’s taste is not this good. This is our home. You’ll stay here for a little while this evening, and then we’ll get you to Victor’s either by me taking you or him picking you up after I’ve made sure none of us were followed.”

I frown. “How do you intend to make sure of that?”

He holds up a tablet as he opens his door. “I can do just about anything on this, including peeking in on traffic and surveillance cams across the city. The routes that Victor and I took have enough cameras along them that I can easily tell whether anyone followed us or not.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Does the city realize you have that access?”

He stares at me, and I can tell he’s trying to decide if I’m going to be a problem for him, given my connection to city government.

“Enough of the right people are aware so that it won’t be a problem,” he finally says as we all walk into the house.

“Your home is incredible,” I say as he leads me from the entry to the living room.

“It’s a little froufrou for my taste,” Tobias quips from the kitchen, “But the people I love are here, so I deal with it.”

“I let you redesign the playroom,” Owen grumbles.

Then he turns to me. “Lili, can I offer you a drink?”

“Just a glass of water, please.”

He fills a glass from the dispenser on the fridge and passes it to me. Tobias excuses himself to work in his office for a little while but tells Owen to alert him when Victor arrives.

“I’m surprised you’re not holding a gun on me to make sure I don’t try to escape.”

Owen shrugs. “You’re Victor’s problem. Not to mention, you wouldn’t get past the front door without a code.”

“I have no desire to escape right now, anyway. I suspect my husband wants me dead if he realizes I possess concrete proof of his affairs. And since the lot of you seem to want him dead, I figure my odds of survival are better here.”

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