Page 96 of Wrapped in Silver

“The wine’s getting to me a bit.” She smiles to the point her eyes crinkle. “You’re looking finer by the glass, Silver.” She lifts the cloth off her lap and tosses it to the side.

“Keep talking like that, and the waiter might have a problem on his hands,” I growl, half considering tossing the table over and ripping her clothes off right here and now.

Yanking a few hundreds from my pocket, I slap it on the table and put the salt shaker over it. “We’re leaving.”

“Something I said?”

“You could say that.”

I grab her hand and notice her slight moan between giggles. We can’t get enough of one another. It’s such a strange sensation to be so entranced.

These are our last moments together.

I look into her eyes after opening the door to my car, and she knows deep down reality is hitting soon. Her expression changes from giddy to serious, eyes scanning mine back and forth.

“Don’t leave me, Silver. You’re the best thing I ever had.”

“I have an oath to keep, and a love to spare.” I kiss her on the cheek. “Now let’s go enjoy ourselves while the wine’s kicking.”

She turns away from me, leaving me holding the car door open.

If only her dad wasn’t in the equation, this could work. She could remain a missing person…

What am I saying? She has a mother on the other side of the country, a sister, friends here at work.

There’s no way out.Thisis the only way.

Quinn’s heelsclackback onto the sidewalk, the light from a nearby deli casting a glow on her gorgeous legs. A soft yelpmakes me realize she’s crying, so I shut the door and rush over to console her.

“You’re not going to do it, right?” She spins on me, eyes bloodshot. “My dad won’t link you to it.”

“They’ll torture him until he does. And you,” I assure. “There needs to be resolution, or you’re both in for hell on earth.”

She sobs into her hands, which twists my heart. I’m repeating my mistakes all those years ago. Not cherishing what’s right in front of me. Quinn... She’s right here… and I’m about to resign my post.

It’s for the better, Aros.

The situation is impossible, and this solution is the only one.

Holding her quivering body in my arms makes me never want to let go. I wish there was something that could be different.

“Maybe I can delay it a little,” I offer. Anything to salvage this otherwise beautiful night.

She sniffs and wipes her nose. “Don’t mess with me, Silver.” She peers up at me. “I can be loud and crazy and wake this entire block up if you’re messing with me.”

I give her a soft kiss. “There won’t be any need to make an entire neighborhood suffer.”

Her cry breaks into a laugh. She hugs me hard… and it’s the best lie I’ve ever told.

Chapter 28

Quinn

I wake up gasping in the middle of the night, stuck in a familiar pool of sweat. My night shirt sticks to my back and my arms, but that’s not the problem. Slapping the other side of my bed… it’s empty. Silver was snoring next to me an hour ago. It was the most pleasant and comforting sound in the entire world.

We were both buzzed on wine.

He was sleeping like a baby.

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