Page 159 of Royal Bargain
“Then here’s your survival tip.” Lucky leans forward, tone dropping. “We can’t be tied to Burns when the fuse hits the powder. We have to get out.”
“And Rory?”
“He’ll follow if the house starts burning. But he’s not gonna walk out until he smells smoke.”
“And you?”
Lucky smirks. “I already brought the fire extinguisher.”
That gets a laugh out of me, tired and rough around the edges.
“You got a plan?” he asks.
“Not yet. Just… instincts. We pull back. Quietly. Cut ties where we can. Keep eyes on Miranda. And we don’t trust anyone. Not even our own damn allies.”
Lucky nods. “Alright. You pull me in when you move. I’ll do the same. We stay in sync.”
He taps the edge of his mug twice. A Brannagan signal if there ever was one.
“Liam,” he says after a beat. “You okay?”
I blink. The question catches me off guard. “Yeah. I mean—no. But I’m dealing with it.”
“You’ve got Ana now. And Lily. You’re not just fighting for the business anymore. You’re fighting for them.”
“I know.”
Lucky leans in, serious now. “So fight smart.”
By the timeI get back to the apartment, my head’s pounding. Too much coffee. Too many conversations that feel like mazes. Too many ways this could all fall apart.
The door creaks when I open it. Ana’s on the couch with Lily balanced on her knee, humming softly under her breath. Her phone’s sitting face-down on the coffee table, for once.
She glances up. “Hey.”
I try to smile. “Hey.”
I toe off my boots, walk over, and drop a kiss to the top of Lily’s head. Then I kiss Ana too—just a quick brush of lips, but she leans into it like she needs the contact as much as I do.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Getting there.” She lifts Lily and stands, pressing the baby into my arms. “You hold her. I talk.”
I chuckle, settling Lily against my chest. “Uh-oh. What’d I miss?”
Ana grins. There’s a light in her eyes I haven’t seen in a while—something steadier than adrenaline, brighter than survival. “I made a change today.”
My stomach flips. “What kind of change?”
“I have a new manager.”
That wasn’t what I expected. “Wait—what happened to Ingrid?”
“She’s still technically my label contact, but I’m not working directly with her anymore. She’s passing me off to one of her producers.” Ana walks to the kitchen and comes back with a water bottle, cracking it open. “His name’s Sebastian. He’s newer, younger, but he’s got a great ear. And more importantly? He listens.”
“And Ingrid just agreed to that?”
Ana gives me a coy look. “I may have implied that my father—the one who leads a multinational crime syndicate—was deeply unhappy to hear his daughter was being pressured to compromise her values for the sake of her career.”
