Page 49 of Forbidden Bond

“Good. Now, Ms. Malone.” Christian turns to me. There’s nothing in his expression that gives away what he’s thinking. “You’ve been coming up on my radar quite a bit these past few weeks.”

Christian leans against his desk and crosses his arms. “What’s your relationship with my brother?”

“We don’t have a relationship,” I reply.

“Really?” He arches an eyebrow. “Because until a week ago, you were working for him, and you were photographed on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date. We were just hanging out.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have a relationship,” Christian smirks.

“We don’t. Anymore,” I add quietly.

“Listen, Katherine, you seem like a nice girl. Smart, too. Topher’s not great at making good decisions for himself, but I want to believe you’re capable of that. I’m not going to interfere in whatever’s going on between you two. And I’m not going to tell you to stay away from him, either. Just don’t do anything that’ll be detrimental to him. He’s starting to find his place in the world. Don’t jeopardize that. I’m asking for a favor here.”

He sounds earnest, concerned. I can see just how much he cares for his brother. It actually causes a pang in my heart. The look in his eyes reminds me of the way Tessa looks at me.

“I won’t do anything to hurt Topher.”

I don’t mention that I already have. Christian’s about to say something else when there’s a knock at the door. He calls for whoever it is to enter, and Carlo D’Angelo steps inside. I almost laugh—if my dad knew where I was right now, he’d lose his shit.

Carlo’s eyes meet mine momentarily before he looks at his brother. He fires his next words in rapid Italian.

“What are you doing, Chris? Topher will lose his shit if he knows she’s here.”

“I was just making sure she understood some things,” Christian drawls.

I understand every word they’re saying, but I keep quiet. Carlo turns to Jameson and me.

“The two of you can go,” he says in English.

“Don’t forget what I said, Ms. Malone,” Christian tells me.

We walk out of the office, but not before I hear Christian ask Carlo a question.

“They still haven’t found her?”

I don’t get to hear the reply before the door is slammed shut. We’re ushered out of the casino and it isn’t until I’m outside that I take an easy breath. I study Jameson’s face. The bleeding’s stopped but he still looks horrible.

He manages a smile. “Damn, Katie, I thought for sure we were toast.”

I suck in a sharp breath. “Don’t make jokes right now! You’re the only reason we were even in that situation to begin with. What is wrong with you?”

“You can yell at me when we get home,” he mutters.

I can tell he feels bad about what happened, but it’s useless when he’s continuously getting himself into situations like this. He could get seriously hurt. And a part of me believes that’s what he’s after. We’re about to head over to the parking lot when a black Audi pulls up in front of us. My sister steps out of it and rushes over.

“Oh, god! I was so worried,” she says, pulling me into a hug. She stares at Jamie for a second. “What the hell happened?”

Tessa insists on driving us, so we pile into our car. The ride is silent. She’s obviously pissed, Jameson can’t look her in the eye, and I’m still shaken from my conversation with the D’Angelos. We arrive at Jameson’s apartment building, and I’m about to step out when Tessa stops me.

“Katherine, stay in the car. Jameson, out,” she orders.

I stay put as she and Jameson exit. She moves to help him walk but he pushes her away gently. I watch as Jameson leans down to say something to her and she rolls her eyes. Her lips twitch like she’s going to smile, but she doesn’t. She places a hand on his arm and leads him inside.

I spend the next twenty minutes alternating between wondering who Topher’s brothers are looking for to hoping my dad doesn’t hear about tonight. News travels fast in this city. Christian’s words keep eating at me. He said he wasn’t telling me to stay away from Topher, but he might as well have.

It doesn’t matter, though. I still remember the look on Topher’s face as I walked out of his room. He wasn’t angry, he was hurt. Despite how much he tried to hide it. I hate that I hurt him. And a part of me doesn’t truly believe what he said.

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