Page 97 of High Stakes

He takes a long drink and doesn’t look at me right away. When he does, he changes the subject. “Will we have fallout with Matteo’s family for killing Lorenzo?”

“My gut says no. But it’s hard to say for sure. We’re still cleaning up the mess from his father’s murder last year. If I had to guess, Lorenzo was just doing someone’s dirty work. Yes, he seems to have been obsessed with Bellamy, but I think someone used that obsession to their advantage. He’s a low-level member of the Trentini organization, and he doesn’t like Danny.”

“You warn Matteo. If the Trentinis are behind this in any way, I will obliterate them. He’ll be safe because of what he’s done for you and Bellamy. But the rest of them will not be so lucky.”

I grimace. He’s really taking this vengeance thing seriously. Not that I blame him. I’ll be right there with him, but I worry he’ll act rashly before we have all the details if the pieces to this puzzle don’t start falling into place a little faster.

We talk for another twenty minutes, when Bellamy’s door opens, and she sticks her head out.

“What’s wrong, love?” I ask as I move in her direction.

She looks back and forth between us. “Nothing is wrong. It’s just that when I said I was going to take a nap, I thought you two might join me after what happened in the car.”

I look at Tobias who smirks. “Sounds like one orgasm wasn’t enough for our girl, Owen.”

“It never is,” I say, shaking my head.

Her mouth drops open, and she pulls her head back into the room and shuts the door again.

Tobias is laughing as he joins me in front of her door.

I knock softly and wait for her to answer. We’ve always had the agreement that I would never invade her private space without knocking or asking if she wants to be interrupted. No such courtesies exist when she’s in my space.

When she opens the door, I tuck a hand under her chin and fix her with a stern glare. “Do we do hints, or do we ask for what we want, Bellamy?”

She chews her lip nervously, then blows out a breath and squares her shoulders. “I would like it very much if you came and laid down with me.”

Tobias steps closer, and I make room for him as he puts an arm around her waist and pulls her closer. “And are we taking a nap, or is there something else you want?”

She bites her lip and looks up at him. “I mean, I’m sure we’ll take a nap eventually.”

He walks her backwards into the room, working on the buttons on her dress as he moves, and I follow them, shutting the door behind us.

We need to check in with Matteo and the others soon, but they can wait. Bellamy will always come first. Unless we tell her she can’t, that is.

Chapter thirty

Chapter 29

Bellamy

Hotwaterhitsmyback as I step under the spray to rinse off the sex and travel. Our sex-fueled nap lasted longer than intended, and Owen and Tobias had to rush out for a meeting with Matteo and the others when we woke up. But they told me to rest for as long as I wanted, and to text when I’m ready for dinner.

Dinner is the last thing on my mind right now. This situation is going to come to an explosive head now that Lorenzo is dead. My gut is screaming that things are about to change, and my heart will be in pieces. All I want is to ignore it and enjoy what I have for as long as I can. I want to spend every waking minute in bed with my two perfectly beautiful men.

But I have to face reality at some point.

Starting with a phone call to my parents.

I don’t want to call them, and Owen and Tobias are divided on whether or not I should. My intuition already knows they’re involved somehow. Perhaps not to the level of being the masterminds behind it, but they’re definitely involved. My mother is likely a silent participant, only going along with my father because that’s what she’s always done. Julian Harper is greedy at his core, and if there was a better deal to be had for marrying me, he would take it. But I doubt he orchestrated anything. He would simply agree with whatever ideas the highest bidder brought to the table.

It sickens me to even think about it, but I need to hear their voices and decide for myself how much I can trust them.

I rehearse what I’ll say to either of them as I wash and condition my hair, and I almost talk myself out of it as I dry off and dress in yoga pants and a tank top. I should wait for the guys to come back. But I hate seeing them disagree, so I need to take matters into my own hands and get it over with.

The stark memory of being kidnapped and held under water hits me again, and I pick up my phone and flip back and forth between Julian and Paula Harper’s numbers, trying to decide which one of them to call for answers.

Finally, I hit call on my mother’s name and wait. It’s late in Philadelphia and it’s the middle of the night or early morning in London, but my mother doesn’t sleep much, so she’s the most likely to be awake. I don’t even know if they’ve gone back home or if they stayed in London. How sad is that?

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