"Information. I even updated it."
"You were the one who accessed the storage locker weren't you? I was so sure it was you."
"Actually, an associate of mine accessed it. But the intention was the same. To update that stick and to leave you a hint that I was still alive."
And he was, wasn't he? Crouched down in front of her, very much alive.
"You should have called me," she began. "You should have-"
"There were reasons I couldn't," he cut her off calmly. "Believe me there were a great many reasons, all of which I can't explain to you now, though I wish I could." Slowly, he rose to his full height once more. "But this isn't the time or the place."
Violet stared at him, her heart thudding. Okay, apart from her dead brother who was apparently not dead after all, there was something not quite right about this whole situation. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. "What's going on? Why am I here? In fact, how the hell did I get here in the first place?"
"Some employees of mine brought you here."
"But how did you find me? I mean-"
"Violet," Theo said quietly and with such absolute authority that she fell silent. "Listen to me. I don't have time for long explanations, but you have to know I've been trying to get you out from under Dad's thumb for a while now."
"What?" She couldn't quite process that one either. "Get me out? How?"
Her brother's gaze was impenetrable. "He wanted to use you, do you understand? You were his princess and he wanted to marry you off, firm up alliances to strengthen his empire."
Something froze inside her. "How do you know that?"
"I know a lot of things." He smiled again, faintly, though this time the smile was the one she remembered, full of warmth, making his eyes glow. "Don't be afraid. I know my methods to get you here were drastic, but I had to change my plans quickly after Dad was killed." The smile faded and she had the sudden impression that she was teetering on the edge of a chasm she hadn't realized was right beneath her feet. A chasm he'd led her right up to.
"Theo," she said, her voice echoing strangely in the room. "What's going on?"
He didn't answer immediately, reaching into his pocket and taking out his phone, looking down at the screen. His thumb moved, tapping out something. "I can't tell you everything, but now that I've got you, I'm going to make sure you're safe. You need to leave New York, get out of here for a while."
Shock coursed through her. "Leave? What are you talking about?"
Theo pressed another button then pocketed the phone and looked at her. "You can't stay. Dad's little empire is in chaos now that he's gone and there are a thousand people out there who wouldn't mind taking control of it. And because you're his daughter, some of them will try and use you as their ticket to power."
The shock was icy cold. "Me?"
"You're a useful bargaining chip, not to mention the fact that certain people will expect you to know things." He lifted one golden brow. "If you think the past few days were a one-off, think again."
Her brain struggled to process what he was saying, because how did he know what had happened to her the past couple of days. "I don't … Theo … "
He held her gaze, a strange sympathy in his eyes. "I know about Elijah, Vi. I know he held you captive."
She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.
"Did he hurt you?" The question was soft.
"N-No."
"Good. Well, you're safe now. I'm organizing a jet to take you out of the country, get you out of circulation for a while. No need to worry about passports and things, I've got that covered."
"Theo."
"I thought since you liked France, you'd prefer to take another holiday in Paris. I've arranged accommodations and-"
"Theo!"
For a second his eyes glittered, cold and hard, as if there was another man looking at her. A man who was not used to being interrupted and did not like it one bit. Then the cold thing was gone, and he was her brother again. "I know this is hard, Peanut. You'll just have to trust me."
Oh no, hell no. He couldn't just appear back from the dead, give her no explanations for anything at all, and then tell her she was leaving the country for an enforced vacation. No fucking way. She was sick of feeling like a goddamn chess piece, a pawn that other people pushed around on a board for their own ends, playing their own games. Games that she knew nothing about.
Violet pushed herself out of the chair, her heartbeat thudding. "No," she said. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until I get some answers."
He stared at her, a steady, assessing look that was somehow quite cold. As if he was trying to decide whether she was an enemy or not. "Answers to what?" There was only mild curiosity in his tone.
"Oh come on, seriously? Answers to everything. Like how do you know all this stuff? How did you know I was with Elijah? That we'd be in Battery Park? Do you even know what we were there for?"
"Yes," he said quietly. "You were there to meet Jericho."
Jesus Christ, she could really do without anymore shocks today. "And how the fuck do you know that?"
His mouth quirked and for an instant, he was again the brother she knew. Warm and funny, teasing. "Keep up, Vi. I thought you would have worked it out by now. I always told you not to take anything at face value."
And the realization poured through her, stealing her breath like a plunge into an arctic stream on a cold winter's day. There was only one reason he'd know what had happened in Battery Park. And who she and Elijah had gone there to meet. "No," she said. "You can't be him."
His expression softened, becoming impossibly gentle. "I can. "
"But … " She shook her head, unable to make sense of it. "Elijah shot him. He was … dying."
"That wasn't Jericho, Peanut." A sudden, terrible weariness flickered briefly in her brother's eyes. "I'm Jericho."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The SUV had barely come to a stop in the small alleyway before Elijah threw the door open and leaped out, his Colt already in his hand. Eva had told him that the tracking device was broadcasting from the building across the street and that Gabriel, Alex, and Zac were already there.
Fucking bastards. He knew he should be grateful to them and that without them there was no way he'd be able to find her. That it didn't matter who got her as long as she was safe. But he wasn't grateful. He wanted to be the one to find her.
Especially since you were the one who got her into this mess in the first place.
The thought lingered uncomfortably in his head as he tore across the street, not giving a shit about the horns that sounded as he dodged traffic.
He couldn't escape the fact that he'd been the one to use her, and though he'd vowed he'd keep her safe, he hadn't been able to make good on that promise. She'd been taken anyway.
Fuck, he was a dumb bastard. If anything had happened to her …
This is what happens when you care. You should never have let her get close.
Ruthlessly he shoved that thought to one side. He couldn't dwell on his feelings or otherwise now, he had to find her first.
Pushing open the doors of the redbrick apartment building, he stepped into the foyer. Only to find Woolf, Rutherford, and St. James coming out of an elevator, their faces hard and set.
"Where the fuck is she?" Elijah demanded, tightening his grip on his Colt.
There was a look of pure fury on Woolf's face. "She wasn't there."
"What do you mean ‘she wasn't there'?"
Rutherford held out his hand and sitting in the middle of his palm was a tiny wire, fine as silver thread. "The tracking device. They removed it and her phone, and left them for us to find as a decoy."
The ball of ice sitting in the pit of Elijah's stomach began to grow sharp spikes. "Then where the fuck is she?"
Woolf was staring murder at him. "Don't you know? You were the one who was intending to use her as bait for this Jericho cocksucker. Did you give her to him?"
Elijah met the other man's gaze, trying to keep his own anger and gradually deepening fear in check. There was a flame in Woolf's eyes, burning hot.
He wants the same as you. Violet safe.
It seemed too strange to acknowledge that he and this bastard shared a common goal because he wasn't used to sharing. Then again, hadn't he been doing the same with Violet the past couple of days? If he could let her help him, then maybe he and this prick could do the same.
"No, I didn't," he said coldly, resisting the urge to lift his gun and just start shooting. "In fact I wanted to protect her."
Woolf laughed, the look in his eyes feral. "Really? Wonderful fucking job you're doing of it so far."