“What did you take from that guy?”

He didn’t look at me, but he reached inside his pocket and held out a flash drive. He held the dash camera to me, too. “So, there’s no evidence of you with me.”

“You bribed him.”

“At first.” His eyes found mine.

I was wrong. This was the Kian who had killed Edmund. He was right next to me. All of that same cold intent was packed in his eyes. The shiver wound its way through my body again, but there was something else. The fear was gone. That shiver was a different kind. It was intoxicating.

“At first?” My voice was hoarse.

“If I only paid him, he would’ve sold something else—what you look like now, where you live, that you had him drive you behind my hotel to meet with me.” His jaw clenched, and he turned to look out the window. “I did what I had to do.”

He’d threatened the driver.

I waited a beat, but there was no fear, no judgment, no warning. Nothing.

He looked back to me. “Are you okay with that?”

I said the truth, “You protected me.”

He held my gaze. He was testing me, seeing if I meant what I’d said. I did. I would’ve been discovered and because of a cab driver. I’d made the mess, and Kian had cleaned it up for me.

I leaned back to him. “Thank you.”

He didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. The tension in the air lifted.

As his car drove us to his new place, for once in a really long time, I felt like I wasn’t alone. It almost felt just right.

She came to me.

That realization reverberated deep within me. I was too scared to say much. I didn’t want to scare her off.

That cab driver…I’d recognized the look in his eyes. It was opportunity.

What I’d told Jordan was correct. A bribe wouldn’t have worked. I’d asked for his name. I’d asked if he knew my name. I’d asked if he knew the name of the hotel, the name of my family’s company, the name of my father. I’d waited once he answered every single question. It hadn’t taken long until he began to connect the dots. I could get to him—through his work, through his boss, through his home. I could get to him. That was the bottom line, so no real threat had been issued. It was just the knowledge that there could be a threat.

It was enough.

He had given me the USB cable along with the reassurance that he wouldn’t say a thing. It was enough—at least until I could call my private investigator.

When we got to the other hotel, we drove to a back entrance. It had been discussed before Jo came to me. We would be taken through a back maintenance shed and through a tunnel that led underground and opened to a far loading garage. From there, an elevator to a penthouse was off to the side. The hotel manager was waiting for us, just to show us the way. There were two elevators for the floor, and this side one was the more private. No cameras were present once near the elevator, but I took a page from Snark’s book.

I gave Jo a sweatshirt to wear with the hood pulled low over her head. Dark sunglasses hid her face, covering most of her cheeks. The hotel manager glanced at her a few times, but didn’t say a word. I was there for privacy and exclusivity. If my presence were leaked, I would sue.

It was one massive floor with a large living room, a kitchen with a dining room that extended against one wall of the floor, a balcony wrapped around the entire floor, one office, three bedrooms, four bathrooms, and our own pool. The walls surrounding were made of glass but tinted so no one could see inside.

Jo’s hand grabbed mine at the sight of the pool. I glanced down, but she had been captivated by the water. She didn’t know she reached for me.

This meant something. It had to mean something.

I struggled against squeezing her hand. Fearful she’d realize what she had done and pull away, I let our hands dangle loosely. And I felt like a schoolboy with a crush. It was ridiculous. It was her effect on me.

When the tour was done and the manager got our orders for food and beverages, Jo wandered through the place. She kept looking up and down. She kept biting down on her lip, trying to hide her smile, but I caught it. I wasn’t surprised.

“I have no idea what to do now.” Jo had wandered back, still hugging herself.

The elevator buzzed.

“Those are my bags. One second.”

Emile brought the bags in, placing them right inside the door. He paused, his gaze sweeping to Jo. “Is there anything else you need, Kian?”

“No, thank you.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Take the night off.”

“Um…” Jo surged forward but stopped herself. Her hand covered her mouth. “Sorry.”

Emile frowned in her direction. He was wondering if he’d need to drive her home later or not.

I explained for both of them, “She can stay here, if she wants, or I can drive her home.”

His gaze snapped to mine. “Kian.”

“It’ll be fine.” I patted his shoulder again. “Go home. Go see your little granddaughter.”

My driver shook his head, giving me a rueful look. “I’m too young to have grandbabies, but—”

I finished for him, hitting the elevator button, “But you do, and I know you’ve been spending all your free time with them since we’ve been in town. It’s nice to have your family here.”

The doors slid open, and he stepped inside. “You sure I have the night off?”

A look passed between us. Emile was worried. He knew who Jo was, and he disapproved of her presence.

“Have fun tonight. I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine,” I said.

“Kian—” he started.

The doors slid shut before he could say any more. I lingered there. Emile’s concern meant more to me than I’d let him know.

“He knows who I am.”

I nodded, turning around. Jo was leaning against the doorframe. One of her arms was crossed over her chest, holding on to her other arm. It was like she was shielding herself from me, but she had come to me.

That said so much.

“Kian?” The corner of her lip dipped down.

“Yes, he knows who you are.”

“And he doesn’t approve that I’m here?”

My eyebrow rose. “Anyone in your camp approve of you being here?”

Her cheeks pinked, and she looked away. “Stark is my camp.”

I raised my eyebrows.

She laughed a small little laugh. “Point taken.” It wasn’t much, but its power spread through me, warming every coldness inside me. I felt myself thawing in places that I hadn’t realized were there. That was the effect she had on me while in my presence, while in my penthouse, where I would be living for the next few weeks.

“Kian?”

She bit into the other side of her cheek. I was almost mesmerized, taking in all her little details. Every tiny gesture said so much about her. I wanted to learn all of them. I wanted to understand everything about her—why she kept herself from speaking sometimes, why she was still shielding herself from me, why she’d reached for my hand and had no clue about it.

I forced out a deep breath of air. One thing at a time. “I trust Emile. He’s been my driver since I was little.”

She frowned. “You make it sound like he was the nanny who raised you.”

“He did, in a way.” Hearing the door, I moved past her for the front entrance. I murmured, “He’s the only one who would put up with me. My nannies all hated me.”

“Why?” She laughed, turning so that she could still see me as I went through the living room.

Pausing before I moved down the hallway that went to the front entrance, I flashed her a grin. “They were hired for my father’s bedroom, so I liked to call them does.”

“Does?”

“The plural form for doe. I thought I was so smart, adding Daddy and hoe together.”