Page 124 of Heist

Chapter Thirty-Five

Patrick sat in Holly’s living room listening to her ramble about wedding plans. The big day was just a few weeks away. Thankfully, his trial was far enough away that he would get to attend no matter how it turned out. He’d flown to L.A. from New York because there was little else he could do there and also because he wanted to do a search of his own at his L.A. lab. The police still hadn’t served search warrants for any of his other properties, and he didn’t understand why.

“Are you listening to me?” his sister asked, breaking through the fog.

Patrick gave her a shrug. “Sorry, a lot on my mind.”

“I was asking why you stepped away from the board at Solitaire. You love that place, Patrick.”

“I’m about to fucking go to prison, Holly.” He winced as soon as the words were out. “Sorry. I’m just uptight. I can’t be there right now. It hurts too much.”

Holly gave him a sad smile. “I’m disappointed in you, Patrick.”

“What do you want me to do, Holls?”

“Be a responsible fucking adult. You made a promise to her. Just because the going gets tough doesn’t mean you get to break her heart and walk away.”

“Again, prison. I’m not going to keep her tied to a convicted felon.”

Holly threw her hands in the air. “You haven’t been convicted yet. Have a little faith in the system.”

Patrick scoffed. “You mean the same system that’s letting our father out of prison in just a few months despite his horrific crimes?”

“Well, you only have a few weeks to fix this because she’s in my wedding and so are you. You’re the closest in height to each other and you’re walking down the aisle together. I’m not going to have you two fucking up my wedding day because you’re nursing broken hearts and are too damn stubborn to talk things out.”

Patrick gave a mirthless laugh. He was sure he knew about Austin being in the wedding, but it had somehow slipped his mind. They had to see each other at some point, he just wasn’t sure he wanted their awkward reunion to be at his sister’s wedding.

‘I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do, sis.”

Holly came and sat next to him. “You can start by admitting that you fucked up this weekend. Do you know what an asshole move leaving like that was?”

Patrick closed his eyes. “I don’t need the third degree from you, Holls. It’s a fucked-up situation.”

“I promised her you weren’t going to break her heart. You didn’t see her face when she read that damn letter you wrote her. You’re a better man than that, Patrick. I get that you’re hurting. I get that you’re scared. I’m fucking terrified for you. But you crushed that girl. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen so much devastation on someone’s face before.”

Patrick’s heart twisted. “I messed up, didn’t I?”

Holly squeezed his hand and nodded. “I’m not going to lie and tell you that I know for a fact you can fix it, but I think you owe her the effort of trying, anyway.”

Patrick buried his face in his hands. “I just wanted her to have an exit strategy. I fucking love her. I’ve never been this crazy over a woman before.”

“You’re crazy, alright,” Holly teased.

“I tried to see her yesterday, but she was hiding from me. Not that I blame her. I’ll keep trying.”

“That’s the spirit. Do you want to crash here tonight? We have plenty of room.”

That was the understatement of the year. Elijah’s house was massive, and Holly was on a redecorating rampage since she’d moved in.

“I’ll stay,” he said, knowing it would make her happy.

They spent the evening talking and cooking dinner together. Elijah was holed up in his office working on a project but did poke his head out long enough to eat and peck Holly on the cheek before he disappeared again.

As they were deciding whether or not to put a movie on, his phone rang.

“This is Patrick,” he said, not recognizing the number.

“How well do you know Tim Reyes?”

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