Page 39 of Tempt

So Theo and Higgins took the job and skipped off to Edinburgh, living large and having a damn good time. Except that the job turned out to be hacking into Seleron Technology so Dan and his crew could steal fifty million dollars worth of experimental tech.

Tech that Dan manipulated Theo into learning, developing, and altering. Some of it was sold off for cash, but the rest became the foundation of Dan’s new enterprise. He’d assembled a team to systematically rob the wealthiest families in Europe, one house at a time. A top-to-bottom cleansing from safety deposit boxes to cars, jewels, and bank accounts, thanks to the gadgets Theo altered.

In three years the gang walked away with close to a billion dollars. When you steal that much money you tend to catch the attention of, well, everyone. Theo escaped persecution by essentially becoming an informant. A role he was forced into by his father, who had made a deal on his son’s behalf. Higgins and Theo walked away almost scot-free, while Dan went away for life. Toni, Dan’s right hand, was released a year ago.

That’s when the security problems started.

“You were like an insider,” I said, watching as he stood up and started pacing. “Youwere one of those rich people you were stealing from.” I was stating the obvious, but I was also slowly piecing together all the information he’d just given me.

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly, his dark eyes broadcasting a thousand different emotions at once. “I knew a few of the people. I’d even been to some of their homes.” He shrugged and laughed, but it wasn’t with humor. “I knew enough about some of them to guess their passwords. It amazes me how people suck at shit like that. I mean, using your birthday or your mistress’s name? Come on… They actually do this shit. It wasn’t like I needed to spend hours writing complicated programs to crack some of these.”

On instinct I glanced at my purse on the ground and wondered if Theo knew my passwords. Was I just as transparent?

“Fuck,” he whispered. “I wouldn’t. Allison, I would never invade your privacy like that.”

The tone of his voice and the expression on his face told me it was the truth. No one could lie like that—he was looking at me so intently I could practically feel him inside me. “That’s good to know,” I said. Because in a lot of ways, I wasn’t sure what the hell I knew anymore.

“That’s why I’m telling you all of this. I’m not that guy.” The muscles in his neck and shoulders kept ticking with frustration, constantly reminding me how much I was attracted to his body and the intensity with which Theo reacted to certain things. “Yeah, a piece of that guy will always be part of me—I’m not going to deny that. But I’ve learned from my mistakes and they’ve made me who I am today.” He scrubbed his face in frustration. “I’ve gotten to know you, Allison. You are a brilliant, openhearted, honest person. You deserve to know who you’re with, and I know that you will treat that information with discretion. I wouldn’t have said a word if I doubted it for a second. I trust you.”

In a single night, the tables had turned.I’dbeen the one trusting him all this time. It turns out that trust was blinder than I’d realized. Did I trust him anymore? Had all this information ruined it? I didn’t know the answers. Not yet. I needed time to process it all.

The one thing Ididunderstand was the energy surging between us, even now. Emotions were rolling off of Theo, from his wild eyes to the frustrated pacing. Even though he was keeping a careful distance from me, he was drawing me closer with each confession. Sucking me into his life. Making me care more about him than I should.

Whether or not I trusted him, we were connected in a way very few people could be—on an intimate level that was completely natural and took no effort from either of us to achieve.

That had to count for something. At least I hoped it did.

“How far did this go?” I asked next. “Have you killed anyone?”

He looked relieved and tense all at the same time—like he was glad I was asking questions, but terrified of how I’d react. “They brought Higgins and me in as the brains, but that kind of life… you get pulled into it completely.” He shook his head, taking a moment before moving to kneel in front of me. “I didn’t just sit at a workbench with a computer and a bunch of tools for five years. Sometimes my hands got dirty. I learned to do what was necessary to stay alive—and that includes making people scared of me.”

His eyes snapped up to meet mine—answering without actually answering. Theo was definitely an intimidating presence, and I knew that probably came from experience. He was naturally tall, yes, but the strength, the commitment in his eyes—those were practiced and intentional—they were a conscious decision to always appear intimidating.

I took his hand and turned it over, examining the knuckles and palm. What things had he done with these hands? And did I really want to know those answers?

So I asked the one question Ineededthe answer to if we were ever going to have a future together. “Are you dangerous tome?”

“No,” he answered without hesitation. “I only did what Ihadto do. It wasn’t a lack of control or some fucked up thirst for violence. It was survival. Plain and simple.” He closed his hand around mine and squeezed. “I would never hurt you, Allison. I can promise that.”

The determination in his voice, the fire in his eyes… it was everything.Thiswas what I was falling in love with. I needed that intensity in my life. Thatpassion. I think I’d sensed it in him right from the beginning, but I was only just starting to understand how much it mattered to me.

If I’d known all of this in the first place I never would have pursued Theo and none of this would matter. But instead I went in blind and fell for him the old fashioned way—just lust, instinct, and emotion.

And I wouldn’t change any of it.

“If Toni is so damn set on punishing you, why doesn’t he just go public?” I roughed his beard with my free hand. “If everyone knew what you’d done, you’d be finished. Why the cat and mouse game?”

His eyes flashed with what I could only imagine was a deep sense of regret. “What we were doing wasn’t right, but these men were my family for several years. Thicker than blood. And in the end, I betrayed them.”

I’m not sure I would have truly understood the gravity of what Theo was saying if I didn’t have a similar bond with Elizabeth. We had no blood connection, but we were sisters, and the thought of betraying a trust like that was unthinkable. “So what’s the price? Can’t you buy him off or…” I stopped myself before I said what I was really thinking, because I realized how terribly cold and insane it sounded coming out of my mouth.

Couldn’t you have him killed?

Theo looked down as if he were carefully studying the way my hand fit inside his. “If I could have bought him off, I would have. Trust me I’ve tried. Compensation is not what he’s after.”

I was afraid he was going to say that. “Can you find him? Find him and… I don’t know.” I hated myself for even thinking this stuff. “Can’t youmakehim stop all this? Earn your forgiveness?” Martin was good at his job; I found it hard to believe he couldn’t nail down this bastard and force him to stop.

He squeezed my hand and stood up, pacing beside the coffee table. “This is what Toni does. There’s no one better—at least not that I know of. That’s why Dan recruited him. Toni is a master at disappearing. You only see him when he chooses to be seen.”

---