Page 49 of Dark Wolf Soul
Grey’s voice snaps me back to the present. I turn from the window and face him, nodding even though I’m pretty sure I might vomit at any moment. He frowns, studying me in a way that lets me know I don’t have him fooled.
“Breathe,” he says quietly.
“I am,” I snap, mostly because, if he’s nice to me now, I’ll lose it. Especially since he hasn’t spoken a word to me since our strangely friendly conversation last night where he bought me an entire wardrobe and then stalked out like I’d somehow offended him by repaying him with conversation.
His hot-then-cold attitudes are giving me whiplash.
At my snapping reply, he says curtly, “Let’s go.”
I follow him out of the empty office and into the lobby where a bank of elevators awaits us. The floor we’re on is emptied of employees, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s some holiday I don’t know about that’s kept everyone away or if Grey orchestrated it so his men would have a clear vantage point. Men I recognize from the warehouse the other night though none of us mention it.
“This building is neutral territory,” Grey says even though he already gave me this exact spiel on the drive over today. “We use it for meeting with lawyers and contract negotiations. When you get there, tell them my father brought you in here to discuss your prenup and you managed to slip away.”
“How do you know Franco will be there?” I ask.
“Unless he’s sleeping or fucking, he’s there.” He snorts. “Actually, even then, he probably—”
“I got it.” I wave a hand so he won’t say more about my grandfather having sex. Ugh. “And where will you be?”
“Close,” he says, his eyes gleaming with an intensity that makes me nervous about my plan. “They aren’t just going to let you walk out when you’re finished. They’ll say it’s for your own protection, but you’re walking into a death trap.”
“You don’t know that,” I say, but he cuts me off.
“Yeah, I do. You think my father locking you in a tower sucked?” He grunts. “Franco’s going to put you in a basement and never let you—”
“Okay, you’ve made your point. You think this is a terrible idea. But since I’m doing it anyway, where will you be?”
His eyes glitter with the promise of his words. “You won’t see me, princess, but I’ll be close enough to see you. Remember what we talked about. You get yourself to the front door. I’ll do the rest, okay?”
“Okay.”
The vagueness of his plan would have bothered me if I’d been at all intending on seeing it through. I do my best to keep my true intentions off my face while he hits the elevator call button.
The silence between us feels heavy. Or maybe that’s my conscience.
No, I remind myself.
This man kidnapped me and used me as leverage in his turf war. I have nothing to feel bad about in trying to escape him. So why does it bother me so much that I intend to betray him? And why do I hate that this is goodbye forever?
The elevator dings brightly as it arrives, and the doors slide open. I step inside, turning to face Grey while I wait for the doors to close again. His hands are shoved into his pockets, the look in his eyes a bit wild as he stares back at me.
“Watch your back in there, princess.”
“I will.”
I wonder if he and I could have been friends if our circumstances were different.Doesn’t matter, I tell myself as the doors slide closed. The circumstances we’re in make us enemies. It’s as simple as that.
I set my shoulders as the elevator carries me off to a future that doesn’t include Grey Diavolo.
Out on the street, the traffic and noise threaten to overwhelm me. I’ve never been in a city this big. In another situation, it could have been fun to take it all in—the chaos and the fast pace of everything and everyone around me—but today, it’s too much. My heart pounds as I move to the crosswalk and wait with the other pedestrians to cross the street. I don’t look up at the office windows behind me, but I don’t have to; I can feel Grey watching me anyway.
He's right. I won’t see him, but I know he sees me.
For now.
The walk light turns green, and I move forward with the people around me. On the far side of the street, they turn left and right, the small crowd dispersing as they make their way quickly toward their destination.
I continue straight ahead until I come to stand beneath the red-checkered awning. Before I can second-guess myself, I reach for the door and push my way inside.
