As he turned to leave, she said sharply, “Wait.”
Angling his head, he came to a halt and pivoted back to her. I choose to do this, the slowness of his movements said. You do not order me.
She did not appear to notice or care what his movements said. Her hands balled into fists as she searched his face. She said between her teeth, “I can’t stop you, can I?”
He shook his head without speaking.
Breathing heavily, she just looked at him. Then she said, “If you insist on doing this, I’m doing it with you.”
His reaction was immediate and forceful. “No. Absolutely not.”
“This is my problem and my life,” she said. Her expression settled into bleak determination. “You can’t take that away from me. If you try, I’ll contact Malphas and confront him without you. I’m tired of hiding. It’s time to be done with this.”
Furious denial burst through him like a fireball. If she confronted Malphas without having witnesses present or any leverage to hold against him, it would mean her death.
Conflicting impulses warred inside. He could stop her. He could mesmerize her into compliance. He could . . .
No, he couldn’t. He had sworn he would not compel her, or force her to do anything against her will. That still applied, even if she was determined on a pigheaded act of self-destruction.
He wanted to shake her. No, he didn’t, he wanted to clench her tight again.
He didn’t know what he wanted to do. Rubbing the back of his neck, he glared at her. She lifted her chin, and even in the midst of his anger, he was caught by the gesture.
Even though she was clearly afraid again, she would do it. She would confront Malphas on her own. He had no doubt. She had such defiance, such courage. Such sweet, beautiful fire.
His anger died. It was impossible to fault her now when she showed the very characteristics that drew him to her to begin with.
“If I agree, you will follow my lead and do as I say,” he said. “I mean it, Tess. This is not the time for you to be creative or ignore orders. As you so rightly point out, this is your life we’re talking about.”
Her lips folded tight.
He watched her struggle with conflicting impulses until he couldn’t stand it any longer. In a low voice, he urged, “Trust me. I’ve earned it.”
She blinked several times, her face taut.
Come on, Tess. He didn’t say it.
“Okay.” Her voice shook. She asked, “What are we going to do?”
Another new, unknown feeling roared through him, fierce and wild.
He considered her without really looking at her, as his mind raced through possibilities and discarded them. “Give me a few minutes,” he told her. “Go change out of your outfit, and put on street clothes. Pack an overnight bag, just in case. By then I’ll have a better feeling for what we should do.”
She nodded and started to walk away, but then she stopped and turned back to him. Her gaze was full.
He waited, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she gave him a smile that was so lovely, so filled with emotional complexity, he had to stare.
Then she left, and he was surrounded by the echoes of the stories they had told each other. Those stories were shaping their lives in ways he couldn’t predict.
As silence settled into the ballroom, he pulled out his phone and ran a Google search on Eathan Jackson. After scrolling over several articles on the younger Jackson’s death, he found the article on the Boston Herald website and clicked on it. When he had read through it, he went to find Raoul.
Raoul was in the gym, talking to Diego. When Xavier entered, both men fell silent and looked at him inquiringly.
He didn’t waste time on preliminaries. He said to Raoul, “In a few minutes, I’ll be leaving with Tess, and I can’t guarantee when we’ll be back.” He looked at Diego. “Would you please pull out the SUV and retrieve my overnight bag from upstairs?”
Diego’s eyes filled with questions, but he nodded. “Sure thing.”
After the younger man left, Raoul turned to face him, his expression grim. “Okay, what the hell is going on?”
Xavier regarded him with an expression just as grim. It had been many years since he had felt the need to keep a secret from Raoul, but this time, the knowledge of what Tess had done seemed too dangerous to share.
Perhaps it was unlikely Malphas would come here, but if he did, ignorance might be the only protection they had on the estate. If Malphas could sense that nobody knew of his activities or what Tess had done, he might very well leave everyone here alone.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Bullshit,” Raoul snapped. Real, rare anger clenched his body and face. “When was the last time you couldn’t tell me something? Xavier, what has she done?”