Page 71 of Broken Mercy
I open my jaw with a groan. Terror rings through me. “That was so close… she was right there…” I gape in horror at the high heels she kicked over toward the vanity.
If she had walked in to use the toilet… if she had cleaned her hands, done anything in here…
“Tallie, baby, we have to go. It’s okay, she didn’t see us. We’re okay.”
“Fuck.” I bury my face in his chest and swallow a sob. I’m trembling from adrenaline. “That was so fucking bad.”
“But you’re wrong.” He pulls me away and kisses me hard. His mouth tastes like mint and honey. I groan into him, but desperately cling on. He’s all that’s safe right now. The only person in the world who cares about me.
He pulls back and touches my chin. He tips it down, directing my gaze toward his palm…
And a small, gold key he’s holding.
“Holy shit.” I step back, one hand flying to my throat, the other pointing. “Is that it?”
“It’s a safe deposit box key, that’s for sure.” He makes it disappear into some hidden pocket.
“But what if it’s not the right one?”
“We’ll find out.”
“Brenden—“
“Tallie, baby, we’ll find out.” He takes my hand in his and tugs me to him. “But now we have to go. Can you be quiet again?”
I force a breath in through my nose and slowly out through my mouth before nodding once. “I can do it.”
“Good girl. Let’s get moving.”
Back across the room, through the closet, and into the passage. Roman’s making cute snoring noises as we shuffle past his room. This time the cobwebs don’t seem so scary, not with Brenden leading the way.
We found it. We got the key. We almost got caught, but we didn’t.
Now my future spreads out in front of me, so wide and large I can barely comprehend it all.
Back to the party like we never left to begin with. Nobody comments when we emerge through the foliage. The kids are still running around wildly, though it’s clear some of the families have thinned out. Brenden shoves a drink in my hand and makes me tip half of it down. He does the same.
“If anyone asks, we snuck off to fuck on that cute baby grand piano.” He whispers in my ear and I feel his smile tickling my neck.
“At a charity for kids?”
“We locked the door. We’re not animals.”
“Don’t be gross.”
I turn my neck and kiss him.
A man’s voice cuts through the noise. “Brenden.” I spot Arsen coming around a high top toward us. His expression is flat, like always. He’s so damn hard to read, but my pulse rockets instantly.
What if he knows? What if he knows!
But Brenden squeezes my hand and gives Arsen a charming smile. “Hell of a party, boss.”
Arsen grunts at the comment. “It was successful at least.”
“What did we raise?”
“Enough.” Arsen glances at me. “Cousin.”
