Page 38 of Brazen Obsession

“We can’t live like this forever,” Natasha says. “It’s not fair to us and not fair to your loved ones. If we talk to Alexander, we may be able to negotiate some terms. A condition he’ll abide by. If my father’s taught me anything, it’s to stand by your word. If we can come to an agreement, Alexander will stand by it.”

“Do you think it will work?” I ask.

Natasha lifts her gaze to me. “It’s better than waiting until he tries to kill Tom and take me.”

“Alexander is a member of my club.” Drew leans forward. “I can offer a neutral place to meet for the negotiation.”

“We would need a room that’s not recorded.” Natasha lifts her eyebrow. “If he thinks we’re trying to trap him, he’ll act rashly. Someone could get hurt.”

“So do we tell the Feds what we’re doing?” Finn asks.

“Absolutely not.” Natasha looks at Finn who holds his hands up in surrender. “If you get the Feds involved, they’ll always double-cross you.”

“But you and Tom—‍” Drew starts.

“We knew the risks. Turning in my father wasn’t an easy decision.” Natasha rubs her hand over her flat stomach. “But it had to be done to protect us. This is to protect us too, but we need Alexander on our side. If he even smells something fishy, he’ll turn the tables on us.”

Sara slips her hand into mine under the table. I thread our fingers together. This is the biggest threat coming for us. The crosshairs are on Tom and Natasha, but that doesn’t mean Alexander won’t take a page from Peter’s book and come after Tom’s family.

“We need to get this done before Bitsy gets back.” I look around the table. “They used Sara because she was accessible. We can’t put Bitsy or Caitlyn at risk.”

Everyone at this table is in agreement about that part.

“I’ll reach out to him and let him know you want to meet.” Drew stands and gets his phone out. “Princess, you want to walk me to the door?”

Sara stands and follows him out.

“That guy?” Tom asks. “Really?”

Finn doesn’t say a word, but he and I rise and walk out of the meeting, leaving the door open.

“Respect your sister’s decisions, Tom.” Wyatt’s voice is strong. “All of them. You need to be on board with this when Bitsy and Roger come back. It’s already going to be a mess because you two eloped.”

I don’t hear what Tom says as I return to my office and get to work. No one is looking forward to telling Sara’s mother about any of this.

Chapter 13

Internal Control

Sara

It’s Wednesday and Drew’s people haven’t heard back from Alexander’s people, so we’re still in a holding pattern. I’m sorting the files Dante gave me at the beginning of my internship. Today, I’m working in Dante’s office while he’s at a meeting.

When I lift the folder, I see something stuck to the bottom of the file.

I peel it off and find it’s the Post-it I discovered under Tom’s desk. Should I go ask him about it?

Things have been fairly civil at the house and in the office, but mostly because we’re all keeping to ourselves. Tom and Natasha stay in their apartment except to use the refrigerator. The guys and I have kept busy arranging rooms.

Even though I love having my guys all in the same bed with me, we decided during the workweek it would be better for everyone to spread out. So we’ve been working on setting up the bedrooms on the third floor as their bedrooms.

I flick the Post-it with my finger. Fuck it. I want to know if it was a clue. When I leave Dante’s office, I pause in front of Tom’s door. It feels a little weird to knock. After all, this was where I used to work the most. I spent long days in here without human contact.

I glance down at the numbers and letters, lift my fist, and knock.

Natasha answers and smiles to see it’s me. “Hey, Sara.”

She opens the door farther. She’s got her laptop on a little table with a comfy chair while Tom sits at the desk. He lifts his head from whatever he’s working on. His eyes light up a little when he sees me.