Ari sighed.
No more stalling. It’s time to confess.
She took a deep breath, and started talking. Slow at first, and then all at once, the words rushing out from a deep, dark place inside she’d never before opened. The longer she spoke, the more secrets she revealed, each one more painful than the last.
She told him about her childhood, growing up with the crew. How they’d taught her the con game, and how her first big score as a teenager had made everyone proud—had made her a bona fide member of the crew.
Ever since that moment ten years ago, Ari’s “career” had been no more than a series of cons and heists, lies and manipulations, all of them virtually interchangeable. The only thing that had made it bearable was her passion for the art itself, the bright and colorful place she traveled to in her mind when all of life’s other doorways had been shut.
“Everything I’ve told you about my love of art is true,” Ari said. “It’s the one thing about my work I don’t regret.”
Jared laughed bitterly, his body still turned away. “Is that supposed to justify it, then? You love the artwork, so it’s perfectly acceptable to steal it?”
“Of course not. I just meant—”
“Because I love the art, too, Arianne. It’s why I pay millions of dollars in hard-earned money to acquire it legally. It’s why I regularly donate it to museums to share with others. It’s why people all over the world buy and make and trade art—because we love it, because it tells a story, because it makes us feel less alone. Not because we want people like you to steal it from us, and then sit here and talk about it like it’s a bloody object of reverence.”
Ari tucked her legs up under her body, turning so that she could face Jared fully. He was completely closed up—his eyes on the fireplace in front of them, ankle crossed over his knee, arm and shoulder forming a blockade to keep her away. Every one of his cues told her he was completely repulsed, but Ari wasn’t giving up.
“I’ve kept things from you,” she said. “A lot of things—really important stuff. But what I shared with you, that was real. You’re the first man I’ve ever… no one else knows those things about me. Before you, no one else had even asked.”
The admission left her naked, but Jared seemed unaffected.
“Is this the part where you tell me that I’m different?” he asked, making air quotes around the word. “That what we had was special?”
His mockery burned to the core, but if he noticed how badly he’d stung her, he didn’t show it.
“It was special,” she said. “Say whatever you want—I deserve it. But my mistakes don’t change what we shared. It was real—you can’t go back and undo it.”
“You undid it for me.”
“But I—”
“I know. You didn’t have a choice. Right?”
“I grew up thinking this was normal. And by the time I figured out that it wasn’t, it was too late.”
“Newsflash, love. It’s still a choice. One you make again every time you wake up and decide to stay in the business another day.”
Ari’s shook her head. There was still so much he didn’t know, didn’t understand. “It’s not that simple.”
Jared finally looked at her, his honey-brown eyes blazing with so much anger, it made her heart skitter. “Ending world hunger isn’t simple. Painting a masterpiece isn’t simple. But deciding whether or not to steal? That’s as simple as it comes, love.”
There were a dozen things Ari wanted to say—I never went to college, never worked a regular job; stealing is horribly wrong, but is the only thing I’m good at; not everyone can be a billionaire CEO—but they were merely excuses, and Ari knew it. No amount of arguing could make her position noble.
“The crew boss owns me,” she said. Jared could take it or leave it, but at least she’d give him that one clear, simple truth. “Not only is he my sole source of money, but he’s also made it very clear that this is my job for life. Leaving—or even screwing up—is not an option.”
“Arianne, you’re telling me you can’t—”
“Meaning, Jared, if I try to leave him, if I make any more mistakes, if I don’t follow through on my end of the deal, he’ll kill me. He’ll kill the ones I love. So fine, maybe I do have a choice about whether or not to commit a crime. But when it comes to staying alive? To protecting my sister? Sorry—that’s not a choice.”
Jared’s eyes blazed again, but then finally softened. He looked away, taking another drink from the glass. Ari suspected he was thinking about his own six sisters, what he might be driven to do if their lives were at stake.
After a long pause, Jared said, “So this boss… the money… how exactly does it work?”
Ari told him about the hierarchy, the payouts, and how the crew’s second-in-command took over after her father’s death five years ago. “He became the new boss, and he put himself in charge of everything—the books, the assets, the whole operation. We liquidated my father’s personal collection, but because I was so naive, a lot of that money went straight back into the operation. I inherited my father’s penthouse and furniture, but I’m not paying for maintenance and upkeep—that’s all the boss. I don’t manage my own credit cards. As pathetic and impossible as it may seem to someone who owns a multinational social media company, I don’t even have a checking account.”
Ari’s face burned. She tipped her glass backward, finishing her drink and sucking an ice cube into her mouth. She turned away to buy herself a moment of private shame.
Twenty-nine years old, and I’m as dependent as a child.
“And this man,” Jared said. “The crew boss… it’s Davidson, right? The name that kept turning up in your background file?”
“The one, the only,” she said bitterly.
Jared stared into the empty fireplace, his jaw clenching. Through gritted teeth, he said, “He’s the one who put his hands on you?”
Ari looked at him through glazed eyes, her breath catching in her throat. They were getting closer to the reason for her meeting with Davidson—her role in the planned heist of Jared’s estate. Even after everything she’d shared with him tonight, the idea of voicing that particular detail had her trembling with fear. She’d hoped to ease into it a little later, but there was no more time.
“Is that a yes?” Jared demanded.
“I screwed up my end of the deal,” she said.
“Which was…?”
“I… I was supposed to convince you to take me out of town this weekend, making sure you wouldn’t be at the Annandale house.” Jared’s eyes widened, but Ari pressed on. “I wasn’t going to, Jared. I’d already made up my mind to tell you everything days ago, but then you showed up with that background file, and we fought, and after that, everything just… it all unraveled so fast. You took the plans and I thought I’d be going to jail.”
Jared shook his head, clearly disgusted. Ari couldn’t blame him. She felt disgusting. She couldn’t believe Jared hadn’t thrown her out yet, or turned her in.
There’s still time for that.
“Go on,” Jared said.
Ari gripped her glass in both hands, forcing herself not to fidget. “Once I realized the cops weren’t coming for me, I tried to get in touch with you, hoping we could talk. When that didn’t work, I called a meeting with Davidson. I had to act fast.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“He was still operating on the assumption that you’d be gone this weekend—that the heist could go on as planned. I needed to buy more time.”
Jared shook his head. “Let me guess. He wasn’t so understanding.”
Ari didn’t need to answer—she was wearing the evidence around her neck, an ornate blue-and-purple necklace that throbbed with pain. Still, she felt like she had to explain. “He’s not normally so—”
Jared turned to face her again, cutting her off. His eyes lowered to her exposed collarbone.
“That,” Jared said icily. “That’s the kind of man you work for. The
kind of man your father left you with. The kind of man who thinks nothing of threatening and harming women just because he can.”
“I know, but—”
“How much time?” Jared asked.
“Time?”
“When are you making your move on the estate?” Whatever patience he had, it was quickly fading.
“Only two more weeks,” Ari said. “I tried for a month, but he wouldn’t budge. I said you needed time to see the acquisition through before we could get away.”
“He knows about the acquisition?”
“He knows everything about you, Jared.” As difficult as it was to do under his accusatory, wounded glare, Ari gave him the full play-by-play—details about the ongoing surveillance of the estate, the bits and pieces about the transportation that Davidson and Vincent had discussed in front of her, and her own assumptions on how it would go down, based on her years of experience with the crew. Every detail felt like an arrow shot straight into Jared’s heart, but she forced herself to continue, all the way to the bitter end. She even mentioned the trip to Spain that she’d negotiated for her and Tasha.
It’s not like he could think any less of me.
For a long moment, Jared said nothing. He didn’t move. She couldn’t even tell if he was still breathing.
Ari closed her eyes.
How do I even begin to fix this? What can I even—
“FUCK!” Jared’s scream tore Ari from her thoughts. Her eyes flew open just in time to watch him pitch his glass into the stone hearth.
“Leave,” he said. “Now.”
Ari stood up and backed away. She didn’t know where to go, what to do. She didn’t want to leave him here, not like this. Not when they still had so much to talk about. But she didn’t want to make him any more upset.
She’d done enough damage already.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and headed for the entryway to call up the elevator, the tears already spilling down her cheeks.
After a moment, Jared called out from the living room, the fire gone from his voice. “I don’t mean for you to leave the building. I just need a few moments alone. So please, go somewhere else.”
Ari was at a loss, the emotional roller coaster taking its toll. “But I don’t… where should I…”
“There are three thousand square feet of other rooms in this penthouse, Arianne. Take your pick.”
Chapter Seven
By the time Ari returned from her exile in the marble guest bathroom, the broken glass was gone, and two fresh drinks sat on the coffee table.
Jared was sitting on the sofa, relaxed and tired, a little closer to the center this time. Ari tried not to read into it, but when she took her place, she sat a little closer to the center, too.
“I’m sorry for the outburst,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Understandable.” She offered a tentative smile. “I dropped a few bombs on you tonight. Nuclear bombs.”
“It’s not an excuse. I don’t want you to feel threatened by me. Ever, for any reason.”
Arianne shook her head, resisting the urge to rest it on Jared’s shoulder, to slide closer and curl up against his strong, muscular chest. It was her favorite spot in the world, the place where she felt the most safe.
Threatened? How could he even think that?
“Jared, I’m not—”
“Are you telling me everything?” he asked softly.
Ari met his eyes. They were sad and tired, all of the earlier rage replaced with a weariness that made her heart ache. She’d shared everything she could about the robbery, about her involvement, even about her shady past. But there was one thing she still couldn’t bring herself to discuss, no matter how badly she felt about the secrecy.
Her father’s murder.
Ari knew his death was inexorably linked to the missing art cache, including the LaPorte painting and the Hermes statue in Jared’s upstate home, but dragging that particular tragedy out tonight felt too complicated, too personal. Right now, they needed to focus on thwarting the upcoming robbery and keeping Ari and Tasha out of danger, not a five-year-old cold case. Ari wasn’t even sure if Davidson knew that the Hermes and LaPorte were part of the Annandale score; she’d purposely kept it from them.
Swallowing down her guilt, Arianne finally nodded. “That’s everything I know about the heist.”
As if he could read her mind, Jared asked, “How is this all connected to your fascination with my painting and statue?”
“It’s not. That’s just something I was trying to follow up on for… for personal reasons.”
“Ahh. One of your past deals gone bad, then?”
“Something like that,” she whispered.
Jared ran a hand through his dark hair, eyeing her skeptically, but Ari wouldn’t budge on this. She would not drag Jared any deeper into her private darkness simply to allay her guilt about keeping secrets.
“I just don’t understand how you can face yourself in the mirror,” he said. “How you can look your sister in the eyes every day and act like everything is normal. Does she even know what’s going on with you?”
“I’ve kept her out of it,” she said.
“But it’s—”
“Look, Jared. You asked me to come clean about the robbery, and I’ve done that. Judge me all you’d like—God knows I deserve it. But if you’re going to keep asking me questions, don’t act surprised when you hear the answers. I’m not a good person. I’m a fraud, a thief, a criminal. By all rights, I should be in prison.”
“Yes,” he said. “You should be.”
Ari winced, but it was no less than she deserved. When Jared didn’t offer anything else, she finally asked the question she’d come here to ask.
“Will you help me?”
Jared held her gaze, but his thoughts were completely veiled. Waiting for him to answer her, she studied his face, drinking in the honey color of his eyes, his strong jaw, the perfect angle where his neck met his shoulder. She loved that spot—loved kissing it, biting it, nuzzling it, inhaling his clean, masculine scent. She wondered now—selfishly, but there it was—if he still cared for her, even a little bit. If he was sitting there getting hot for her despite their circumstances, longing for her kiss as much as she was still longing for his.
Don’t be ridiculous.
Jared broke their intense gaze, leaving Ari on the couch while he headed back into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with his cell phone and a takeout menu.
He still hadn’t answered her question.
“Are you okay with Indian?” he asked. “I know you like Mexican, but I’ve been craving samosas and vegetable korma all day, and if I don’t get it soon—”
“You’ll get hangry.”
Jared’s brow furrowed. “Hangry?”
“Like hungry and angry, all rolled into one.”
Jared smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He held her gaze for a moment longer, and in that moment, Ari wanted to tell him all of the things she’d left out of her confession, the feelings still roiling inside her. Jared, I’m in love with you. I can’t imagine my life—however screwed-up—without you. I’m so, so sorry, and I’ll spend the rest of forever making it up to you if you’ll just give me a chance…
“Pick anything you like.” Jared lowered his gaze, nodding toward the menu. “The korma is my cup of tea, but the Tandoori chicken is also superb. Evan favors the saag chole.”
Ari was still too wound up to eat, but Jared wouldn’t take no for an answer. Without much thought, she pointed out a chicken dish and a side of stuffed naan.
After Jared placed the order and set down his phone, Ari said, “I suppose a Brawler match is out of the question?”
He actually laughed. Ari was afraid she’d never hear that sound again, and when it came, it was so warm and perfect, it made her eyes water.
“Yes,” he said. “I suppose it is. I’m not up for getting my arse kicked tonight.” He winked at her, his smile still lingering.
<
br /> They sat in companionable silence, finishing up their drinks, lost in their own thoughts as they waited for the food to arrive.
Twenty minutes later, just when she thought she’d melt from the intensity of his silence, Jared finally turned to face her.
“Here it is, then,” he said. “Regardless of the right mess you’ve made for me, I don’t want any more harm to come to you or your sister. Yes, I’ll help you. I’ll do whatever I can to keep you and Natasha safe.”
Ari nearly cried with relief. “I’ve got two weeks to figure something out with Davidson. I just need you to keep the authorities out of this, and to keep playing along with our relationship. As far as Davidson knows, you’re happily sweeping me off my feet, planning a romantic getaway for us very soon.”
“In two weeks,” he said. “To give them free reign on the house.”
“Basically.” Arianne expected him to argue, to get upset again, but he only sighed.
“Fine,” he said. “Consider it done. But Arianne—”
The buzz of the intercom cut him off, and Jared got up to answer it, asking the doorman to send up the delivery guy with their food. When he returned, Ari saw every last word written in his eyes, in the crease of his forehead, in the invisible goodbye already hovering on his lips.
Ari closed her eyes, steadying herself for the direct hit.
Ready.
“Arianne.”
Aim.
“Once this is all over…”
Fire.
“I never want to see you again.”
Chapter Eight
Fury tore through Jared’s chest like a blade, threatening to slice away the last of his composure. After his outburst with the highball glass, he forced himself to remain outwardly calm, but inside was a war zone.
On one side of the battle sat Arianne’s betrayal—an evil, rotten enemy that had been festering since his discovery last night, and had only gotten worse with time. She’d played him. She’d spun her silky web, and he’d walked right into it.
From the very first moment he’d caught her snooping at the auction on Central Park West, he’d known she was up to something. His instincts had been screaming it loud and clear, and they kept right on shouting at him, right up until the night he’d caught her sneaking around his Annandale estate during the fundraiser.
Bared to the Billionaire: The Complete Series Page 28