“Don’t even think about threatening me, Olivia. You are way out of your league.”
She let out a practiced sigh. “You’re right about that. I can’t compete with you. You have every former employee from here to the ends of the Earth terrified to say a single bad thing about you.”
“You should’ve come to that realization a lot sooner.”
“How about just a truce instead?”
A single overly groomed eyebrow arched as he gazed down at her. “A truce implies we both give up something and get something in return. We’re beyond that.”
“I only want two small things from you.”
“I’m not giving you shit.”
She kept going before her body gave in to the urge to tremble. “First, I want you to promise to give Jessica a good recommendation.”
A muscle clenched along his jaw. “And second?”
“That you stop trying to ruin me in the industry. I don’t need a good recommendation from you. Just stop sabotaging my job interviews.”
A look of genuine surprise crossed his face before he covered it with a sarcastic sneer. “I told you. I don’t give second chances.”
“Are you sure you want to take that risk? I mean, I could just sue you, and then we’d get into things like disclosure, and, God, that would be so messy, and—”
He gave up all pretense of politeness for the sake of appearance. He yanked her hard against his body and glared. “Try it. I will fucking bury you. I have more money than you can dream of.”
She shrugged in what she hoped was a calm, casual gesture, but inside she was shaking and on the verge of puking. He still hadn’t said anything that couldn’t be explained away. “Like I said,” she laughed. “It’s messy. Wouldn’t it just be easier to come to an agreement of some kind?”
He vibrated with rage. “What kind of agreement?”
Liv swallowed hard. “You tell me. What do I have to give you to get you to back off?”
“A signed statement,” he hissed.
Her heart stopped. This was . . . this was getting close. “A signed statement saying what?”
“That you didn’t see a goddamned thing.”
Shit. Was that enough? Did she have him yet? It didn’t seem like enough, but if she were smart, she’d agree and leave and hope this did the trick. But she wasn’t smart. She was enraged and scared, and when she felt like that, she did crazy things, like opening her and mouth when she should keep it shut.
“Is that how you do it? How you keep your dirty little secret? You intimidate women until they sign statements saying it never happened, they never saw anything, you never touched them?”
Royce let out a weary sigh, as if suddenly tired of having to deal with this inconvenience. “Do you really think I don’t know how to do this after all this time?”
Her pulse spiked again, but this time from elation. Holy shit. They had them. She had him! He couldn’t possibly explain that away. He was all but admitting it!
“Yes, I suppose you do,” she breathed, trying to school her features. “I think I can agree to your terms.”
He winked. It made her blood turn to ice. “Good girl. You always were smart.”
“Thanks, I think.” She tried to back away from him, but he held firm. Her pulse skyrocketed.
“I’ve always liked you, Olivia. I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement.”
“Me too.” Liv tried again to pull away, but his fingers dug into her lower back. She couldn’t get away without causing a scene.
Royce smiled in a way that suggested she’d just walked into a trap. A burst of adrenaline filled her veins, and the image of a radioactive syringe came to mind. She realized with a sickening dread that she couldn’t even motion to Derek for help. She was facing the wrong way and was hidden in the crowd of other dancers. She could only pray that Noah and Mack were talking to him.
“You know what?” Royce said, his tone way too casual. “In honor of our new truce, I think I’m going to give you some free advice.”
“Let me go,” she whispered.
“I’m concerned about your choice of companionship lately.”
Liv tried to keep a neutral expression, but ice ran through her veins. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Braden Mack, of course.”
Rage made her tremble, her vision blur. “Braden Mack is a thousand times the man you are and always will be. You don’t get to say his name. You don’t even get to think his name.”
“You know what’s funny about that?” Once again, Royce’s face became calm. Frighteningly so. As if she’d just given him the perfect segue. “His name is exactly the problem.”
* * *
* * *
Mack could hear voices, but they were muted and murky beneath the roaring of blood in his ears. The van was suddenly too small, too hot, too fucking far away from her.
“Dude, are you listening to this?” It might have been Noah who said it, but Mack was too focused on getting through to Liv before it was too late.
“Liv,” he said into the microphone. “Liv, listen to me. Get away from him. Now.”
Her voice through the earpiece was suddenly timid as she spoke to Royce. “Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Liv, please.” Shit. Please, God, she couldn’t find out like this. She couldn’t find out from him. “You have to listen to me.”
Noah leaned into his mic. “Derek, what’s going on in there? Can you see them?”
If Derek answered, Mack didn’t hear. He could only hear Liv. And Royce. And the sound of his entire life crashing down.
Royce’s voice filled the van. “See, that’s what I was afraid of, Olivia. That he didn’t tell you the truth. You should be thanking me for saving you from that . . . that murderer’s son.”
Hop grabbed Mack’s arm. “What the hell is he talking about, Mack?”
Mack shook Hop off and once again tried to plead with Liv. “Babe, please. Listen to me.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” Liv hissed. But the tremble in her voice betrayed her through the microphone.
“Mack is the liar, Olivia.”
Mack’s stomach lurched. He was going to be sick. It couldn’t come out like this. I hate liars. Why hadn’t he told her the truth when he’d had the chance?
“Or should I say McRae? That’s his real name. Braden McRae.”
“Liv, please.” Mack dragged his hands over his hair. Noah was yelling at Derek. Hop was yelling at Mack.
Mack heard none of it as Royce continued. “Son of Josh McRae. Murderer. Wife beater. Serving a life sentence at the Iowa State Penitentiary.”
Liv sounded small when she spoke. “You’re lying. His father is dead.”
“Liv,” Mack tried again. His voice was broken.
“Let me go,” Liv pleaded.
There was a rustling sound and then Royce’s sinister voice. “I always win, Olivia. Always.”
Another rustling sound and then panting. As if she were running.
Mack swallowed hard. “Liv, listen to me.”
“Shit!” That was from Derek.
“What’s going on?” Mack demanded, sweat dripping down his face.
Hop grabbed his arm again. “You sonuvabitch. What fucking lies have you been telling her?”
Mack yelled into the microphone. “Derek, what is happening?”
“She’s leaving. I’m trying to follow.”
Mack crawled to the back doors of the van—
Noah grabbed his arm. “Mack, what are you doing?”
Mack threw open the doors and leaped from the van.
“Mack, wait!” Noah yelled. “If he sees you, you’ll blow this entire thing!”
Footsteps pounded behind him as he ran toward the back of the building. Noah grabbed him and swung him around and—
what the fuck?—tossed him effortlessly against the wall. Where the hell had that strength come from?
Mack shoved at him. “Get the fuck off me. I have to find Liv.”
Noah grabbed his shoulders and held him against the wall. “She’s gone, man. She left.”
Mack threw Noah’s arms off. “What do you mean she’s gone?”
“Derek said she took off. He doesn’t see her. And you can’t go running in there.”
“I have to talk to her,” Mack said, sinking against the cold brick. “I have to . . . I have to tell her. I have to tell her why.”
Noah bent at the waist, panting. When he stood, he wiped his forearm across his brow. “Get back in the van. That’s all we can do right now.”
No. That wasn’t all he could do. He had to find her. Before he lost her forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
It was nearly eleven o’clock when the Uber pulled into Thea’s driveway. The only light in the house was from the master bedroom, which probably meant Thea was still awake and reading. Or having phone sex with Gavin. Either way, Liv regretted having to interrupt.
After ditching the gala, she had driven aimlessly, phone off, heart bleeding. She’d run out of gas just outside of downtown and had called for a car to bring her here. Liv thanked the driver and got out. She glanced up at the house just in time to see the bedroom curtain peel back. At least she wouldn’t have to knock. Her shoes wobbled on the uneven brick sidewalk that led to the front porch. The porch light flickered on when she reached the steps, and then the door swung open.
Thea walked out in a sweatshirt and flannel pajama pants. “Oh my God, where have you been? Everyone is going crazy—oh my God, what’s wrong?”
And then, for the first time in a long while, Liv threw herself into her sister’s arms and burst into tears.
* * *
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Thea rose from the couch and started to pace. “There has to be a reason he lied.”
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters! He didn’t just lie to you. He lied to everyone. There has to be a reason. Don’t you want to give him a chance to tell you why?”
Liv shook her head. “I can’t think right now. I don’t know what I want.” She choked on her own emotion. “I knew better than to fall for him.”
“Yet you did anyway. That should tell you something.”
Yeah. That she was a fucking fool.
Thea sank down next to her on the couch and took her hands. “I know you have a hard time trusting people, but—”
“This isn’t about trust! It’s about how I never seem to be worth the truth!”
Liv shook as the words exploded from her mouth, shocked that she’d actually said it out loud. Thea sank against the couch cushions. “What does that even mean?”
“You’re not worth all this trouble.” Liv whispered. “That’s what he said.”
“Who?”
“Dad.”
Thea shook her head. “When? When did he say that to you?”
“That day when I took the bus to see him.”
Thea’s shoulders slumped with the weight of the memory. The horrible memory of the day Liv ran away at thirteen, hopped on a bus, and showed up at their father’s house for the summer visit he’d promised.
“All those years, he’d been lying to us, telling us that he just didn’t have time or space for us, and instead . . .” She shrugged. “It was a lie. He had a massive house. He just didn’t want to fight with his new wife.” Who’d wanted nothing to do with them. Who’d refused to let them live there or visit.
Thea took Liv’s hands again. “I don’t understand. When did he say—”
“That I’m not worth the trouble? Before he put me back on a bus and sent me home.”
Thea paled. “You said you came home on your own. That he wasn’t even there when you showed up. That she was the only one there.”
“I didn’t want you to know.” Irony brought a sad laugh from her burning chest. “I lied.”
Thea’s face crumpled. “Oh, Liv. I’m so sorry.” And then suddenly rage replaced Thea’s sorrow. “God, I am so sick of us paying the price for our parents’ bullshit.” Thea dropped to her knees in front of Liv. “Listen to me. I almost lost Gavin because of the baggage that they saddled us with. Don’t lose Mack over it too.”
“This is different.”
“How?”
“I—it just is.”
Thea’s eyes managed to convey both pity and disappointment in a single glance. Liv hated both. She looked away. She couldn’t explain something to Thea that she barely understood herself.
Thea’s phone trilled softly with an incoming call. She pulled it from her pocket and looked at the screen. Her eyes immediately flew to Liv’s. “It’s him again.”
Liv’s stomach dropped. “Don’t answer it.”
“Liv, he’s so worried. He’s going crazy.”
“I—”
Thea answered at the last second. She didn’t bother with a greeting. “She’s here.”
* * *
* * *
Mack raced inside Thea’s house, his face stormy and his voice thunderous. He ignored Thea, palmed the back of Liv’s head, and crushed his mouth onto hers.
He pulled back just enough to rest his brow on hers. “Do you have any fucking idea how worried I’ve been?”
A squeak from near the stairs was his first indication of Thea’s presence.
“I’m going to just, uh, go upstairs, I think, and let you guys talk,” Thea said. Her feet beat a soft staccato up the stairs.
Mack ignored her as his scattered thoughts cataloged Liv’s appearance like puzzle pieces he couldn’t fit together. Red dress. Soul-shattering curves. Curly hair long and loose atop bare shoulders.
Eyes that had once gazed upon him with passion now stared with betrayal.
“Braden McRae,” she whispered.
His hands fell to his sides. “I don’t use that name anymore.”
“Why did you lie to me?”
Mack looked at the floor. “Because I’ve been lying to everyone for so long I didn’t know how to tell you the truth.” He lifted his gaze, and his heart shattered at her blank expression. “My father was an abusive alcoholic who used to beat my mother. Us too. My brother and me. We weren’t spared.”
A tear slipped down Liv’s cheek. “Oh, Mack. I’m sorry.”
Mack dragged a hand over his hair. “One night he got in a fight at a bar, and he killed a man. No remorse. Just nothing but anger. And then he came home and continued to take it out on her.”
His voice cracked, but he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t, not until she knew everything. “The thing is, I was there when it happened. And I didn’t do anything. I was too scared to protect her. I grabbed my little brother and hid in the fucking closet like a goddamned coward until it was over, and by then, it was too late. I thought she was dead when I found her.”
Tears dripped from her chin. He wondered if she even knew she was crying.
“You asked me why I started reading romance.”
She nodded, sniffling.
“It was when she was in the hospital. I found one in the waiting room while she was in surgery.” He looked at Liv, but he didn’t really see her. His brain and mouth were no longer connected. The whole world wavered like he’d been dropped into the deep end of a pool. Everything was murky, thick, confusing. “I loved those stories. Not because of the sex, although”—he managed a sad laugh—“they really did teach me everything I know. I loved them because good people always won in those books. Men were always heroic, and if they weren’t, they got what was coming to them. Always.”
He shook his head. “I changed my name when I was eighteen. Legally. I didn’t want anything connected to him.”
Liv rose and walked t
oward him. He wanted to grab her and hold her, but her body language screamed KEEP AWAY.
“Braden,” she whispered.
His heart skipped at the sound of his real name on her lips.
“I’m so sorry you went through all that.”
“I should have told you,” he said, voice thick.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I—”
“You had so many chances to tell me,” she said, her voice getting stronger. “How many times did we talk about your father? You lied to my face.”
“We barely knew each other at first, Liv. Why would I tell you something that I’ve been lying about to everyone for years?”
It was the wrong thing to say. Her face became a mask of calm certainty. “You’re right,” she said. “We barely knew each other. Maybe we still don’t. Which is why this entire thing between us has been crazy. But that’s all it was. A crazy little fling, and now—”
Mack shook his head. “Don’t say it.”
“Maybe it’s best that we just end it now.”
Pain sliced through him as sharply as if she’d stabbed in the chest. “Why? Nothing has changed. Nothing. My name doesn’t change the fact that I have never felt like this before.”
She waved a hand, sarcasm taking over like a suit of armor. “You’ll get over it. Next week someone else will drop a cupcake in your lap.”
“Knock it off with the bullshit. It’s childish.”
Her face flashed with shame.
He turned around and laced his hands on top of his head. The floor wavered before his gaze. “I’m just a man with a heart,” he said, turning back around. “Whether my name is Braden Mack or Braden McRae. I’m just a man with a heart, and you’re breaking it.”
“I can’t do this,” she whispered, sinking onto the couch.
“You think this is easy for me?” He dropped to his knees in front of her. “I’m scared shitless right now because I have no idea what that look on your face means. And after what we’ve shared, if you kicked me out right now, I’m not sure I’d recover.”
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