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It would mean never returning. Never seeing my family again.

I could make that sacrifice—for the right reason.

What if I told him? Not everything, of course. Not about being a shifter or even my true last name. I could just tell him my home was somewhere I could never return and didn’t want to. I was cut off, no longer an heiress to anything at all.

Would he still want me then?

Would the Velez let me go or would I just be their next target?

Would the guys let me go?

Would they care?

“I could commute as needed.” He kissed my temple. “I have that helpful little contraption that can fly me back and forth pretty quickly.”

I giggled, not wanting him to detect the mental turmoil drowning me.

All I knew was that this wasn’t fake for me.

Not completely.

Not anymore.

“The people I have in place can run the day-to-day. I could spend most of my time here.”

We were playing a game of chicken. Who would be the first to ask? To admit this was what we wanted?

“Alessio,” I sighed. “I’ve been your girlfriend for two whole days. There’s no way––”

“Millie,” he whispered into my ear. “I know you. You’re caring and kind. You treat my sister like your own. Your soul is so beautiful. It’s incredibly unfair that your exterior is just as stunning.”

I closed my eyes as the truth slammed over me.

Alessio didn’t know me. He knew the perfect woman we’d created for him. He’d never seen me cry or get angry. We hadn’t argued or fought. He hadn’t seen me throw a knife, let alone have me aim one at his head. I’d never been brutally honest or asked for what I needed from him.

This relationship felt so easy and natural to him because a team stalked him and crafted my persona exactly to fit his taste.

But maybe I could forget, slip away, and let this truth be the only one left. Maybe I could just be Millie.

CHAPTER 27

Javier

“We have no other way of getting visuals,” Marco argued, with Derek behind me.

“You can’t just use a drone. They’ll hear it.”

“So you’re saying it’s better to stay blind than risk one of your precious toys getting shot?”

“Shut up!” Cruz yelled as he came into the shared living space of the hotel suite. It was the closest location we could get to Emilia on short notice, but it was two miles away.

Everyone’s anxiety and stress were through the roof, but I’d never seen my brothers so close to snapping.

“She said she was safe. We have to trust her,” I reminded them for the hundredth time.

“How did we not know about his mom’s house? We should have had surveillance set up weeks ago.” Marco switched to his second favorite rant.

“Because she’s not a part of the business. Never has been. Even when her husband was boss, she stayed out of it,” Cruz repeated the explanation we all knew by heart. “There’s no reason to worry about Emilia while she’s there.”