Page 22 of Her Wicked Promise (The Devil’s Plaything #2)

Robin

T he car pulls up to the hotel, and through the tinted windows I can already see them waiting in the lobby. My heart leaps into my throat.

“Maisie!” I barely wait for the car to stop before I’m throwing open the door, even though I get a scowl from Leon for not waiting for his escort.

My little sister spots me first through the glass and bolts across the floor, her sneakers squeaking against the marble surface. I drop my bag and scoop her into my arms, too used to hugging her carefully even as she squeals with delight.

“You’re really here!” Maisie cries, wrapping her arms around my neck so tight I can barely breathe. “Adrian said you were coming but I didn’t believe him because you’ve been gone forever and?—”

“I’m here, baby girl,” I laugh, my heart full of joy. I didn’t realize how much I really did need this—how much I needed them . “I’m really here.”

“Aw, come on, you’ve only been gone, like, three weeks,” Dane says, trying to play it cool but failing miserably as he grins and pulls me into a fierce hug. “Missed you, sis.”

“Missed you too.” I have to blink back tears as Alicia and Adrian pile in for a group hug that nearly knocks me over.

For a moment, I forget everything else. Forget the castle and the complications and the beautiful, capricious woman who brought me here. There’s only this —my family, whole and healthy and here.

Then I do remember Eva.

I turn to find her standing a few feet away, watching the reunion with an expression I can’t quite read.

She’s dressed as impeccably as always in a charcoal blazer and tailored pants that she changed into on the plane after our encounter.

Every line is perfect. But something about her posture speaks of uncertainty, like she’s not sure if she belongs in this moment.

She doesn’t belong here. But she came here anyway.

The thought makes my heart do something complicated in my chest.

“Everyone,” I say, keeping one arm around Maisie, “I’d like you to meet Eva.”

Eva steps forward with that practiced smile I’ve seen her use in business meetings. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

Maisie stares up at her with wide eyes. “I met you already. You’re really pretty. Why are you here?”

Heat floods my cheeks. “Maisie?—”

“Thank you,” Eva says smoothly, unfazed. “You’re very pretty, too.”

Maisie beams, won over instantly. But I catch the way Eva’s smile softens slightly, becoming more genuine.

“Okay,” she says quickly before anyone can ask more probing questions, “who’s hungry? Because I’m thinking steakhouse.”

We pile back into one of Eva’s enormous, armed cars—Leon driving, while I try to persuade the kids to bring it down a few hundred decibels while we’re inside—and head to the kind of classic Vegas steakhouse I could never afford before.

The kind with red leather booths and dim lighting that makes everything feel like a movie.

We’re seated at a large round table that somehow accommodates all of us.

Eva and Leon sit slightly apart from the kids and me, their mafia-queen-and-bodyguard energy making them seem out of place among the family chaos.

I catch Eva watching them carefully, something almost wistful in her expression.

But then something wonderful happens.

Leon, this enormous, intimidating mountain of a man, leans over to help Maisie color on her kids’ menu with a crayon.

“What are you drawing?” he asks in his heavily accented English.

“It’s a castle,” Maisie explains seriously. “With a princess who saves herself.”

Leon’s weathered face cracks into what might actually be a smile. “Very good. Princesses should always save themselves.”

I watch in amazement as he helps cut her steak into bite-sized pieces when she struggles with the steak knife. Maisie is absolutely delighted, declaring him “the best grown-up ever” when he lets her steal a french fry from his plate.

“I think you’ve been replaced,” Eva murmurs to me with amusement.

“Possibly by a better candidate,” I answer with a grin, watching Leon patiently explain why she shouldn’t drink three big sodas in a row.

Meanwhile, Alicia and Dane have turned their attention to Eva with the relentless curiosity of teenagers who’ve discovered something exotic.

“You paid for Maisie’s surgery, right? Does that mean you’re rich?” Alicia asks.

“Alicia!” I hiss, mortified.

But Eva takes it in stride. “I am. Very rich.”

“What do you do?” Dane demands. “Whatever it is, I wanna do it too.”

Eva gives a slight smile. “I am a businesswoman. It means a lot of travel and very little time at home.”

Dane looks slightly less excited. “I don’t think I’d like to leave home all that much. I’d miss everyone too much.”

I busy myself with my meal and hope my rapid blinking isn’t giving me away.

“What countries have you traveled to?” Alicia asks, leaning forward eagerly.

“Mm…most of them,” Eva replies dryly.

“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten?” Dane chimes in.

Eva considers this seriously. “Fermented shark in Iceland.”

“Gross!” Maisie shrieks with delight from Leon’s side.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Eva admits. “I nearly crashed a motorbike trying to get the taste out of my mouth.”

The kids dissolve into giggles, and I catch the exact moment Eva’s practiced composure cracks. She actually smiles—a real one, not the polished version she uses in business.

“Do you really have a private jet?” Alicia asks. “Adrian said you were taking Robin away on a private jet.”

I glance at Adrian, who gives a slightly guilty shrug.

“I have a fleet, actually,” Eva says. At the dropping jaws around the table, she softens her tone. “I suppose that sounds rather excessive.”

“It sounds awesome ,” Dane says with the enthusiasm only a fifteen-year-old boy can muster.

I watch Eva navigate their questions with growing fascination.

She answers honestly but carefully, editing out the dangerous parts of her life while still giving them enough to satisfy their curiosity.

She tells them about eating street food in Bangkok and getting lost in the Louvre, about the Northern Lights in Norway and cliff diving in Greece.

She makes her life sound like an adventure rather than an empire.

“You’re like a real-life Indiana Jones,” Alicia breathes.

“But with better hair,” Eva adds solemnly, which sends them into fresh fits of laughter.

Adrian, who’s been quietly observing throughout dinner, finally speaks up. “Thank you,” he says simply. “For everything you’ve done for our family.”

Eva’s expression shutters slightly. “I haven’t done anything that demands gratitude.”

“You have,” he says firmly. “Maisie’s treatment, the rent money Robin sent, the…opportunities you’ve given Robin. I know it’s because of you. So thank you.”

For a moment, Eva looks completely at a loss for words. I realize this might be the first time anyone has thanked her for something that wasn’t business-related.

“You’re very welcome,” she says finally, her voice softer than usual.

After dinner, we head back to the hotel, where Eva has booked a series of suites with more rooms than our entire apartment building. The kids’ eyes go wide at the velvet drapes and crystal chandeliers.

“Order all the room service you can handle,” Eva tells Alicia and Dane. “My treat.”

Their faces light up like Christmas morning.

“Honestly,” Adrian says, sinking into an armchair so comfortable that I’m seriously considering trying to smuggle it home, “all I want is sleep.”

I study his face, noting the exhaustion he’s trying to hide. He’s been working two jobs and taking care of everyone in my absence, while I’ve been swanning around a gothic castle and indulging myself in Rome.

“Go to bed,” I tell him firmly. “Sleep. We’ll handle everything else.”

He doesn’t argue, which tells me how tired he really is.

That leaves Maisie, who has somehow convinced Leon to play a car-chase video game with her on the suite’s enormous TV and state-of-the-art gaming consoles.

“This is illegal,” Leon points out as her character steals another vehicle.

“It’s just a game,” Maisie giggles, expertly evading digital police.

“Hmm.” Leon’s expression is perfectly serious. “I see I’ll have to teach you the importance of obeying the law.”

His voice drips with irony, and I have to bite back a laugh. Eva catches my eye and shakes her head in amusement.

“Don’t worry,” Leon tells me when he notices my expression. “I’ll make sure she understands that crime doesn’t pay. You ladies go off and enjoy yourself.”

Eva and I slip away to the balcony with glasses of wine while Leon continues his “law and order” education of my little sister. The city sparkles below us, a sea of neon and possibility.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I say softly, settling into the chair beside hers. “But thank you. This is such a gift. Not just to me, but to them.”

Eva stiffens slightly, staring into her wineglass. “Don’t thank me.”

“Why not?”

She’s quiet for so long I think she won’t answer. When she speaks, her voice is barely above a whisper.

“I’ve done nothing but bad things in my life. I brought worse into yours.” She looks up at me, and in the neon glow I can see something raw and vulnerable in her amber eyes. “What have I really done for you, Robin? I bought you. I abused you.”

“Eva—”

“I’m not a good person,” she continues, her accent thickening as she seems to become more emotional.

“I’ve built an empire on violence and fear.

But somehow you…” She gestures helplessly between us.

“You make me feel like I could be something else. Someone else. But I’m not. I’m exactly what I’ve always been.”

I set down my wine and turn to face her fully. “We didn’t start under the best circumstances,” I say carefully. “I won’t pretend otherwise. But I feel like we’ve built something better since then. Something positive. Am I wrong?”

Eva shakes her head slowly, but I can see the conflict in her expression.

“Look at tonight,” I continue. “Look at how you were with my family. The way you made them feel welcome and special and important.”

“One dinner doesn’t erase?—”

“It’s not just one dinner.” I reach over and place my hand over hers. “It’s the school in the village. It’s taking care of your father all those years. It’s the way you want to rid this city of the Gattos.”

Her fingers are cold beneath mine, and I can feel the slight tremor in her hand.

She exhales sharply, her gaze fixed on the Vegas skyline.

“Robin, I should never have taken you away from your family. The money is yours. Ten million, already in your account. And anything else I can give you—cars, a house, protection—I’ll arrange it. You’re free.”

I study her profile in the neon glow, my stomach twisting with sudden understanding.

She’s letting me go.

Eva Novak, who controls everything and everyone around her, is offering me complete freedom. No strings, no conditions, no expectations. Just…release.

I take a deep breath, my heart hammering against my ribs. “You say you’re not a good person? Then let’s do something good. What if the kids came back with me for the last week? To the castle? I know they’d all love it.”

Eva looks startled, like the suggestion never occurred to her. For a moment, she just stares at me, and I can see her turning the idea over in her mind.

Then, to my surprise, she nods slowly. “Perhaps you’re right. There’s certainly room enough.”

Something blooms in my chest, warm and bright. “Really?”

“Really.” And at last, she smiles.

I lean forward, emboldened by her agreement. “And then, once that week is up, you and I need to have a talk. About our future.”

Eva blinks at me, as though the word “future” is an alien concept—something she’s never allowed herself to consider outside of business deals and strategy sessions.

Then, slowly, she nods. “Yes,” she says quietly. “We will talk then.”

For a moment, everything feels almost safe. Like maybe we can figure this out. Maybe we can build something real from the complicated mess we started with.

I’m about to say something else when Eva’s phone buzzes against the table. She glances at it, and I watch her entire demeanor change. Her spine straightens, her expression shutters, and suddenly she’s the Consortium Eva again.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I’m sorry,” she says, standing abruptly. “I have to make a call.”

She’s already moving toward the door, the phone pressed to her ear, her voice dropping into rapid, urgent tones. “Give me a moment,” she’s saying. “I’ll find somewhere private.”

I sit alone on the balcony, the sweet wine turning sour in my mouth, watching the lights of Vegas blur together below.