Page 24

A slow breath seeped through her clenched teeth. Then, without any warning, she gave a loud whoop and fist punched the air. “I knew it! I fucking knew he liked you!”

Wait. “You knew?”

“Please!” Thorne exclaimed, already launching into a gleeful spin. “The moment he offered to buy the bar, I knew something was up. Lucien has never offered to buy someone out before. He’s never needed to.”

She paused mid-jig to stab a finger in my direction. “And then you sweep into town, all gorgeous and vulnerable and broken, and boom , the boy changes tactics. When you turned him down, he could have gone all megalomaniac on you. Instead, he protected you. He walked you home! He posted a guard.”

With a cackling laugh, she did a victorious heel-click. An actual heel-click . I stared in disbelief.

“This is just perfect!” she crowed.

“Uh, what’s so perfect about this?” I asked cautiously.

“I’ve been waiting for years— years, Izzy!—to bring that asshole down a peg. I bided my time, waiting for the right moment. And now”—she swept a dramatic hand in my direction—“here you are. You’re my secret weapon, darling.”

“Whoa,” I said, throwing my hands into the air. “I’m no one’s weapon. Or bait. And I’m certainly not a plot device in your weird revenge fantasy.”

Thorne pouted. “Oh, come on! It’ll be fun. Just imagine—him groveling. In public, no less. Maybe even shirtless. I wouldn’t mind that. It’d be cathartic. We can bring him to his knees. Embarrass him. Ruin him. Oh, this is glorious.” She actually rubbed her hands together.

Something hot and sharp stabbed my chest, and it surprised me to realize I was angry . Not just mad but downright pissed. The hot, blistering rage hit me so fast, I forgot how to breathe.

Thorne wanted to ruin him? Embarrass him in front of the whole town?

Fuck no. I absolutely refused to play party to that.

Thorne must have caught the change in my scent, because she froze, and her playful smirk faltered. “Izzy?”

“Need I remind you,” I said, my voice practically shaking, “that I was recently the victim of someone else’s little power play? That I lost everything? That Trystan humiliated me like I didn’t matter?”

Her lips parted, but I didn’t let her speak.

“Do you actually think I’d turn around and do that to someone else?”

Thorne blinked, clearly thrown off-balance. The humor drained from her expression and her arms dropped to her sides. The mischief was gone, and all that remained was something far more human. Humbled.

“Izzy…” she started, her voice softer now. “I didn’t think?—”

“I know,” I said, still holding her gaze. “But maybe it’s time I’m clear about where I stand.”

I hesitated, hoping this didn’t blow up in my face. I liked Thorne. I wanted her in my life. But not if this was who she really was. The person behind the mask.

“Thorne, I’m grateful for you. For everything you’ve done.

You welcomed me, showed me friendship, kindness.

I don’t want to lose that. I value it and you.

But whatever grudge your family has with the St. Germains?

It has nothing to do with me. I didn’t come here to get swept up into another game.

I came here to start over. To survive and rebuild and make something for myself.

I won’t let anyone use me as a pawn. Not you. Not Lucien. Not anyone.”

She didn’t argue. Just silently watched me.

Finally, I added in a softer tone, “Lucien knows you’re my business partner.

And he hasn’t once asked me to compromise that.

He hasn’t tried to sabotage me, or you, for that matter.

I’m hoping you can give me the same courtesy.

I’m not asking you to like him. But I am asking you to understand my choices.

Hurting someone the way Trystan hurt me is not something I could ever do.

” I shook my head. “I couldn’t live with myself if I did. ”

Thorne stared at me for a moment longer. Then she whispered, “You like him.”

I didn’t flinch. “I do,” I admitted, because there was no point in pretending otherwise. “I can’t explain why. He’s everything I should hate. But when we’re alone, I see the real man. Not the vampire cultivated by his family. Not the cold businessman. Just him.”

I waved a hand. “But my choice isn’t about him. It’s about me. It’s about knowing who I am and knowing my boundaries and my limits. I refuse to hurt someone like that. No matter who they are.”

Thorne exhaled slowly. She nodded once, then considered me a moment longer before nodding again. “Okay.”

I frowned. Just…okay? No snark? No drama? Just quiet understanding?

“I can’t just forget everything the St. Germains have done to my family,” she said.

“Lucien especially. He’s burned people I care about, and he’s done it with a smile on his face.

So no, I’m never going to like him. But I won’t sabotage your relationship with him.

You matter to me too, Izzy. I’m not someone who’s had a lot of friends in the past. People only ever care about what my family can do for them.

This is the first real friendship I’ve had, and I won’t risk that for a centuries-old feud. ”

The knot in my chest slowly uncoiled.

“Now, that doesn’t mean I won’t kick him in the nuts next time I see him,” she said, chuckling softly. “But I guess if I want to destroy him, I’ll just have to make our bar the best damn bar in town. Ruin him the old-fashioned way. With success.”

I grinned. “Now that’s a game I wanna play.”

Thorne gave me a lopsided smile. “Then it’s settled. I won’t involve you in any of my vendettas. I’ll keep my claws sheathed—until we find your stalker, that is. Then all bets are off.”

I laughed. “I’ll bring the popcorn.”

“Great! Then let’s get this party started. Because Ricky is going to be here?—”

A motorcycle roared to a stop in front of the bar.

“—right now,” Thorne said, laughing.

My stomach did a somersault. “Should I be nervous?”

“Oh, absolutely,” she said, laughing. “Because if you think Lucien is hot, wait until you meet my brother.” She immediately winced. “Ugh. Sorry. That physically hurt me to say. But the other ladies in town tell me he’s”—she gagged—“downright fuckable.”

Clasping my hand, she hauled me toward the stairs. “Come on. And try not to swoon. It’ll only encourage him.”