Page 51 of The Billionaires' Gamble

It’s always the same. I have it too good. No one deserves to be so blessed. And if I’m not careful, everything will get snatched away. Which is in direct contradiction to my love of stunts andadventure sports. Then again, those are the few times when everything gets quiet and I live peacefully with myself.

The voice isn’t entirely wrong. I was just settling into this amazing new life with Katherine and Gabe and Alex. Finding my joy and warming up to getting exactly what I want, and now she’s gone. Just gone…

“I should have told her.” The words tumble from my lips, a quiet censure.

“Told her what?” Alex asks, just as quietly.

My eyes water. “That I love her.”

“She knows.”

“She doesn’t.” I grit my teeth, frustration welling with the fear. “I’ve been in love with her for years, and I’m telling you before I tell her. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

“Nothing. Not a damn thing. King— The shock from my sister’s death was a black cloud over my life for years. I didn’t want to lose anyone else I loved, so the easiest way to ensure that…”

“Was to not love anyone?”

“Not let anyone else in my heart. My parents and Gabe. That was it. That was safe.”

But it wasn’t safe. Because life without love is… bland. Boring. Easy but unfulfilling. Why else would people spend so much time and energy searching for their other half? Just look at all those dating apps.

“Loving from half a world away isn’t living either.” Just like Alex, I was being safe. Existing.

I hear Gabe and his bodyguards upstairs, the low rumble of their discussion. Have the cops cleared out? Curiosity prickles but the part of me that’s still in denial thinks that if I don’t go back up there, then none of this is real. I can just stick my head in the sand a little longer, and Katherine will walk through the front door, gorgeous, sassy.

I know what an idiot I am.

Tomasz stands at the base of the stairs, watching me like a hawk. It’s nothing personal. I just figured if I fired him, he could leave and so could I.

“You’re not half a world away anymore,” Alex says.

“And you’ve found someone worth opening your heart to.”

He gives a rueful laugh. “What a pair we are.”

“You mean trio.” Despite his meltdown earlier, I know Gabe is in this with us, with Katherine. I thought he was going to elbow his bodyguard in the nuts. Who knew techie guys could be so vicious?

“I guess that depends on him,” he says.

“I told him he needs to grovel.” Which right now is the least of our worries.

“Oh yeah?”

I blow out a long sigh. “Before he left, he told her she probably shouldn’t be here when he got back.”

He groans. “Gabe… man.”

“I know. It was fucked up. She just shut down, and he was off the handle.” I was firmly in the middle, hating every second of it. “And now she’s gone, and I can’t breathe.”

“King—” Alex’s voice deepens.

“Yeah?”

“I know this is hard.”

“Your best friend has been kidnapped before?” Because unless that’s the case, he couldn’t possibly know just how fucking hard this is.

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