Page 123 of The Elusive Billionaire

“If I were writing this mystery…” Clover speaks up. When she finds all our eyes on her, she shrinks in on herself and lowers her voice. “The villain would be Kristen, trying to frame Quinn. What I would have to figure out though, is how Kristen is tied to Savvy’s past.”

“I’ve never met her before,” Savvy says.

“Maybe not,” Elle says. She’s frowning at Savvy’s plate too. Is this the first time she’s noticed that one of her best friends has a worrying relationship with food? “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know you…or someone who wants to hurt you.”

“Maybe numbers four, five, and six are connected, then,” Braxton mumbles, staring at the list. “Savvy’s past, the snitch, and/or the mole.”

Could Kristen have a connection to the DeVanes or the Ashfords? Could Quinn?

“How good are the Harringtons at their job?” Pops asks. He’s been unusually quiet.

“They’re the best,” Braxton says, still staring at the list. “Easily top two in the entire world when it comes to private protection and global security. They can find a shadow in the dark at this point.”

“You’ve been quiet, Pops.” It sounds as though I’m picking a fight, but for once, I’m not. Pops has never been so silent in all the time I’ve known him, and something feels off.

“Mea lux,” he whispers, and I follow his line of sight. He’s staring at Savvy’s firefly tattoo on the inside of her heel that I’ve never given enough attention to.

But I look closer now, with his words in my head, and my skin heats as I narrow my focus, not on the firefly but the line of text that trails behind it, making it appear to glow, and it causes my brain to short-circuit.

The text is a delicate thread, so it’s easy to miss.

It’s just two little words—mea lux. My hand fists the same two words on my lucky coin so tightly, the ribbed edges of it cut into my palm.

“What did you just say?” I ask.

His murky gaze meets mine. “Mea lux.”

My light.

“Where did you hear that?” My breathing is labored.

“What does it mean?” Elle asks.

“It’s Latin,” Clover says, staring wide-eyed at Savvy. “It means ‘my light.’”

“It’s also what’s carved into the coin that Ace gave Grey.” Braxton’s worried expression is focused on the hand in my pocket that might now be bleeding.

“Where did you hear that?” I repeat, fairly confident that Pops wouldn’t have pronounced it correctly on his own.

“The last time Ace visited,” Pops says with a heavy sigh. “He was muttering it and mentioning you and Savvy.”

My finger reaches out and traces Savvy’s tattoo. She gasps and pulls away, but I had to confirm it was real.

“Geez, Pops. The last time you pulled out an old Ace story, you gave half my inn away to a near stranger.” Madi’s tone is laced with frustration, but the curve of her lips contradicts it.

Sure, Pops and Ace pulled a shady deal that could have potentially cost Madi her inn, but it all worked out in the end.

“Ace wasn’t a fortune teller. There’s no way he could’ve foreseen these events.” I’ll be the voice of reason if no one else will.

“But he likely knew that when he rescued Savvy in Vegas, he unwittingly put an even bigger target on her back,” Braxton muses, rubbing Madi’s stiff shoulders.

“When did you get the tattoo?” My question draws curious glances, and soon, everyone is peering down at Savvy’s heel.

“After…” She crosses her leg and unconsciously presses her middle finger to her firefly. “On the way home from Vegas. Ace said I needed to always remember to be my own light.” She shrugs, but I can tell she holds the memory close to her heart. “We made a stop, and I came home with this.”

“Did you choose it? My light?”

Savvy shakes her head. “Ace did.”