Page 45 of The Tower (Billionaire Brothers Grimm #1)
“It made me who I am,” he said, the words emerging rougher than intended.
“Not entirely,” she argued, her gaze unwavering. “You chose who to become despite him, not because of him.”
The observation caught him off guard. He’d spent years defining himself in opposition to Elias—determining who he would not be rather than who he would. The distinction she’d drawn was subtle but profound, and he wasn’t sure how to respond.
Instead, he moved closer to his father’s bedside, leaning down until his mouth was near Elias’s ear.
“I’m not you,” he whispered, too low for Sasha to hear. “Remember that, wherever you are in the dark.”
He straightened, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders—as if speaking the words, even to an unconscious man, had released something toxic he’d been carrying for too long.
As they slipped out of the room, Liam caught her glancing back one last time at the man in the bed.
He recognized the expression on her face—it was the same one he’d worn the first time he’d seen Elias after the stroke.
The confusion of seeing a monster rendered harmless, of confronting the raw humanity of someone you’d been taught to fear.
In the elevator returning to the rooftop, Liam stayed quiet, processing the unexpected vulnerability of the moment they’d shared. As the elevator neared the rooftop, she took his hand. “You know,” Sasha said, “our fathers deserve each other.”
Liam nodded slowly. “Yeah. Maybe they do.”
The elevator doors opened, and the sounds of the party immediately engulfed them—laughter, clinking glasses, the string quartet now playing something faster. They stepped back into the glittering event as if they’d never left. But they had. And something fundamental had shifted between them.
He guided her toward the terrace, craving the feel of the wind against his face. The city spread before them, a glittering carpet of lights with Reed Tower visible in the distance—a reminder of what was still to come.
He reached over and took her hand. “I should have asked before leading you to the terrace? Are you okay?”
She nodded slowly, a bit like someone in shock. “I’m not scared, and it’s not trying to pull me in. I think—I don’t think I’m cured. But tonight, right here, with the wrought-iron and the crowd and you …”
She trailed off, then smiled at him. “Yeah. I’m okay here.”
“Good.”
They both gazed out at the city for a while. The night air was cool against his skin, a welcome contrast to the complex emotions churning inside him.
After a moment, he turned his back to the world and his attention to the mingling guests, more animated now after hours of imbibing.
He spotted Leo across the terrace and was gratified to see that Ruby was nowhere in sight.
Ruby should have known better than to get involved with the likes of Leo, but the way it had all blown up had been entirely his little brother’s fault.
He turned again, this time watching Sasha.
She was staring out at the city, her profile etched against the night sky.
For a moment, he simply looked at her—not as a strategic asset or a means to an end, but as the remarkable woman who’d once been a bird with a clipped wing, but now was learning to fly.
“We should leave soon,” he said, checking his watch. “We’ve been seen enough, and I don’t want to push our luck.”
She nodded, turning to face him with an expression he couldn’t quite decipher. “Thank you,” she said simply. “For showing me.”
Liam inclined his head, uncomfortable with her gratitude. “It was strategic.”
“No, it wasn’t. But I’ll pretend it was if that makes it easier for you.”
Before he could respond, Leo approached with that infuriating grin that always preceded trouble.
Liam truly loved his little brother, the only Grimm he’d ever connected with.
But damned if Leo wasn’t both exhausting and trying, especially after a drink or two when the little voice in his head that told him how to behave was passed out on the floor of Leo’s mind, utterly useless.
“The prodigal son and his princess make quite the couple,” Leo said, his voice carrying that same irreverent tone that had always been his shield. “The gossip columnists will be busy tomorrow. Looks like your grand plan worked.”
“Looks like it did.”
Leo’s eyebrows rose slightly at his tone. “Someone’s touchy tonight.” His gaze shifted between them, too perceptive for Liam’s comfort. “Did I interrupt something important?”
“We’re leaving,” Liam said, ignoring the question and knowing full well that Leo would be giving him a call in the morning. “Make our excuses to Alexander.”
“Always a pleasure,” Leo replied with mock formality. “Do try to remember you’re supposed to be the good brother, Liam. Treat our guest with care.”
Liam almost rolled his eyes. His little brother had always been too observant for his own good—or for anyone else’s.
As they slipped away from the party and into the waiting car, Liam watched as Grimm Tower receded behind them, its spires reaching toward the night sky like accusing fingers. “Where to now?” Sasha asked.
“Somewhere they won’t think to look,” he replied, squeezing her hand. “Somewhere safe.”
She nodded, and he was struck by the trust implicit in that simple gesture—a trust he was increasingly unsure he deserved. The plan remained the same: use Sasha to destroy Victor Reed, protect her until the court hearing, and then release her from their bargain.
Simple. Straightforward. Strategic.
But as they drove through the night, Liam found himself wondering if anything between them would ever be that simple again.