He chuckles. “Of course you did, darling. We spent the day together. I watched you blow out your candles. I gave you a gift before I left. Some colored pencils to draw in the notebook that James gave you.”
I have to hold on to the edge of the bar to steady myself. “James was with me that day, not you.”
“Sorry, sweetie. That was me. James said no to the Admiral’s offer. He was sent on his way that afternoon. I spent the rest of the day with you. Not him.”
That’s not right. James had that notebook all these years. He stole it back. So he was there that night. But this guy… this Vincent… he was the one I was with? I think my world is tipping. No. I think my world is capsizing.
“Are you OK?”
I swallow hard and look over at the man who is not James. What the hell am I supposed to feel about this? “I’m promised to you, not him?”
“Me,” he says. “Not him.”
I stare at him in the dim lights from the overhead canopy. Candles flicker on the tables and the fire warms one side of my body, while the ocean spits up a spray that cools the other. “What if I don’t want you? What if I want him?”
“He’s dead, darling.”
“He’s not dead!” I scream it. My whole body begins to tremble and before I know it, I’m shaking uncontrollably. “He’s not dead!”
“He might as well be. He’s insane, and that is an indisputable fact. Harper, listen to me. Ask yourself this question. Who the hell kills their own brother? A brother they were not even angry at. A brother they loved and grew up with. A brother who saved their life as many times as they saved his. Their partner. Who kills their partner?”
“He told me why he did it and I agree with him. He had a good reason.”
“Why?” the man who looks like my James demands. “Tell me why he did it, then.”
I think of what James told me in the desert bathroom the other day. About Tony’s girlfriend and baby. He did it to keep the baby safe. But if no one knows there’s another Company kid running around, I’m not gonna be the one to spill the beans. “It’s private,” I say.
“It’s not private, Harper. We know about the child. And she’s going to be brought back into the fold. Soon. Once we settle who is in charge of things.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” My face is devoid of emotion. No expression at all. I put on the best liar face I have.
Vince smiles and shrugs, letting it drop. “Do you want to come sit with me?” he asks.
I shake my head no. “I’m going to bed.”
“Not yet, Harper. Come here, please. Sit across from me, because we need to talk before you go back to your room and get your things.”
Get my things? “What?” Oh, shit. My heart is pounding in my chest.
“Come sit. Please.”
I do go sit because I need the three moments it takes to cross the room in order to think. He’s taking me somewhere. I need to get my things.
I settle on the couch across the long glass coffee table from him and try to stop my knees from knocking together. I almost wish I could have a pill.
“You were promised to me on the day you turned six. It was an agreement of the highest importance because it bonded your family to mine. Like in the old days when a princess was married off to an enemy’s prince.”
“Are you the enemy?”
His smile gives me the chills. “In a way. But so is James. We come from the same Company family. Understand this. I am no different than him in that respect. So please”—he stops to smile—“don’t be frightened. I’m sure you are far more dangerous than I am.”
“What’s your job?”
He hesitates, but the smile never wavers. “It’s a new position, actually. For a new era in the Company business. Aaaand I’m not sure how much you know, but I’m sure you understand why I can’t divulge everything.”
Still with the smile.
“What’s that mean?” I decide dumb questions are best with this guy. He likes to feel superior. Why not lure him into his comfort zone?
“It means you don’t need to worry about it. Now, let’s talk logistics, OK? I’m here. You’re here. We’re talking. The inevitable has been discussed. So even though you were scheduled to leave with me tomorrow, the helicopter is ready and waiting. So I think it’s better for you that we leave tonight. What do you think, Admiral?”
I turn around and find my father standing behind me. Smiling.
“Harper. I’m sorry I kept this from you. It would’ve probably saved thirteen lives had I just been upfront about who your promise was. But it was a difficult thing to consider. It was a difficult conversation to have.”
“But now you’re fine with me being given to some stranger?” I snap. “I’m just supposed to leave with him? Right now?”
“You already liked him as James, Harper. He is James, only better.”
“In what way? The way he talks down to me like I’m a baby? The way he gives me the chills that makes me want to avoid touching him? Or the way he—”
“That’s enough,” my father barks.
It stops me cold. I’ve lived with that shout my whole life. I can’t stop my immediate reaction to be quiet.
“That’s enough now. James is psychotic, Harper. He will kill you or he will get you killed. He’s not safe. He’s not family material. He’s not father material. We’ve dispatched a team to follow him and take him out. If they haven’t killed him yet, they will. Very soon. He’s as good as dead. So the sooner you accept the fact that Vincent is your promise, that Vincent is the man who loves you above all others, that Vincent will keep you safe, the sooner you can move into your new life.”