Chapter 2

It was already the small hours by the time I got back to the Sinclair estate.

Julian was asleep.

I pushed open the study door, and the air still held a faint trace of tobacco.

Half a slim cigarette was crushed out in the ashtray.

It was the brand Chloe always smoked.

I stared at it a second too long, then looked away and dragged an old photo album out from the bottom shelf.

Inside were pictures of Julian and me over the years.

The first one was from the year he brought me back to the Sinclairs from that little border town.

I was only seventeen in the photo, standing half a step behind him, my eyes careful and full of admiration.

Back then I thought that if I just chased hard enough to keep up with him, one day I'd really stand at his side.

But for a long time, the way Julian looked at me was cold.

Cold enough that I finally got tired of chasing him.

I started learning to manage, to negotiate, to fight, to keep myself alive between a gun barrel and a bargaining chip, and to keep my aging parents alive too.

Through all that gunfire, I picked up more scars than I could count.

Until the deal at the docks went wrong.

I took a bullet for him.

It grazed past my heart, missing by so little it nearly killed me.

From that day on, the way Julian looked at me finally changed.

He started bringing me deeper into the game of power, and he'd kiss me when he'd had enough to drink.

He'd even taken out the black ring, the one that marked the Donna.

But in the end, all he did was let me look at it.

Could I really ever wear it?

Thinking of that, I let out a tired sigh.

Just then, the door opened.

Julian stood in the doorway.

"The West Harbor thing. Handled?"

I didn't turn around. I just reached up to slide the album back onto the shelf.

But it was only halfway in when his hand closed over my wrist.

His eyes landed on the album's cover, and his voice eased.

"Why the sudden trip down memory lane?"

"Feeling nostalgic?"

I didn't say anything.

But he quickly looked up at me again, his voice going flat.

"Nothing happened in West Harbor tonight. So where did you actually go?"

My palm tightened slightly.

Of course Julian had checked.

I was still working out how to explain when he stared at me for a few seconds and suddenly laughed.

"Fine. I know you just wanted to go clear your head. Stop being angry about the party."

He seemed to have found an answer for my strange mood, and he pulled me into his arms.

"Tomorrow I'll have people start planning the new party. That works, doesn't it?"

There was that familiar note of exasperation in his voice, like he was indulging a harmless little tantrum.

"There's a captains' meeting tomorrow. Get some sleep."

Then he let me go, turned, and headed for the bedroom.

I watched his back, and suddenly I spoke.

"Within the week."

Julian's steps stopped.

My voice was very soft, but very clear.

"Within the week, I'm getting married."