and do Vick’s final job for him?
Except that Vick didn’t strike her as the worrying sort. She gestured encouragingly toward the door. “Go for it. I promise not to shoot anyone while you’re gone.”
Tobias arched one supercilious brow. “I’m the only one here to shoot.”
Without bothering to glance at her brother, she gifted Vick with a tight smile. “So you understand exactly how much of a sacrifice I’m making with this promise. Hurry back.”
Humor tugged at Vick’s mouth, twinkled in his blue eyes. “I will. Lock the door behind me.” A heartbeat later, he was gone, Tobias flipping the bolts back into place.
“You’re going to lecture me.”
“I believe Casey has already done so.” Straightening his cuffs, her brother walked across the room to stand next to her at the window. Together, they watched Vick cross the street and disappear into the narrow alley between his residence and the tall limestone townhouse next door.
“It was mostly swear words,” she murmured distractedly. Wherever he’d hidden his bag of belongings, it obviously wasn’t in the upstairs unit she’d been in the night before. “Can mostly swear words even be a lecture?”
“It can if it comes from Casey.” A pause. “We should step away from the window.”
Beth didn’t move. “I’m safe enough at the window for now. You already know Vick believes we have a while here before T-16 mobilizes the next assassin on the list.” The laugh that slipped past her lips was the furthest thing from amused. “An assassin for the assassin. Poetic.”
“Or ironic.”
This time, her laugh was real, and she indulged Tobias’s request. Tearing her gaze from the window, she moved to the dining table and her abandoned cup of coffee. That it had gone cold didn’t matter; the jolt of caffeine would do her a solid either way. “Vick will be back soon, so spill.”
Tobias had followed her across the living space and now lowered himself gracefully into a chair at the table. “You’d rather it was Casey here, instead of me.”
It was the last thing she had expected him to say, shocking her into silence. Shamed, because he was right, she stared at him without apology, waiting for whatever bomb he planned to drop next.
Tobias didn’t disappoint. Lounging casually in his seat, he stretched out distance-runner’s legs in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. One elbow hooked around the corner finial on the chair’s back, elegant fingers loose and dangling. You’d never guess to look at him that he’d flown ten hours from Geneva to Chicago, disembarking only a short while earlier to hail a cab and take the death-defying ride in the backseat of a Windy City taxi out to Lincoln Park. Not a single wrinkle dared to mar the tailored perfection of his Savile Row suit. “You’ve decided that you don’t like me.”
Everything in her balked at the wrongness of that statement. “Not true.”
Eyes more gray than hazel watched her calmly. “You don’t call me like you do Casey.”
“Well, I—”
“You don’t text me like you do Adam, or Mom.”
“That’s because I—”
“You don’t IM me like you do Gillian. In fact, the only person with whom you communicate less than you do me is our father.”
Beth’s cheeks burned. “It’s not...it’s complicated, Tobias.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “What
isn’t
complicated is that the second I heard you had a price on your head, I dropped everything to get to you. Even knowing you wouldn’t be pleased to see me.” The hand resting atop his thigh lifted with a questioning wave. “Why do you think that is, Beth?”
“Why do I think you weren’t my number-one choice to play babysitter?” she asked, unable to strike the bitterness from her voice.
“No. Why didn’t I think twice before hopping the soonest flight out of Switzerland.”
Sliding the remnants of her coffee away, no longer craving the stimulant’s buzz, Beth leaned forward, hands clasped in front
Except that Vick didn’t strike her as the worrying sort. She gestured encouragingly toward the door. “Go for it. I promise not to shoot anyone while you’re gone.”
Tobias arched one supercilious brow. “I’m the only one here to shoot.”
Without bothering to glance at her brother, she gifted Vick with a tight smile. “So you understand exactly how much of a sacrifice I’m making with this promise. Hurry back.”
Humor tugged at Vick’s mouth, twinkled in his blue eyes. “I will. Lock the door behind me.” A heartbeat later, he was gone, Tobias flipping the bolts back into place.
“You’re going to lecture me.”
“I believe Casey has already done so.” Straightening his cuffs, her brother walked across the room to stand next to her at the window. Together, they watched Vick cross the street and disappear into the narrow alley between his residence and the tall limestone townhouse next door.
“It was mostly swear words,” she murmured distractedly. Wherever he’d hidden his bag of belongings, it obviously wasn’t in the upstairs unit she’d been in the night before. “Can mostly swear words even be a lecture?”
“It can if it comes from Casey.” A pause. “We should step away from the window.”
Beth didn’t move. “I’m safe enough at the window for now. You already know Vick believes we have a while here before T-16 mobilizes the next assassin on the list.” The laugh that slipped past her lips was the furthest thing from amused. “An assassin for the assassin. Poetic.”
“Or ironic.”
This time, her laugh was real, and she indulged Tobias’s request. Tearing her gaze from the window, she moved to the dining table and her abandoned cup of coffee. That it had gone cold didn’t matter; the jolt of caffeine would do her a solid either way. “Vick will be back soon, so spill.”
Tobias had followed her across the living space and now lowered himself gracefully into a chair at the table. “You’d rather it was Casey here, instead of me.”
It was the last thing she had expected him to say, shocking her into silence. Shamed, because he was right, she stared at him without apology, waiting for whatever bomb he planned to drop next.
Tobias didn’t disappoint. Lounging casually in his seat, he stretched out distance-runner’s legs in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. One elbow hooked around the corner finial on the chair’s back, elegant fingers loose and dangling. You’d never guess to look at him that he’d flown ten hours from Geneva to Chicago, disembarking only a short while earlier to hail a cab and take the death-defying ride in the backseat of a Windy City taxi out to Lincoln Park. Not a single wrinkle dared to mar the tailored perfection of his Savile Row suit. “You’ve decided that you don’t like me.”
Everything in her balked at the wrongness of that statement. “Not true.”
Eyes more gray than hazel watched her calmly. “You don’t call me like you do Casey.”
“Well, I—”
“You don’t text me like you do Adam, or Mom.”
“That’s because I—”
“You don’t IM me like you do Gillian. In fact, the only person with whom you communicate less than you do me is our father.”
Beth’s cheeks burned. “It’s not...it’s complicated, Tobias.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “What
isn’t
complicated is that the second I heard you had a price on your head, I dropped everything to get to you. Even knowing you wouldn’t be pleased to see me.” The hand resting atop his thigh lifted with a questioning wave. “Why do you think that is, Beth?”
“Why do I think you weren’t my number-one choice to play babysitter?” she asked, unable to strike the bitterness from her voice.
“No. Why didn’t I think twice before hopping the soonest flight out of Switzerland.”
Sliding the remnants of her coffee away, no longer craving the stimulant’s buzz, Beth leaned forward, hands clasped in front
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