Page 150 of Top Shelf

Ronan glances toward the tinted window. “We’re here.”

Of course we fucking are.

Wren stills in my arms, and I breathe out a frustrated sigh.

“To be continued,” I tell her, ensuring she can see that I mean it. That dress of hers is not making it back to her apartment in one piece.

Flashing me a quick smile, she plants a too-quick kiss on my lips before slipping from my lap, fixing her dress as the limo comes to a stop.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Ronan looks at each of us, lingering the longest on Wren. He waits for her to give him a nod, a silentI’m ready, before he pushes open the door and climbs out. Immediately, he slips into polished politician-son mode.

Silas follows, silent and composed, offering Wren his hand.

But I keep hold of her for one second longer.

“You can do this, Little Moth.”

She draws in a slow breath. Then her spine straightens. Her chin lifts.

The nervous girl vanishes beneath something sharper. Something emerald and glowing and quietly lethal.

“I know.”

And fuck me.

There she is.

Our serpent.

35

WREN

The hotel entranceglitters beneath golden lights, all polished marble steps and towering glass doors. Men in suits linger near the entrance with champagne voices and practiced smiles. Women in sleek dresses turn their heads as Ronan steps out of the limo, effortlessly sliding into whatever version of himself this room expects from him.

Polished.

Composed.

Senator’s son. Future NHL player. He is the kind of man people look at and immediately assume belongs.

Silas steps out behind him, silent and darkly elegant in all black, his white-blond hair catching beneath the lights like frost. He turns back and offers me his hand.

I take it. His fingers close around mine, steady and warm.

Lucian doesn’t immediately let me go, and when I meet his gaze, I know that if I say the word, he’ll slam the door shut and get me the fuck out of here, incurring Ronan’s wrath in the process.

He reluctantly lets me go, and I allow Silas to help me out onto the sidewalk.

A few flashes go off nearby. Not many, but enough to make my stomach tighten. Enough to remind me where we are. Who Ronan’s mother is. Who my parents are. Who I’m standing between.

Then Lucian appears at my other side, and sandwiched between the three of them, the conversation from the limo settles over me again.

We’re here because we chose you.

We’re not going anywhere.

My spine straightens.