Savannah grabbed her hand and squeezed.
“Besides, I want what you have.” Her gaze drifted to the painting on the wall. “A man who wants me so badly, he’ll fight anything to get to me.” And that made Saskia’s heart hurt all over again.
“Camden Morgan is crazy about you, Saskia,” Savannah said in a fierce tone. “He’s just fighting himself and letting his demons win.”
“Just let it go, okay?”
Savannah sighed. “All right. I’m going to do some painting in my studio.”
Saskia knew that Hunt had converted a room on the top floor for Savannah. “Go.” She shooed her friend. “I don’t need you to entertain me. I’ll do some stretching.”
Savannah tucked a blonde curl back behind her ear. “So, we have a thing planned for tonight. With the gang. Gia’s organized it. It’s some event for Firelight, her PR company. Everybody’s invited.” Savannah paused. “Including Cam. He doesn’t always show—”
“It’s fine, Savannah. I’m not going to avoid him. And I think going out will be good.” Her nerves tingled. She wasn’t going to let her abduction, or her sore heart, make her miss out on things. “It’ll be fine.”
Savannah didn’t look one hundred percent convinced. “Okay, if you’re sure. And cocktails can solve a lot of problems.” Her friend smiled. “Temporarily, at least. Want to go shopping this afternoon? You need some clothes.”
Saskia lifted a shoulder. “Maybe tomorrow?” She wasn’t in the mood for shopping.
“Sure thing. You can borrow a dress of mine for drinks tonight.”
“Love you,” Saskia said.
Savannah leaned down and hugged her. “Love you back. You’re going to be all right.”
“I know.” Eventually. She’d get over this gnawing need for Camden Morgan.
Her new cell phone dinged and she picked it up. “It’s a message from Wolf. Killian still hasn’t checked in.” Saskia fiddled with the phone and tried not to worry about her brother. “He’s going to be so mad all this happened and he wasn’t here.”
“When he gets back, he’ll make sure Mikhailov pays. I have no doubt he’ll hunt the asshole down. I don’t ever want to be on your brother’s bad side.”
“He wasn’t there when our mom died. He still feels guilty about that.” Saskia had been eighteen and all alone.
“I know.” Savannah entwined their hands. “But you’re not a teenager anymore. You have friends, people who care about you. That includes the gang here…and Cam, despite whatever is going on with you two.”
Saskia gave her friend a sad smile. She didn’t want to think about Cam, or she’d have to accept that there was nothing going on between them, and never would be.
As Saskia walked into Gia’s party, she pasted on a smile.
The place looked amazing. Gia’s party was being held at a rooftop bar at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. It was incredible. The View Lounge had a huge, arched, Art Deco inspired window that gave an extraordinary view of the city.
She tugged on the hem of the red dress she’d borrowed from Savannah. She was a few inches taller than Savannah, so it was a little short on her. It was a blood-red wrap dress with long sleeves. She’d left her hair loose, falling down to the middle of her back.
She glanced around the crowd. There was no sign of Cam. Her heart thumped. She was both disappointed and relieved.
Hunt pressed a hand to both her and Savannah’s lower backs, ushering them inside. He looked incredibly handsome in his suit.
When he’d returned home today, he’d told her that Mikhailov had been seen in San Francisco. Her belly lurched. She’d really hoped the man was far away.
Still, Hunt had made it sound like Mikhailov was pawning stuff to get money. Surely that meant he was planning to run.
“Welcome.” Gia Norcross hustled over. The tiny, curvy brunette was clad in a V-necked black dress that showed off her cleavage and had a gold Dolce and Gabbana logo at the bottom of the plunging neckline. Diamonds dangled from her ears. “Ladies, you both need the special cocktail I invented just for the party.”
Saxon, looking stylish in his blue suit, strolled up behind Gia. “I’m calling it the Contessa. Because it packs a punch like my Contessa.” He dropped a kiss to his fiancée’s mouth.
Gia gripped the front of his jacket and kissed him back, and clearly forgot her hostess duties for a second. From the look of the kiss, Saskia didn’t blame her.
Soon, Saskia found herself in a huddle with Gia, Savannah, Rhys’ fiancée Haven, Harlow, and Princess Sofia of Caldova. Sofie was engaged to big, hot Rome Nash. Thankfully, she was exactly like her sweet, beautiful persona in the media, and it was clear she had Rome wrapped around her finger.
Brynn was stuck at work and wasn’t there, and Ryder had whisked Siv away. Close by, the rest of the Norcross men were drinking their beers and talking. Although Cam still hadn’t made an appearance.
Her gaze shifted to Ryder and Siv, flirting at the bar. They were nice to watch. They’d just recently fallen in love and their connection shone bright and clear. Saskia liked the handsome, charming medic, and tough Siv seemed like a perfect match for him.
“I’m so glad you’re all right, Saskia.” Sofie touched a hand to her arm. “It was just horrible what happened to you.”
“Thank you,” Saskia said.
“I had an unfortunate run-in with the Russian mafia.” Haven shuddered. “Not an experience I want to repeat.”
“I’m grateful to Vander and the others for getting me out,” Saskia said.
“Once again, the Norcross Security men come to the rescue,” Gia said. “And woman. Siv’s part of the team now too.”
“If my brother had been here, I’m sure he would’ve found me, but he’s out of the country.” Saskia cocked her head, swirling her nearly empty glass. “Which is probably lucky. He would’ve…made a big mess.”
The conversation shifted, and as the women kept talking, Saskia felt a tingle on the back of her neck. She turned and saw Cam.
Her mouth went dry. He wasn’t smiling, and he looked so good in his dark gray suit. As he walked into the lounge, she saw women notice him.
His gaze met hers.
She locked her knees. Just be polite. You can get through this. She didn’t need to make this harder for him. These were his friends and family.
Besides, she’d be gone in a couple of days. She nodded at him, then turned away.
But despite her internal pep talk, her chest was tight. She needed some space.
“Who needs another Contessa?” she asked, holding up her glass.
She got three yeses and made a beeline for the bar. She found an empty space, leaned against the smooth surface, and breathed.
Being around Cam would hurt less…eventually.
Cam stared at Saskia’s back. He let his gaze run over her in that maddening red dress. It wasn’t tight, but kind of draped over her slender body. It left a lot of sleek leg bare.
“Here, looks like you need this.” Hunt shoved a beer into Cam’s hand.