Page 84 of The Price of Power

Agent Thompson narrowed his eyes. “You’re saying none of it’s true.”

“Not a single word.”

“What about the voicemails?” he asked. “I heard one where you admitted how dangerous Gabriel was, and begged your brother to pay a seven figures so you could come home.”

“A deep fake,” I said. “It’s scary what AI can do these days.”

“That’s not true,” Theo shouted. “She’s lying. All the recordings are real.”

I made a show of rolling my eyes.

“On the walk down here, he said he’d made one that sounded like he’d recorded the exact moment when Gabriel decided to hold me hostage. As if anyone would believe that.”

“It did seem too good to be true,” Agent Thompson muttered to himself. “But how did you know where to find your brother?”

“He called and told me where he was,” I answered simply. At this point, the lies were rolling off my tongue with an ease I’d never felt before. “I was hoping to talk some sense into him, and he’d see for himself how happy Gabriel and I were together. But when you showed up, I realized this was just another trick to trap Gabriel and force me to come home.”

I watched as Agent Thompson’s eyes flickered back and forth between Theo and Gabriel, trying to decide who to believe.

But in the end, my plausible lies were more reasonable than Theo’s outrageous truth.

“Mr. Collins, come with me,” Agent Thompson said. “It sounds like we have a lot to discuss back at the office.”

“Wait,” I said, stepping forward to block his path to my brother. “I’m sorry for any inconvenience Theo has caused, but I don’t want him to get in trouble. He made a mistake—sure—but it’s an understandable one. He thought he was doing the right thing and looking out for me. But now I just want this to be over. I’m sure we both have better things to do with our time than waste any more of it on this drama.”

“I do have too many case files on my desk as it is.” Agent Thompson chewed on his lip, thinking for a second.

He looked back at his men. Then back at Gabriel.

“Mr. D’Angelo, this is your lucky night,” he said.

“Every night I’m with Liv is a lucky one,” he answered, squeezing my hand.

Agent Thompson nodded. “If you’re smart, you’ll work on becoming the man she seems to think you are.”

“That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said all night,” Gabriel told him.

Agent Thompson turned around, motioning to the agents behind him to follow as he climbed back into his car.

Theo was left flailing as they drove away.

“Great job, Liv,” he wailed. “Now I’m a dead man for sure.”

But I shook my head, looking up into Gabriel’s dark eyes. “I’m not sure about that.”

Gabriel stayed silent for the better part of a minute, and when he finally spoke, his voice was low and rumbly—for my ears only.

“You lied,” he said. “And you did it for me.”

“I did,” I said with a nod. “I couldn’t bear the thought of you spending the rest of your life in prison.”

“And you did it without the promise that I’d let your brother go.”

“Of course. This wasn’t about a negotiation or a deal,” I said. “It was about me trusting you, about me needing you.”

Another few seconds passed, then?—

“Go.”