Hiding Sparrows

18. Carried away

When we climbed into the car after the party, I had all the questions I'd wanted to ask Ty right on the edge of my tongue. But one look at his face made me shut my mouth and swallow them.

He gently touched my thigh, and turned to Az in the front. "Robin's place, thanks Azael."

Then, he pressed the button and the window between us and driver slowly closed. I gulped.

"Don't get too excited," he said with a smirk. "We have things to discuss, and I don't want to bore my lovely driver. Remember what I said the other day?"

I frowned, annoyed. "What?"

"This is a business arrangement, Robin," he said raising an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, sorry, I must have forgotten that, you know, with all the finger fucking."

His face took on the same dark look and he paused, thinking over his answer. Then, his face relaxed back into his shit-eating grin and he looked at my bag.

"I want the book first. See if you were just bullshitting me earlier. I hardly think those boys would notice if you fudged your numbers."

Pursing my lips, I reached into the bag and withdrew the notebook, passing it across. Ty flipped it open and started looking over the page, dragging his eyes over the numbers. He flicked through a few pages, then raised his gaze.

"Convinced I'm not bullshitting you yet?" I asked.

He shut the notebook and put it in a compartment in the car door.

"Looks legit. You know your cards, don't you, little bird?"

He said it pointedly, a question positioned as a statement. I thought again of our conversation the other day. Who the fuck are you? 

Someone you don't want to know, I thought.

"Are we done yet? Because I have what I am pretty sure is an incredibly illegal souvenir in my purse."

He nodded and held out a hand. "Let me see it."

I let out a long breath, pursing my lips. Now is the time to ask. But also, a part of me wondered if maybe I didn't have to. If he was going to tell me anyway.

So I reached into the bag and drew out the statue. As I passed it across to him, his face flooded with a smug look of satisfaction. He whistled. "Good job. Maybe those pilfering hands of yours are good for something after all."

"These pilfering hands of mine could break your face," I snapped. "What the fuck is going on, Ty?"

He looked across at me, his face cool. "Watch the aggression, Robin. All I'm saying is, you did well. And with the boys..."

He trailed off, returning his gaze to the elephant and turning it over in his hands.

I wanted to ask, 'Did I make you jealous?' but something stopped me. Maybe because it made me seem petty. Maybe because I was afraid the answer would be no.

Instead, I asked, "How much is it worth?"

He hummed. "That's a great question and depends on who you're asking. But to me, it's priceless."

I tried to hide my look of disgust but evidently didn't do a very good job because Ty clocked it and chuckled.

"Nah, there's no need for that kind of reaction, Robin. I take it you're not a fan of hunting?" He asked.

"Not when it comes to endangered species." I glared at him. "Isn't the ivory trade super illegal?"

He shook his head. "Not everywhere. There are some hunting places in Africa. Although, this particular trophy came from poaching in a conservation area, Bradman just never got caught."