Chapter 10 #3
“You don’t have to keep me safe.” I wanted to take away some of his anger or maybe some of his responsibility, because it seemed he was carrying the weight of the world there in that car. I felt guilty because he looked so troubled with it.
“But I’m going to, Mia. I’m going to.”
Thankfully, Archer’s familiar knock roused me from my scream. “Mia, wake up or you’ll wake the house up.”
“I’m up. I’m up,” I grumbled and threw my blankets off in frustration. I’d fallen asleep fighting my mind and body, trying to resist the dreams of Jameson Knight. But not thankfully, I had nightmares instead.
And then I groaned remembering what day it was. Friday. The day Valerie was coming to see Franny and Jameson.
Would I honestly be able to endure this all summer for two million? I had to find a way to stop myself from listening this time.
I even gave myself a pep talk while I slid on a black skirt and buttoned up my white blouse to my neck.
I pulled my dark waves into a bun and rubbed moisturizer on my face.
When I dragged lip gloss over my bottom lip, I wondered if he bit hers while she was in the study, and then I slammed the gloss down on the counter.
My secret obsession had gone too far, and I knew it. So, I did what I didn’t want to do. I called my sister, knowing she’d put me in my place.
“Hello?” her husband’s voice growled over the phone after two rings.
“Hey, Felix. It’s Mia. I got a new phone.” My words were measured, knowing that man seemed to steal some more of my sister’s spirit every time I talked with her. “Is Marian with you?”
“Mia.” He sighed my name like it was a relief to know I was the one calling from an unknown number. “You should text us if you’re changing your number.”
“I know. I’ve been busy. Sorry.” My neck muscles were already tightening at how I succumbed to apologizing immediately to him. “Is she there?”
“She’s still asleep. We had a long night, and you know how she is.” His tone was patronizing, and his words circled the real reason for her not talking with me.
I considered my options. “I got a new job and really wanted to tell her about it.”
“Did you now?” That piqued his interest. “Where?”
“A private residence. Better money than the academy, you know?” I dangled the only information I knew he’d bite on. I could see him licking his chops the way he used to when we were younger.
“Better than the academy?” I held my breath for his response. “That’s good news. Hold on. I’ll see if I can get her up.”
After a few moments of rustling, she came on the phone, her voice bright. Too bright. “Mia, your phone has been dead. I’ve been worried.”
“I know. I know. My other phone got lost in the shuffle of moving because I got a new job.”
“New?” Immediately, her tone changed. “The public school was stable, Mia.”
“Yeah, but they’re not going to have me back there and you know it.”
“Mom and Dad think that maybe if you apologized—”
“I won’t,” I cut her off. “They supported hiring on my coach, Marian. They supported him and didn’t stand up for their daughter when she said something.”
She sighed and whispered, “I know.” Marian wouldn’t argue that. She knew the pain he caused, knew I was right even if every damn person in that town thought I was wrong. “Where’s the new job?”
I waited a moment and then murmured what I knew would send her into a tailspin. “In Paradise Grove.”
“Paradise Grove?” Felix blurted out, and I reminded myself he was always listening, always keeping tabs on her so I couldn’t tell her the whole truth or my whole plan. He whistled over the phone. “He better pay you well.”
“Paradise Grove is … Mia, you need to be careful. People there are very connected.”
“Yeah, for the better,” Felix seemed to growl at her. “She’s finally doing something right. Don’t patronize her. We’re happy for you, Mia. You should have us there, and maybe we could meet some people.”
“Right.” That was never happening. “Or maybe at the end of the summer, I can come visit?”
“I don’t know—”
“Of course you’re always welcome here, Mia,” Felix purred, and I recognized that voice all too well.
“Good,” I said because I would be coming one way or another. “Hey, how’s the weather there?”
She sighed, and to most people it would have seemed like she was assessing the clouds, but it’d been our code for a long time. “Summer’s always hot, but it’ll get better.” Life was shit, but it’ll get better.
“And the baby?” I asked, because she hadn’t offered and that had me more concerned with Felix hovering over her.
“Pregnancy is going great. Baby’s healthy. How do you like the new job?”
“It’s fine. With this job, I think we’ll be able to enjoy that better weather together soon.”
“Oh, Mia. Don’t keep a job just for that.”
The way she whispered the words before we got off the call was all the motivation I needed to remind myself that I didn’t care what Jameson was doing with his life—with or without Valerie.
His secrets were his to keep, I told myself. I didn’t need to know any more about him or why he kept his women at arm’s length but employees so close they could be honest with him.
I wasn’t permanent here and didn’t need to follow in their footsteps.
I went through my morning routine, and when I saw a couple tech giants walk past the study doors while teaching Franny, I didn’t listen. When I saw a man dragged past the study, I made sure Franny was focused on her work too and had Archer close the door.
“I think we should have snack time with Rosy in her kitchen,” Franny announced at her desk as she finished her writing assignment and petted Malek, who was constantly by her side.
“I don’t think your dad wants you snacking around the house,” Hades said from the corner of the room. Archer didn’t even respond, just rolled his eyes at what a stickler Hades was.
“Hades doesn’t know, Ms. Darling. He lies a lot. I’m not sure why Daddy doesn’t fire him for lying,” she said matter-of-factly.
“What?” Hades almost gasped, as if completely offended with her statement, but she was already standing to hand me her assignment. “All done. Can we go?”
I shrugged and waved her forward while Hades glared at us, including Archer. “I don’t approve of this,” he grumbled to him.
“Well, all the more reason for you to accompany them. Xavier, Bane, and Cal want me to go over a few …” Archer glanced at me before he finished, “issues.”
“Right.” Hades waved Archer away, and Archer motioned to his ear at me.
“Call if you need me.”
I found that Archer wasn’t necessarily at my side every moment of every day, but he was watching the perimeter of the house with Hades or checking security and rooms that Franny and I went into. Maybe it was overkill, but mostly it made me feel safe.
Even if Hades grumbled about our insubordination the whole way to the kitchen, when we got there, I found his glare was directed more at Rosy than us. Still, she smiled at Franny and pulled her in for a hug. “Did you come to visit?”
“Yes, but Hades didn’t want to.”
“That’s not true. I just said—”
“See, you are a liar,” Franny pointed out. Rosy glanced at Hades before starting to laugh.
The room snapped with tension when Hades made eye contact with Rosy, though. “You’d be wise not to laugh at Franny’s jokes.”
“It’s not a joke, Hades.” Franny lifted her chin and pointedly repeated, “You are a liar.”
His mouth dropped open, and Rosy stared straight at him, her gaze unwavering. “You’re right, Franny. I think he is a liar.”
“We came for snacks.” Franny batted her long eyelashes at Rosy, and Rosy immediately threaded her fingers through the child’s hand to walk her around the kitchen, picking out strawberries and grapes and cookies and chocolate.
Rosy arranged it all on a platter and pointed to the dining room for us to go sit.
Once there, Franny looked up from her massive pile of food to say, “Well, this was a great idea. Ridiculous to think Dad would be mad about this.”
Although she didn’t directly call him out, Hades blinked a few times before his bottom lip almost pouted. “Franny, you’ve called me a liar, and now ridiculous? I don’t try to lie to you, and I’m not ridiculous.”
“Oh, Hades.” She sounded like she was the adult consoling the child.
Then she lifted her binoculars to look through them at Hades as if gathering more evidence.
She sighed and lowered them to say, “I think my daddy makes you lie. It’s okay, but I don’t like it, and we should be honest with Ms. Darling. Honesty is best, right?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“She’s living here now, Hades. You and Daddy said you’re my uncle because you live with us and now you’re family, right? She’s going to be family too.”
Hades glanced at me and then back at Franny like he’d been broken, like she’d crushed the heart that obviously belonged to the seven-year-old. “Franny, not everyone who lives here can be family.”
She tsked. “Of course not, but Ms. Darling is. And she doesn’t want to be lied to, right, Ms. Darling?”
Were we still talking about a snack? What else could I say other than “Right.”
“So anyway …” The little girl popped a strawberry in her mouth and chewed before she said, “I think you should go talk to Rosy before she gets really mad at you, because she said you’re a liar too. We’ll just eat snacks here.”
Hades’s frown got deeper, like his whole world was falling apart in front of him. “Are you okay for five minutes?” he asked me.
“Of course.” We’d be fine eating together for a few minutes, but as soon as Hades walked into the back kitchen again, Franny jumped up.
“I think today is the day you should probably see where Daddy works.”
“Franny, why don’t we eat and wait for Hades to get back?”
Curling her lip in disgust, she bolted down to the other side of the room. “Don’t be ridiculous like Hades, Ms. Darling. I’ll show you why Hades is a liar.”
“Who’s a liar?” Two women that were drop-dead gorgeous, one with a pink bob and the other with brown hair curlier than my own, stood in the doorway of the kitchen.
“Auntie Pink! Olive!” Franny squealed before she leapt into the first woman’s arms, then the other’s. She whispered to them before announcing, “I knew something was happening today. I was just about to take Ms. Darling to the basement. She’s my new nanny.”
“Yes, I heard.” Pink’s gaze was on me, assessing, before she nodded. She had high cheekbones and skin just a bit lighter than mine. Her features were almost fairylike, but her stare was vicious. “You look nicer than I pictured.”
“She’s very nice.” Franny giggled and waved us forward. “Let’s go.”
Both the women eyed me expectantly, as if they were waiting on me to make the decision to leave Hades behind.
I glanced back and forth before stepping forward to follow the little girl in my care.
I shouldn’t have. I’d told myself his life was his and a complete secret.
I’d made sure to instill that today with a call to my sister.
My focus was going to be on rebuilding my life with this salary … and maybe hers.
Still, I had to follow Franny. To make sure she was safe and all that.
“Good choice,” Olive murmured as we walked down the hall. Pink laughed at Olive and elbowed her.
“Don’t reinforce with positivity yet. The girl has to deal with whatever mood Jameson’s going to be in down there.”
“Who cares?” Olive shrugged and glanced at me. I didn’t find myself around other women much, probably because I’d learned the hard way that they could be cruel, but Olive’s eyes seemed warm and kind. And full of mischief. “He hasn’t even invited me over to meet Ms. Darling.”
“Oh, it’s Mia. And I’m sure he had intentions of introducing me to …” I hesitated, looking over the women. Neither of them looked related to Jameson or Franny. “To family.”
Pink seemed happy with the conclusion I’d come to, because she smiled wide before hooking an arm in mine and rounding another corner. “His ass had no intentions, Mia. It’s why we’re here—to rattle his cage a little. See if we can get the real Jameson to come out.”
The real Jameson. Was that the one who took Valerie in the study, or the one who put his hand on my throat to get me to listen with bullets flying outside?
“Has Jameson told you what he does for a living?” Olive inquired, her eyes dancing as we made our way down some stairs and came to a stop in front of double doors.
“He said he was a doctor.”
Pink chuckled, and Franny bounced on her toes. “He is. He helps people.”
Olive swiped her watch over a small pad to the left of the entry.
The doors unlocked.
That’s when I heard a man scream.