Chapter Four
Caius
S ometimes she makes me uneasy with how she internalizes whatever I throw her way. Like now, I’ve threatened her in a pretty fucked-up way. She’s definitely irritated, but it’s like she shoves it all down someplace deep inside her.
Does it ever come out?
I’m curious to know what else she hides in the dark recesses of her mind. The part of me that likes a challenge craves to take a flashlight to it, inspecting every corner and crevice. Could what lurks there be worse than my own shadows and demons?
Days ago, Gareth raped her. Weeks before that, she was kidnapped, run through parts of the CUP program, and manipulated at every turn. How is she not losing her shit by now?
I’ll admit, she’s a lot tougher than I originally gave her credit for. A deep dive, after she showed up in our home revealed a sheltered young woman. She’d been born with a silver spoon in her mouth and it didn’t get pulled out until she went to college. I’d expected a lot more tears and one helluva mental breakdown.
And yet, she kept her head.
She still manages to keep her head and the blows keep coming.
A woman with jet-black hair and sharp features opens the door to Gideon’s home. The lips on this woman are almost cartoonish—overly huge, pouty-shaped, and Barbie doll pink. It’s clear her husband spared no expense on just her mouth. Makes me wonder what else he put money into. To others, the woman is beautiful, maybe even Hollywood gorgeous, but she’s nothing compared to Romy.
Romy, with her messy blond hair twisted into a bun, wearing no makeup, is a thousand times prettier. Though the curves along her jaw and upturned nose are soft, she has an edge that gleams in her keen blue eyes. Her lips—lips I’ve had the secret pleasure of kissing—are supple and tasty. How someone can always taste sweet is beyond me.
“Romy, darling,” the woman croons. “It’s been ages. We’ve missed you dearly.”
The woman, wearing tall heels and a form-fitting turquoise dress, sashays over to Romy and plants an air kiss over each of Romy’s cheeks. Romy seems to like this woman because she remains relaxed in her presence.
Unlike when she’d seen Vivienne…
Her reaction to Kaitlyn’s nanny has had me edgy ever since. There was an unnatural quality to how she reacted. As if she were afraid of the harmless woman. What’s weirder is that once I picked up on Romy’s mannerisms around the nanny, I noticed similar ones with Kaitlyn.
That makes me suspicious.
What could Vivienne have done to make both Romy, who I know to be strong, and my little niece both tense in her presence, I’m not sure. I do know, however, I’ll find out.
As soon as we’re alone.
The thought of being alone with Romy is more palatable than being here at her father’s home.
“You must be the new boyfriend,” the woman greets, extending out a French-manicured hand. “I’m Eva, Romy’s stepmother.”
I shake Eva’s hand and give her a polite smile. “Romy’s spoken so highly of you. Nice to finally put a face to the name.”
Eva blushes at my praise and gives Romy a sweet smile. “I love her like she’s my own daughter.”
This surprises me, but I act as if this is common knowledge. Romy loops her arm with Eva’s and they walk ahead into the foyer of the expansive suite. At my own home, despite it being ridiculously expensive, it still feels warm and inviting. Here, there’s a coldness that seeps into your bones the second you set foot over the threshold. Eva, and now Romy, are the only warmth in this place. The decor is all muted grays and soft whites. It reminds me of the snowy landscape outside.
Eva guides us through the home that smells of vanilla and cinnamon and into a grand living room with gigantic windows overlooking the city. Though I’m curious to see just what sort of view Gideon has, I refrain from walking over to the windows. Eva motions for us to have a seat while she fetches her husband.
Romy sits on a love seat, so I choose to sit beside her. Her back is stiff and her body is tense. From me or because we’re here? Hard to tell. Seconds ago, she was at ease with her stepmother and now she’s coiled tight like she might bolt at any second.
Voices can be heard from down the hallway and then Eva makes her way back into the room. Her obnoxious lips are curled into a forced smile that honestly looks like it hurts. Clearly, her husband’s an asshole. At least that’s the vibe I’m getting.
As she busies herself at a small bar area, a tall, broad older man strides into the room. He brings a chill in the air with him. Everything about him is forged from ice from his white hair and trimmed beard, pale gray bespoke suit, and sleek razor-thin phone in his palm. The man barely spares us a glance as he meets Eva, holding out his other hand. She deposits a tumbler filled with amber liquid that he doesn’t even thank her for.
I rise to my feet, offering my hand in greeting. “Caius Crowne,” I state, thrusting my hand out in greeting. “You must be Gideon. Nice to finally have the pleasure of meeting you, sir.”
His light green eyes quickly skim over me in a dismissive way that has my hackles rising. I’ve been imbedded in the Crowne world for so long, blanketed in respect by all, that this small exchange thrusts me back to my early teenage years when I was a nobody desperate for love.
I note that Romy doesn’t stand. She’s obviously used to her father’s asshole ways.
He sighs heavily as though irritated to have to speak to me, and pockets his phone. I watch as he switches his drink to his other hand before offering me his hand.“Gideon Langston.”
The handshake is brief and unmemorable. After his entrance, I’d expected some grandiose show of power over me with a tight handshake. It’s almost as if he can’t stand to hold my hand longer than a second and retreats as quickly as it was offered. I don’t sit but instead watch the man gulp down his drink before holding it up for his maid—or wife—it’s hard to tell with this man. Eva rushes over with a bottle of something and refills it for him. She’s done this song and dance before.
“How’s school?” Gideon asks, sitting in an armchair across from us, attention finally on his daughter.
If she’s upset by his rude as fuck nature, she doesn’t let on. I finally take my seat, settling an arm over the back of the love seat. I have an urge to pull her to my side to show my power. That she belongs to me now.
Rather than letting my dick and ego call the shots, I incline my head toward Romy, interested to hear what she has to say.
“Good. Getting good grades.”
I know this is true because I have a computer program that assures this for her. She may be in my care, but as far as the university is concerned, she’s turning in her work. If anyone ever notices and actually says something, I’ll deal with that in time. Everyone can be bought for the right price.
“Decided on a major yet?” Gideon asks. “Don’t tell me you’re still undecided.”
Romy shrugs. “Still figuring out what I want to do.”
Gideon scoffs. “What is there to figure out? Your future is at VEIL.”
“Right,” Romy says sweetly. “I guess journalism it is.”
If I hadn’t been staring directly at her mouth when she said the words, I’d have missed the slight curl of her lips. It’s a jab at her father. Sure, they’re a media conglomerate, but the journalism part is at the bottom of their company. It’s clear he meant she’d be in upper management like her brother, Bastian. A trickle of pride makes its way through my chest knowing she can get a dig in on a man like Gideon.
“I’ve missed the sass with this one,” Gideon says with a grunt. “I forgot just how unruly she could be.”
I fight a smirk and am unable to keep my hand from drifting from the back of the sofa to toy with the loose strands of her hair. She shoots me a shocked look but doesn’t push me away. If Gideon doesn’t like the small display of affection, he doesn’t let on.
“Moving on to the business leg of this visit,” Gideon says smoothly, completely ignoring his wife, who sits beside him. “I’d like for you both to come again tomorrow for supper to celebrate Eva’s birthday. Bring Orion so we can catch up.”
“Will Bastian be there?” Romy asks, a fissure of pain in her voice. “And his new girlfriend?”
“Of course he’ll be there.” Gideon’s eyes narrow a fraction. “I wasn’t aware you knew he had a new girlfriend. He said he hadn’t told anyone yet.”
“She’s a friend of mine,” Romy says, back straightening. “We also have more guests with us. I’m sure Caius’s brother and niece would also like to attend.”
“I can make the arrangements,” Eva offers. “To make sure Rosie has enough food to prepare for a larger group.”
Gideon stares at me, the chill behind his eyes doing their best to freeze me out and failing. If he’s trying to convey a message to me, it’s not working. I’m not Dad. I don’t play the same games these dinosaurs do. I can’t be cowed with one look. It never worked when I was a kid and it certainly won’t work now.
“Very well,” Gideon says, absently scratching his beard with a long finger. “I really would like to speak to him, especially considering our children have miraculously found each other.”
The look he gives me now is a knowing one—one that says he’s on to this ruse of a relationship, or at the very least, knows it didn’t come about organically. I dart my eyes over to Eva and then smirk at him. It’s my attempt to hint that I’ve done a little work on Romy much like he’s done on his sweet, doting wife, Eva.
I almost laugh out loud at the murderous, disgusted look that crosses over his features. He mustn’t forget who he’s dealing with. I’m the eldest Crowne son. We are the kings of the psyop world, masters of manipulation. Our subjects help make the world a better place. He doesn’t need to know that our tactics fall on deaf ears when it comes to his daughter.
“There’s been a death in their family,” Romy says to her father. “You’ll need to be kind to Caius’s brother, Theo, please.”
I cut my eyes over to her, searching for malice, but find none. Irritation stirs in my gut. I know Theo has a thing for her, but it better not be mutual.
Or what, big man?
You’ll kill him too?
I’m annoyed that Romy gets inside my head and makes a mess of things. Everything in my world used to be so clear. One motive, one plan, one future: find Calista. Not only find my sister but take her far, far away from these twisted fucks who infest every corner of this ruined world.
Now that Romy’s a part of my life, all the plans got a lot more complicated, and frankly, confusing.
“A death? That must mean Gareth,” Gideon asks, eyes boring into me. “Wasn’t he only in his mid-twenties?”
Despite this dancing around each other, both Gideon and I know each other’s worlds very well. I’ve only done a deeper dive into his since Romy came along, but I’ve always known of him and his connection to my father.
“Unfortunately, yes,” I say without emotion.
Romy reaches for my hand on my lap and threads our fingers together. “Keep it between us, but yes. He slipped off a yacht and drowned. The cops think he must’ve been drinking. Horrible, really.”
I note how she establishes with her father right away that she had nothing to do with it. Not that I would ever truly go through with my plan of framing her for Gareth’s murder. I like how she’s being proactive, though, planting necessary seeds for her own protection with her powerful father.
She’s smart and plays the game well.
A worthy opponent.