6. Cassian
6
Cassian
A girl in a starched white blouse and black skirt hovered at my periphery. She’d been trying to catch my attention from the minute I arrived. When I finally sat down, she scurried over with a smile on her face.
“Can I fetch you a drink, sir?” She seemed overly excited for a waitress stuck in a hotel in the middle of nowhere. “And also an autograph, if you don’t mind me asking?”
My face froze. “Autograph?”
Her excitement level faltered a touch before she gamely soldiered on. “You’re the lead singer from Only Boyz, yeah?”
Ah, the boy band who’d just won some talent contest. I guess I did look a bit like Kieran Knight. If a person was in dire need of some new glasses.
“Sadly not. Sorry!”
The girl - Moira, according to her plastic name tag - visibly deflated. “Oh. I guess I should have realized when you showed up without an entourage.” She huffed loudly, unhappy to have missed out on a selfie opportunity with her celebrity crush. “So, a drink then?”
“A gin a practiced move designed to reel in impressionable young women. “Very.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust. Well, I’d tried. If the dumb bitch chose to get involved with him, it was her lookout.
“My drink, please,” I reminded Moira, and with one last giggle, she hurried away.
“Sweet girl,” Dad commented. “I do like the Irish accent. Reminds me of the nuns from my school days.” Ugh .
“She’s barely old enough to serve alcohol,” I replied, my voice laced with disgust.
But he ignored my jibe.
“I need you back on board, Cassian. You’re a part of the family business, whether you like it or not. This little…” He waved his hand dismissively. “… rebellion is over now. You had your fun. Now it’s time to return to the real world.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. I’m an adult. I’ll do what I want.”
“Really? You’re willing to say goodbye to your sweet mother and never see her again? How sad for her. She’ll be so disappointed.”
“She was the one who told me to leave. Begged me to get the fuck away from you, actually.”
From the furious look on his face, he was unaware of that fact.
“She told me about grandma’s trust and gave me access to it.” I smiled. “So I’m not financially dependent on you anymore, old man .”
“Why you little shit!” He lunged at me and before I could react, his first was wrapped around my throat tight enough to cut off my oxygen. Younger me would have panicked. He’d done this many times over the years. Throttled me to within an inch of my life, beaten the shit out of me, and more.
But I was older, wiser, and more importantly, stronger.
One of his men rushed over to calm him down before he caused a scene, while the other ripped Moira’s phone from her hand and snapped it in half.
I broke my father’s chokehold and shoved him away, forcing a smile. “Careful, old man. Your popularity ratings would suffer if the press learned you were a domestic abuser. The Prime Minister wouldn’t be happy if that came out.”
He growled and kicked the small table between us. Our drinks tumbled off and smashed on the flagstone floor, sending splinters of glass flying everywhere.
“Sir,” his man said in a low voice. “We should leave. A group of people have just arrived for lunch.”
Dad inhaled and closed his eyes, trying to rein in his temper as I watched with amusement.
“Yes, you’re right. Have Collins bring the car around immediately and then call the pilot. I need to get back to London.” He turned to me and sneered. “I think I’ve wasted enough time on you already. You’re obviously too blind to see the opportunities you’re throwing away. What a pity it’s your mother who will suffer for your poor decision-making. Oh well.”
I made a move to punch him, but his man grabbed my wrist and shook his head in warning. It gave Dad enough time to move out of reach.
“Watch your back, Daddy dearest,” I warned in a low voice. “You might like to think you’re bulletproof, but trust me, you’re not.”
“You dare to threaten me?” His jaw dropped in surprise, but before I could respond, a group of chattering seniors swarmed through the double doors and headed our way, most likely to take up positions around the fireplace, where it was warmest.
Dad nodded at them while pulling his coat back on. Then he swanned out like an A-lister heading for a red carpet event, his two stooges in tow. Moira had disappeared, thankfully, probably too busy crying over her destroyed phone to worry about flirting with the psychopath.
She reappeared from a side door as I passed the bar, her face tear-stained. The poor girl looked miserable. Buying a new phone would be a big expense for her. I doubted she earned much above minimum wage working in a remote place like this.
Feeling sorry for her, I reached into my wallet and pulled some cash out.
“Here, use this to replace your phone.”
Her mouth gaped like a fish out of water as she took the money.
“Than…thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome. Word of advice, though. Steer clear of that man if he ever shows his face in here again.” He likely wouldn’t, but then again, he might decide a taste of teenage pussy was worth a side trip. My father had proved many times he’d go to extreme lengths in pursuit of a female.
Moira nodded, still looking shell-shocked as another girl appeared to serve the group who’d just arrived.
It was time to head back to Dublin and fill in the guys on what I’d learned about Thea’s mother and her connection to my father.