Chapter 24 Allegra
ALLEGRA
I’m hustled out of the ballroom and into the corridor so quickly, I barely see Cassian as he tries to maneuver his father out of there.
My dress is sticky against my chest, and I stumble as we hurry toward an elevator.
I’m only released once we’re inside it, the two hulking men blocking my view as the doors slide closed.
“Hold it,” a man calls out and an arm blocks the doors from closing fully.
A soldier steps forward I assume to stop the man from entering, but when the doors reopen, I see it’s Jet. They do too. There’s a moment when I swear the soldiers glance toward the ballroom. Are they looking for Cassian? These are the same two who let Jet into Elenora’s.
“Relax, guys,” Jet says, climbing onto the elevator, glancing at me as he pushes the button to close the doors before tugging the sleeves of his jacket back into place.
The two men exchange a look, but they don’t stop him.
“What’s happening?” I ask as the elevator climbs up. “What was that?”
Jet signals for me to wait until we’re alone.
The ride feels like it takes hours before the doors finally open on the penthouse floor.
The soldiers part to let Jet out. I follow him, glancing back to watch them trail us as we head toward Cassian’s penthouse where I watch, surprised, when Jet enters the code to open the door.
“I’ll take it from here,” Jet tells the soldiers.
“Mr. Trevino didn’t say anything about that.”
“Mr. Trevino didn’t say anything about earlier, either.
” He takes his wallet out. “Besides, Mr. Trevino is a little busy.” He pulls out several hundred-dollar bills, and hands them to one of the men.
“I said I got this.” When they don’t look convinced, he raises his eyebrows.
“Don’t worry, boys, I’ll be gone before he’s back. ”
They glance at each other, then turn their backs to us.
“So, you bribed them before too?” I ask as we enter the penthouse. Jet switches on the light. I drop my clutch on the sofa and turn to face him. “Or do they work for you and that exchange of money was just for my benefit?”
Jet looks at me, his gaze moving momentarily to the blotch the cocktail left on my dress. “Are you loyal to Cassian then, Allegra? He’s your prison guard, remember? You’re his collateral, isn’t that right?”
“I’m not loyal to you or to him. And my loyalty isn’t in question.”
“But you’re angry on his behalf?”
“I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.”
“Don’t tell me you trust him.”
“What? Should I trust you?”
“After what I did for you, twice now, I’d think so, yes.”
“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think your concern is for me.
Giving me the phone, getting me out of the crypt, those things weren’t about me.
They were for Cassian. To take from him or hell, maybe just to piss him off.
I don’t know. Maybe you’re just jealous of him and you want to make trouble for him. ”
He tilts his head, and I can’t tell if it’s anger or what I’m reading in his eyes.
“Oh, my goodness,” he says more casually than I like.
He takes a step toward me and there’s something in his eyes that makes me take one back.
His gaze narrows and one corner of his mouth curves upward.
“My, my, Little Moth. Are you falling for him?”
“Don’t call me that,” I say, turning away.
“Why? Is that nickname only for him to use?”
“It’s none of your business, is it?”
“Are you though?”
“Am I what?” I ask, feeling flushed and sweaty.
“Falling for my stepbrother?”
I shake my head. “Don’t be stupid. You said yourself I’m collateral. What was that anyway? What happened down there? And why are you here with me?”
“We’re friends, remember?”
“We’re not friends. I’m still trying to figure out why you gave me the phone. Why you’re bribing Cassian’s soldiers. He’ll kill them if he finds out. He’ll kill you.”
“I’m not afraid of Cassian. I need a drink.” He pushes a hand through his hair and stalks across the room to pour himself a whiskey. He swallows it down before turning to me. “Want one?”
“Why are you here, Jet?”
“Honestly, I don’t fucking know, Allegra.”
He pours himself another drink, then decides to pour me one too. He carries both over to the couch and sits right in the center of it, legs wide, setting one of the tumblers on the coffee table and pushing it toward the chair facing him.
“There’s a whole table between us. I’ll stay on my side, if that’s what you want. Is it what you want?”
“Just fucking tell me why you’re here,” I demand.
“Sit, Allegra. Sit and I’ll answer your questions.”
I study him and although I don’t trust him, he seems as tired as me. If Cassian finds him in here, I don’t know what he’ll do, especially in the state he’s in, but I decide to sit because I need to get my questions answered and I have a lot of questions.
“Tell me what that was,” I say.
He sits back and brings his glass to his lips, forest eyes on me. His jacket opens. No holster. No gun. He’s not mafia, I remind myself. That’s Cassian. Jet is a legitimate business owner. At least officially.
“What did Cassian tell you about his father?” Jet asks, crossing his ankle over the opposite knee.
“Not much,” I admit. “Nothing, in fact. But I guess what I saw down there, that’s dementia? He’s too young though, isn’t he?”
“Early onset. He’s sixty. It started in his fifties.”
“Jesus.” I pick up the tumbler and bring it to my lips needing the whiskey. “It must be hard for Cassian to have watched his father decline,” I say as casually as I can.
“I wouldn’t know. Cassian doesn’t exactly share what he’s thinking.”
“He thought Cassian was Seth.”
Jet nods gravely and I can see he’s waiting for me to say more.
“Vivi is Seth’s wife,” I say. This part I know.
“His fiancée. They never got married. Seth is… was Cassian’s older brother. She was pregnant when he disappeared.”
“Oh, God. That’s terrible.”
“Cassian’s father confuses Seth and Cassian sometimes.”
“Did you know Seth?”
He nods, sips. Doesn’t offer more.
“How long ago did he disappear?” I ask as casually as I am able.
“Just about two years.”
“Is he dead?”
“It’s assumed, but no one knows. No body no crime, right?”
“Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“Poor taste. My bad.”
“Why did his father say what he said about Cassian putting Seth in that terrible place? What place?”
He shrugs a shoulder as my mind fills in the blank. A grave? Did Cassian put his brother in a grave and his father knows it?
“From what I know about Seth and Cassian, Seth was the favorite. Seth was everything to Samuel, or so Cassian told me back when he told me things. Now he’s left to shoulder the burden of his father’s dementia while everyone thinks he killed his brother.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“No?”
“Why would he? I mean, he’s close to Vivi. It sounds like he takes care of her and her son.” Then something occurs to me. “He’s not in love with her, is he?”
That confuses Jet for a moment, but then he chuckles.
“They’re very close and he takes care of Gage that’s true.
And I’m not suggesting he did anything to his brother.
It’s just what people assume, but you know what they say about assuming.
” He chuckles, drinks more whiskey. “I mean it’s logical.
Power thing. If Seth were here, he’d be running the show.
With Seth out of the way, Cassian’s the boss. ”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“So you keep saying, Allegra, but do you know it for a fact?”
I open my mouth to answer, but I don’t have an answer. I guess I can’t know that. At least I don’t know it more than a feeling.
“Why does he call you Moth anyway?”
“What?”
“Cassian. He calls you Moth.”
I shake my head, look away not because I feel embarrassed although I guess I do a little. It seems like it’s a private thing between Cassian and I, but it shouldn’t be. I have to remember that to Cassian, I’m collateral. I’m here to make sure he gets his money.
“Probably trying to annoy me.”
He chuckles. “Probably. He doesn’t often give his girlfriends nicknames. Although he doesn’t really have girlfriends.”
“Well, I’m not his girlfriend.”
“No?”
I open my mouth to set things straight, but before either of us can say more, the door opens, and Cassian is standing there looking huge and pissed as hell, but unsurprised. I jump to my feet.
Cassian looks from Jet to me and back.
“Jet,” he says, stepping inside. Just before he closes the door, I notice Enzo is out there along with more soldiers, but before I can see more, the door is closed. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Jet stands. “Making sure Allegra here is all right. How’s your father?” he asks Cassian.
Cassian looks suspiciously at me, and I can’t seem to hold his gaze.
Guilt, I guess. Although I haven’t done anything to feel guilty.
Except that’s not completely true. I didn’t tell him about Jet’s visit earlier.
The phone. But I don’t owe it to him to tell him, I remind myself.
I’m collateral. A pawn. But I’m having a hard time believing that.
Having a hard time looking at Cassian as an enemy.
Am I being stupid? And what is that stupidity going to cost me?
“You know how he is,” Cassian answers accusingly.
Just then, a sound comes from the couch. A buzzing.
My gaze flies to the small clutch I tossed there just minutes ago. Shit. It must be Amal texting me.
Maybe they didn’t hear though. But then Cassian’s eyes narrow and he tilts his head.
That buzzing comes again. Another text.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Jet’s watching us. Is he grinning? At the next buzz, Cassian walks over to pick up the clutch.
He glances at me. The little velvet purse in a shade that matches my dress looks too small in his hands.
Like a toy. He opens the bag, and I swear I see the pouch vibrate as yet another text comes through.
“Cassian, I can explain,” I say, my voice fading by the end as I take a step toward him.