35. Cassian
35
Cassian
B ecause my father was - and always had been - a cunt, not all of our household staff were loyal to him. Most of them stuck it out for the money. He might have been a raging asshole, but he paid well. Then there was the issue of iron-clad contracts, which prevented them from leaving until their allotted term was up.
The upside of treating his staff appallingly (for me at least) was that some of them were more than happy to feed me information on his movements, and also the general well-being of my mother.
Mom’s nurse, Miranda, was loyal to Dad. She made sure Mom took her medication and didn’t leave the house without permission.
I couldn’t remember the last time Mom took a shopping trip to London or met with friends. Most of them had long since drifted away, driven off by my father or too embarrassed to visit her because they’d fucked him at some party or other.
She had no-one except me on her side.
And I wasn’t there for her.
Abandoning her to an uncertain fate hadn’t been easy. Unlike when I left for college, I couldn’t visit her on a whim. If I returned home now, Dad would prevent me from leaving again. From what Leonie, the kitchen maid, had told me, Dad hit the roof when he returned home to find me gone.
Hardly a massive surprise to hear he’d trashed my room, but I was more concerned about Mom. If he figured out she had helped me, he’d make her life hell.
I picked up my phone and re-read the last message from Leonie.
Leonie: Your mom left this morning in a private ambulance. No clue where to.
That wasn’t good. I’d checked the press, but there was nothing. Either none of the red tops had picked up on the story, or, more likely, Dad had buried it.
I scrolled through the day’s headlines. Dad had been busy - there were several articles mentioning his appearance at a celebrity restaurant, and some puff piece written by a journalist he liked. Mostly because she was attractive and had a massive crush on him.
Nothing negative, however. The sex tape story seemed to have died down, too, thank god. There was still plenty of chatter online, mostly on X, but the red tops had moved on to new targets.
The fact Landon and I had disappeared from public view helped. With no oxygen, the fire had burned itself out.
I stretched my legs out and stared at the flames in the grate. Everyone was in bed. I should have been in bed too, but my mind refused to shut down. Thoughts of Mom, the future, and my father refused to go away.
At least I had an independent source of money unconnected to my father. It gave me some security, and would make it easier for when we needed to leave this place. I’d begun looking for a property in the US, as Mom had a distant cousin living in Maine. Dad would find it harder to meddle in my life if I moved to the states.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs disturbed my churning thoughts. Had Kyril decided to come down for a nightcap?
I looked up. But instead of Kyril, Thea appeared in the doorway, her svelte figure framed by the faint glow from the kitchen.
“You’re still up,” she commented, sounding perturbed about it.
“I am,” I replied, putting my phone down. “And why are you awake at the Witching Hour?”
She shrugged. I watched as she pulled the edges of her long tee down and wondered if she was naked beneath the cotton before dragging my mind out of the gutter.
“I had a bad dream, so I thought I’d make a drink and then read for a bit. It’s noisy in my room tonight, with the wind.” Another Atlantic storm had hit the west coast a few hours ago. When I’d gone out to fetch some logs earlier, the wind had taken my breath away.
“Sit down by the fire. I’ll make you a drink. Hot chocolate?”
She murmured her thanks and stepped into the living room, brushing past me. Her familiar vanilla scent hit me like a shot of pure cocaine. Maybe I needed to head to bed after making her a drink. If I stayed, I’d have a hard job not touching her, which was not why she’d ventured downstairs.
When I returned from the kitchen, she had tucked her legs up and covered them with a fluffy blanket. The room was warm and cozy, the fire blazing away. I’d made sure there were enough logs stacked up to keep the fire going all night.
“Here. I added extra marshmallows.”
She half-smiled at me. “Thank you for indulging my sweet tooth.”
“You’re welcome.”
“What was the dream about?” I asked, sitting next to her. “It often helps to talk about them.”
“Can’t remember,” she muttered. I had a feeling it was a lie but saw no point in pressing her. If her nightmares were anything like mine, they were best forgotten.
“Are you feeling any better?”
She stiffened in my peripheral vision, but I resisted the urge to look at her. Thea reminded me of a wild creature. If I pushed her too hard, too quickly, she’d flee, and I’d never catch her.
“I’m OK. Just a stomach bug, I think.” Another lie. She was hiding something, but it wasn’t my place to pry. We were virtual strangers, even if I’d have liked her to be more than a stranger. “Too much rich food.”
“Yes, Milo has been indulging us all. I’ve put on several pounds this week.”
Thea snorted out a laugh and threw me some side-eye. “You’re joking, right? Mr. Zero-Percent body fat has put on weight?”
I lifted my shirt and pretended to examine my abs. “Hmm. Definitely some unwanted fat deposits there.”
I looked up to find her staring at my chiseled abs like I’d hypnotized her.
“Liar,” she murmured in a husky voice, before dragging her gaze away. It was hard to tell in the low light, but she seemed embarrassed I’d caught her ogling me, which amused me no end. It was good to know the chemistry between us hadn’t faded.
She fidgeted on the sofa next to me as I stretched my legs out and leaned back. Each time she moved, the blanket slipped a little, revealing more skin. It was hard to focus on anything with her next to me, but I resisted the urge to reach out and touch her.
“What are your plans for the new year?” College was off the table for all of us, apart from Eden. Kyril hadn’t said whether he was going back, but I wasn’t planning to finish my course, and Landon had quit via email.
“No idea. Going on the run, I guess. Declan will want his house back soon.”
“And your sister? You can’t drag her around with you. She needs stability.”
Thea glared at me. “I’m well aware of what my sister needs!”
I threw my hands in the air. “I know you are. Just saying.” The temperature between us dropped by several degrees, but I continued anyway. “I’ve been looking at properties in the US. Moving there would get me away from my father. Why don’t you come with me? Landon will tag along, and Milo’s parents spend most of their time in the US these days, so he’ll likely come, too.”
“And Kyril?”
“Kyril needs to figure stuff out. He has responsibilities.” An understatement. But there was no point in elaborating. Thea understood his world better than me.
A savage gust of wind hit the side of the house, sending sparks howling up the chimney. The house shuddered and groaned in response. Thea looked at me curiously as I stood and tossed a new log on the fire.
“Won’t Lucian expect you back?”
“I’m not going back.” She hadn’t been privy to my conversation with the guys shortly after I arrived. “He wants me to get more involved in his illegal business dealings. I refused.”
She didn’t react. “I know. I heard you talking to the guys not long after you got here.” My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I was unaware she’d been listening. Sneaky little minx . “What exactly is he involved in?”
“He’s got his fingers in a lot of pies. I don’t know the details. He always kept a degree of separation between family and work, other than wheeling us out for official PR stuff. His government role is public-facing, of course, but that’s only for show.”
I watched the fire for a moment, wondering how much I should reveal. While I trusted Thea, it was a risk being so open with anyone other than my guys. They were the only people who knew the full truth about my father and his activities.
“My father seems to hate him. I thought it was because of Operation Willow, but it feels more personal than that. Any idea why?”
Her question took me by surprise. I wasn’t aware our fathers knew each other, aside from the fact they co-existed in the same world. But then again, I hadn’t known he was so well acquainted with Vasily Orliov, so maybe I didn’t know my father as well as I thought I did.
“As far as I know, he doesn’t know your father. He’s certainly never mentioned him. Seamus Kelly’s name has come up a few times, and he’s apparently formed an alliance with Kyril’s father, but I don’t believe he has dealings with Francesco.”
When she said nothing more, I took the now-empty mug from her hand and placed it on the table.
“It’s late. You should probably get some sleep.” It was nearly 3 AM.
She turned to me with a half-smile. “Don’t you need sleep too?”
“Me? No. I don’t sleep much these days.” A stomach ulcer from years of dealing with my father made sure of that.
“You look tired.” The look of concern in her eyes made me feel warm inside. I wasn’t used to having people worried about my needs; mostly it was me worrying about them. My mother. The guys. Those who mattered.
Did Thea matter?
As much as I wanted to maintain my boundaries, it had become apparent she mattered; more than mattered. Mattered enough that I’d blown up my entire life to be here, in Ireland. Consequences be damned.
I shrugged. “Got shit to sort.” Finding somewhere to live was a priority right now.
A realtor in the US was busy searching for a suitable property for us. She’d sent me the brochures for a few already, but so far, nothing jumped out at me. I wanted something remote, so it would be easier to stay off the grid, but not so remote that the nearest store was 100 kilometers away. Landon would lose his shit if he couldn’t pick up snacks on a whim.
“Ah OK, well, I’ll get out of your hair.” The blanket slipped to the floor as she swung her legs down. Now she was about to leave, I realized I very much wanted her to stay. As she leaned over to pick up the blanket, her long tee slid up her thighs to reveal a tempting stretch of olive skin.
“You don’t have to leave, Thea.”
“Um, you literally just told me to leave?” She huffed in exasperation.
I wrapped my fingers around her wrist. Thea was such a delicate creature. Her slight frame belied her strength. I pictured her spread across my sheets, legs parted, silken cords tied around her wrists, and swallowed a groan.
“I changed my mind.”