Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
CRESSIDA
Case Notes
Do not cook for the enemy.
I’m sitting in his car, waiting.
It doesn’t take long before I see him emerge from the building, one arm wrapped around his ribs like he’s holding himself together. They’re probably killing him, though I doubt he’d ever admit it.
Soren slides into the passenger seat with a wince he tries to hide, turns his head toward me, and smirks. “If your plan is to kill me with your driving, I just want you to know, I’m fully prepared to die with you.”
I scoff as I start the car. “I would never kill myself. I have my son to think about.”
“Good to know.” After a beat, he adds, “He seems like a good kid.”
“He is.” I hesitate before confiding, “He liked you.” When he doesn’t reply right away, I glance at him to find him staring out the window.
“Kids don’t like me,” he finally says.
“My kid did.”
We drive in silence for a few minutes, and I wonder what it is that broke this man so much.
“Your friends… They don’t like you hanging out with me, do they?”
“Who cares what they think?” he replies, then asks, “What do you plan to do once you get me home?”
“Oliver is with his father tonight, so I’ll stay with you to make sure you don’t die. You could have a concussion.”
“I don’t.”
“So what? You’re a doctor now?”
“No.” He points up ahead and says, “Turn right just up there.”
I do as he says, and we’re pulling into his parking lot. He tells me where to park, and I drive into the spot. I grab his bag from the back seat, then get out of the car, meeting him near the trunk.
I wasn’t planning on staying here with him, but I don’t want him to be alone if something happens and he needs someone. We step into the elevator, and I make sure there is plenty of space between us, not wanting a repeat of what happened in the elevator at work.
I’m pretty sure that if I let him put his hands on me, I’d give in to almost anything he wants. And I can’t have that happening again. Last time I let my guard down, my son being kidnapped was the result.
When we reach his condo, I follow him inside. I place his gym bag on the kitchen counter as he grabs some aspirin for his head. I watch him swallow the pills with a drink of water.
He’s still shirtless, since he didn’t bother showering or changing before we left the warehouse, and I can see that his torso is turning different colors of purple and blue from where he let the guy hit him. His face has dried blood on it, and his eye is starting to swell.
Why did he let that guy beat him like this?
I understand that Soren likes fighting and that he’s good at it, but he didn’t even fight back. He just stood there and took the hits like a fucking fool.
“You’re mad,” he says.
“Yes. Why would you do that?” I ask, waving a hand at his face. “What will your colleagues say?”
“I don’t care.” He shrugs, groaning in pain at the movement.
“You need to shower. Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“I’ll make something. Go.” I shoo him off.
Opening the refrigerator, I see leftover pizza that looks inedible, so I throw it out and grab some pasta and frozen fried chicken.
After tossing the chicken into the air fryer to reheat it, I prepare the pasta to place underneath it.
When everything is almost done, he walks into the kitchen in nothing but a pair of boxers, appearing tired but clean.
And still hot as hell, despite his injuries.
I hate that I like the way he looks.
“It smells good,” he says as I pull the chicken out.
“I cooked whatever you had,” I tell him. “You had leftover pizza in the fridge, but I threw it out.”
“That was from the night I invited you and Oliver over.”
I can’t reply because that goes down as one of the most terrifying nights of my life. It’s not a night I wish to relive. Oliver is safe now, and I will ensure he stays that way because I will never let her get near him ever again.
“As you probably already know from your research into me, Maya and I didn’t have the greatest upbringing.
She was a sick teenager with a drunk father who had gambling issues and used all our money, and I had to step up.
I was put in a lot of debt from her medical bills, and before I knew it, I was fighting to make money. ”
“I’m sorry about that, but I can’t find it in me to have compassion for her,” I tell him honestly.
“I’m not asking you to. I want to explain to you why I have protected Maya for so long.”
“Was it protection? Is that the word you would use?” I ask as I slide his food over the counter to him, then get him a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Yes, that’s how I saw it.”
“Okay.”
“You disagree?”
“I do. I think you felt guilty, and that led to you enabling Maya’s bad behavior.”
“I would never encourage what she did,” he insists.
“Maybe not knowingly. Do you still give her money?”
“I stopped.”
“When?”
“The week before…” He trails off, and I fit the pieces together.
“She thinks it’s my fault that you cut her off. So, her payback was to make me hurt. Probably in the hopes that I would be so angry that I would never want to see you again,” I tell him.
“She doesn’t know what’s happening between us. I don’t even know. Do you?” he asks, searching my eyes for an answer I don’t have.
“Nothing is happening between us.” The words come out sharp, too quickly. Truth is, I don’t know what’s happening either. Maybe I’m scared to admit it. Or maybe I’m just confused.
So, why am I here? The question echoes inside me, louder than I want it to. Because part of me can’t stop wanting him, wants whatever this is, even if it’s a mess.
“So, why are you here, then?”
Touché, motherfucker.
“You are my boss, and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“Why did you come to the fight?”
I grab a fork from the drawer. “I like watching you fight.”
“Your son asked me to train him,” he says nonchalantly.
“Sorry, what?”
“When he asked me what I do for fun, I told him I box. He asked me if I could teach him because kids are mean to him at school.”
I stand there, baffled at this information. Oliver has never mentioned to me that he’s being bullied, and yet he told a man he hardly knows.
“Do you plan to stab me again?” he asks, and I notice I’m holding the fork a little too tightly.
“He’s being bullied?” I ask as I hand over the fork.
“I don’t think so. I asked him about it, and he just mentioned that kids are mean.”
That makes me sad. You never want your kid to feel like an outsider or an easy mark for someone to pick on.
“He’s a good kid, and I would be happy to train him.”
“Thank you.” I rest my elbows on the counter and stare at him as he eats.
“Are you eating?” he questions.
“I’ve eaten already. Plus, I have to make sure you don’t die on me.”
“You leave in a few days for your trip, right?” he asks, changing the subject.
“Yep. I’m so excited to see my family. I feel like it’s been forever since I hugged my mother.”
His expression shifts to something like confusion at my confession, and I smile at him as he continues to eat.
“Are you giving Maya money again?” I ask.
“No.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
“Lying to you seems almost impossible now,” he says and takes another bite.
“Tell me about the Forsaken.”
He groans, and I know it’s not something he can talk about, but I thought I would try.
“How does it feel to be the Lord?”
“How do you even know that word?” he asks.
“I’ve learned a lot. Want to know what?” I smirk as I eagerly wait for him to answer.
“Tell me.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you aren’t going to kill me or anything?”
“I won’t kill you.”
“Okay, good. So, what I have learned is that you have different types of events for your members. For example, one is for girlfriends or boyfriends, and no wives are allowed.” I watch him intently, but he gives nothing away, so I continue, “The other is for wives, though one of your members, Reon, had his wife at an event that was for girlfriends only.”
“They are inseparable.” He lets this tidbit slip, and I nod.
“He seems to really love her.”
“Yes, they are in love,” he confirms.
“And then we have the hunts.”
He noticeably tenses at my words, and I know I’ve hit something big.
I never intended to bring this up to him.
I thought I would let my work die when I started working for him.
It was probably one of the most complex stories I’ve ever worked on.
Getting information about the Forsaken is almost impossible, and what I have is only hearsay.
I never had any proof. They’ve obviously been a tight-lipped group for many years.
I don’t even know precisely how long the Society has been around.
“I don’t know how often the hunts happen, or when they happen, but stories have been whispered that it’s not animals you hunt.”
He remains silent as he sits across from me, waiting for me to talk again.
But that’s all the information I have. I know he’s some leader in the Society, which makes sense because he’s a mighty powerful man.
Not that the other members aren’t powerful in their own right, but he is on a different level. I’m not really sure how to explain it.
“I’m getting tired,” he admits, then yawns.
“Good. Let’s go watch a movie,” I suggest.
“I don’t watch movies.”
“You have to. No sleeping,” I admonish as I put his plate in the sink.
Soren’s phone starts ringing, and we both see Maya’s name flash on the screen.
“If she comes here, I am not going to be held responsible for what I do to her,” I warn him.
“She doesn’t have keys any longer,” he says. “What movie are we going to watch?”
“Pride and Prejudice.” I smile happily.
“That sounds like an awfully boring movie.”
“Shut up. It’s based on one of the best romance books ever written.” I exaggerate a swoon as I kick off my shoes and fall back onto his large sofa. I tap the spot next to me, and he comes over and sits. He smells of vanilla and whatever else is in his body wash.
“I prefer a movie where everyone dies,” he grumbles.
“How boring,” I reply.
I find the movie on a streaming platform and press play.
As the opening credits roll, I turn to find him staring at me.