Chapter 16 Jamie #2
“Good morning,” I said, feeling a little shy this morning. I had never woken up next to a man before him. There were a lot of things I hadn’t done with other people before that I was doing with Reign.
He moved his hand down to my belly and left it there.
He liked that place. He was always touching me there while we slept.
Or while I was sitting on his lap. My belly was a soft, vulnerable place.
I didn’t want to think too much about it, but it felt as if he was saying he liked it when I was vulnerable… for him.
I placed my hand on top of his, my fingers playing with his. This was the first time I had actually reached out and touched him of my own accord, even if that touch was a small and simple one. It was something he didn’t miss.
He leaned down and kissed me.
It was a soft, quick kiss that had my heart racing in my chest.
Why was I reacting so strongly to him now?
I didn’t know what to do about it, which is why I was keeping my distance.
I needed space to figure out where I wanted this to go.
I needed to reorganize my thoughts because, even though I had initially approached him to get back at Kingston, I realized how na?ve that was, and I no longer wanted that to be the case.
Could I even come back from that?
I looked up and met his blue eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
I shook my head, pushing him away so I could sit up in bed. “Nothing. I have to get ready for work. And I need to drop you off at home.”
“I could always stay here and wait for you,” he said with a cheeky smile.
I shot him a look. “That’s not happening. And I’m sure you have things you need to do.”
He shrugged, as if he really didn’t, when I knew that wasn’t the case.
“Come on,” I said, climbing off the bed. “Let’s go.”
At precisely twelve o’clock, Caine pulled up to the curb of the New York City Public Library.
I didn’t say anything as I got in the car, looking back at the building and seeing some of my colleagues leaving together for lunch.
I missed that.
I missed hanging out with friends. I missed hanging out with Etta, being able to tell her about every insignificant thing in my life, and having her listen as if it were the most important thing in her world.
And I missed her telling me stories about her life, as if I wasn’t there for it already, as if I didn’t already know everything that was happening with her.
I missed my friend.
“You okay?” Caine asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“Huh?” I glanced over at him. He was already staring at me with the same brown eyes I had, but that was where the similarities ended. We both got our father’s eyes, but while I looked like a mix of our parents, Caine just… didn’t.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Why do you ask?”
“You just look lost in thought.”
“I was just thinking about Etta,” I admitted.
His expression didn’t change, and I hadn’t expected it to. While we might not be close, I knew my brother well enough to know that he was always careful in guarding his thoughts and emotions, as if they were his greatest possessions—because, to him, they were.
They were his, and his alone, and sometimes I wished I could be like that.
I wished I didn’t feel so much, and I wished I didn’t show my emotions so easily.
He nodded in acknowledgment of my statement, and that was all.
Perhaps I should’ve hated that. But that wasn’t the case at all. I liked that he didn’t try to offer false sentiments that I wasn’t sure he felt anyway.
At least from him, I knew I wouldn’t be getting pity.
I looked out my car window and watched as New York passed me by. There had always been something magical about New York during the wintertime. I might not like the mushy, wet snow or the cold weather, but at least it made the air easier to take in.
We didn’t go far since I still had to go back to work after this.
He pulled up at a small bistro on the corner and parked nearby.
I stayed in the car and waited for him to take in his surroundings first before getting out.
We walked to the bistro together, and the hostess greeted us at the door.
Her eyes lingered on Caine a little longer than necessary, not that he paid her much attention, or that he paid much attention to anyone, for that matter.
He was around Kingston’s age, at thirty-three, but I couldn’t even remember a time when my brother was infatuated with a girl. Or with anyone, really.
I’m not even sure if he wanted to fall in love.
“What?” he said when we sat down, and he noticed I was staring at him.
“I was just wondering when you’re going to find a nice girl to settle down with.”
He frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Finding your person is me talking nonsense? Don’t you want to fall in love?”
“No,” he said without hesitation, surprising me.
“No?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not important.”
I pressed my lips together, not sure of what to say about that. I looked down at the menu in front of me, trying to put the conversation out of my head.
“Do you want to fall in love?” he asked after a few minutes of silence, surprising me.
I blinked. “What?”
“I asked if you want to fall in love with someone. Or if there is already someone.”
I didn’t answer him. I could feel my cheeks burning, and I knew my face gave away too much. My brother was an astute man. He had to be to help our father with his business. But there were times I wished he wouldn’t look at me too carefully. This was one of those times.
“Who is it?” he asked, his voice not changing in the slightest, but I knew better. I could almost see how he was trying to work out his thoughts, as if shifting through his memories of all the men I had interacted with in the past.
I shook my head. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You don’t have to. Is it Preston?”
“Preston?”
I hadn’t seen Preston since that day at the coffee shop. I barely texted him. And fortunately, he was also giving me space to think on my own.
“Yes, Preston. He’s always with you. Even a blind man could see he likes you.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t realized his crush was so obvious.
“Preston would be a good match.”
I frowned. “Why would you say that?”
“He is hardworking. He’ll do whatever he can to provide for you. And he’s not in the life. You’d have a good life with him.”
Perhaps he was right, but having a good life with someone and having one filled with passion were two completely different things. And I knew for a fact I would never be able to get used to Preston’s touch.
But Reign…
He was everything Caine wouldn’t want for me, even if I exclude the fact that he was a Mahankov.
But add to that, Caine might just hunt down both Kingston and Reign if he knew. Reign for being with me, and Kingston for being the reason I had approached Reign in the first place.
That would help me complete my revenge. While Dad and Caine were hesitant to start a full-blown war with the Bratva because of Etta, they wouldn’t hesitate when it came to me.
I looked down at the table. “It’s not Preston.”
“Then who is it?”
I shook my head. “There’s no boy.”
I didn’t look up at Caine as I said it, knowing full well he would be able to read the lie from my eyes.
I didn’t think it mattered much because I got the sense he knew I was lying in the first place. And if there was one thing Caine hated, it was being lied to. He would order an investigation into me to find out who I was seeing.
I would have to be careful.
I should have just said it was Preston, but it was too late now.
The waitress came to our table before Caine could ask more questions.
I quickly placed an order for a club sandwich and potato soup. Caine ordered the same thing. I didn’t think he cared too much about what he was eating.
He just wanted the waitress to go away so he could continue his interrogation.
“So you got my text message?” I said as soon as the waitress left.
He looked at me, and the expression in his eyes told me he knew just what I was doing. Thankfully, he let it go and said, “Are you sure about what you saw? The pictures you sent were pretty dark.”
“The camera was shitty, yes, but the streetlight nearby was enough for me to see what was going on. I… I don’t know if what I saw is really what happened, or maybe there’s another explanation. I don’t know. But I did see Tito exchange money and drugs with a man. Have you identified the man?”
Caine shook his head. “They were smart to do it within the camera’s blind spot. We don’t have a clear shot of the man. But you’re sure you’ve never seen him before?”
I nodded. I was good with faces. I would have remembered. But then again, that didn’t mean much because there were a lot of men under my father.
“Maybe it’s nothing. Why would Tito betray the family? Right?”
Caine didn’t say anything about that. But it wasn’t exactly a secret that he didn’t think highly of Tito.
“I also saw him in Dad’s office a few weeks ago. He said he was dropping off documents, and Dad confirmed that, but he seemed kind of freaked out when he saw me as he was coming out of the office.”
“Huh” was all he said. I knew he wasn’t being dismissive.
“I think… he might have also seen me take the picture of him and the man in the alleyway.”
That finally got his attention. He sat up in his seat and leaned toward me. “Why didn’t you say that first?”
“Do you think it’s important?” I asked, feeling an inkling of worry.
He didn’t respond, but the way his lips pressed down in a thin line said enough.
The waitress came back with our food then. “Enjoy,” she said, winking at Caine.
He didn’t respond to her either.
She frowned and walked away with a small huff.
I picked up my sandwich and took a huge bite.
“Don’t worry about anything,” Caine said. I looked up and met his eyes. They glimmered with some unnamed emotion. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
The food I had been trying to swallow felt like it was stuck in my throat. I couldn’t speak. I could only nod.
He wasn’t going to let anything happen to me.
I knew that already.
I smiled at him, and he nodded.
We went back to our food and finished our meal in silence.