CHAPTER TWELVE #2
I don’t look at her. I can’t bring myself to. I fix my eyes on a spot on the floor, like if I don’t move, this won’t be real.
“Anika begged to see him,” she continues, her voice shaking. “I didn’t know why you stopped her. I thought—”
“It doesn’t matter what you thought,” I bellow. She flinches, recoiling slightly. “I gave you an instruction,” I snap. “I am your boss. You follow it. At the very least, you call me.”
“But she was so sure,” she insists, desperation creeping in. “She needed to talk to him—”
“She didn’t see what he was doing to her,” I cut in, pacing now, the anger burning through me.
“Every time he showed up, he dragged her down. I was protecting her.” My chest tightens, the guilt clawing in.
“I should’ve known,” I mutter, more to myself now.
“The second she started talking about death again, I should’ve seen it.
” I stop and turn to her. “But I trusted you.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
The words do nothing to calm my raging anger. “All those nights,” I say, my voice dropping, quieter now but no less sharp, “all the times we were in bed and you didn’t think to mention it?”
Her face crumples. “Once you told me about him, I swore I wouldn’t let it happen again. But then I found her and—”
“Enough.” The word cracks through the room. “Pack your things and go,” I say, finally looking at her, letting her see exactly how I feel. “You need to stay in London while the police investigate, but you’re not staying here.”
“I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“That’s not my problem.” I step closer and she squares her shoulders, forcing herself not to back away. “I can’t stand to look at you,” I grind out. “You’re the reason she’s dead.”
Her tears spill faster now, but something in her expression hardens. “No,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s not fair. Anika made her own choices. She wanted to see Luke. She wanted to stop him taking Sebastian.”
“He doesn’t want the kid!” I shout, slamming my hand against the wall beside her head. “He never fucking wanted him.”
She cries out in surprise, flinching.
Catherine rushes back in. “Ray, enough.”
“He wants her money,” I snap, not even looking at her. “And you’re fucking lucky I moved most of her assets before this happened.”
Catherine frowns. “Did Anika know about that?”
“Yes,” I bite out. “She trusted me to protect it for Sebastian.”
“And yet you didn’t trust her to decide who she saw?” Wynter mutters, swiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her jumper.
I turn slowly, my glare cutting straight to Wynter. “Get out.”
I grab her arm and march her towards the door, picking up her bag on the way. She stumbles to keep up. The elevator dings open and I throw her bag inside, then shove her after it.
“If I see you near this place again . . .” My voice drops, low and dangerous. “I don’t know what I’ll do.”
The doors slide shut between us and I stare at them, my chest heaving with an ache I can’t explain.
When I finally turn back, Catherine is watching me. There’s no anger in her expression, just disappointment. Somehow, that’s worse.
“Was that necessary?” she asks quietly.
“Yes,” I reply, too quickly.
Her gaze doesn’t waver. “Anika wouldn’t have wanted that, and you know it.”
I look away, my jaw tightening.
“She pushed you two together,” Catherine continues, her voice softening. “Because she wanted to see you happy before . . . before she . . .” Her words break, caught on a sob she can’t quite hold back.
Something twists in my chest, sharp and unwelcome. “Don’t,” I mutter.
“She loved you,” Catherine says, wiping at her eyes. “And she loved Wynter too.”
I drag a hand down my face, frustration simmering just beneath the surface.
“You know how I feel about lies, Catherine. And right now,” I shake my head, a hollow laugh escaping me, “I don’t know who the fuck to trust.” The room feels too small, yet so empty without Anika.
“Anika is dead,” I say, the words scraping out of me.
“And I know it wasn’t me.” The silence that follows is heavy.
“So, that leaves the agency carer,” I continue, my voice darkening, “or her.”
“Wynter would never—” Catherine starts.
“How do you know?” I snap, turning back to her. “She lied about Luke. She looked me in the eye and lied.” The anger rises again, easier than everything else. “What else is she lying about?” I push. “We don’t know her, Catherine. Not really.”
I shake my head, pacing now, restless, wired. “And this . . .” I gesture towards the door she just walked out of. “This is exactly why I didn’t want her here in the first place.”
“We do know her, Ray. You know her,” Catherine snaps, her patience finally breaking. “And I can see you’re hurting but taking it out on Wynter isn’t going to fix anything. You need her.”
I let out a short, hollow laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t need anyone,” I say, the words automatic, defensive. “Especially not her.”
Catherine studies me like she doesn’t believe a word of it. “So, what now?” she asks quietly. “Anika’s gone. Wynter’s gone.” Her shoulders lift in a helpless shrug. “What does that leave you with?”
For a second, I don’t answer. My mind thinking over her words. An empty apartment? A space where her voice used to be?
I swallow it down. Bury it with the rest of my pain.
I step forward, pressing a brief kiss to Catherine’s cheek, forcing a smile that doesn’t quite reach my eyes.
“Now,” I say, my voice steady again, colder, “I find out who hurt Anika,” my gaze hardens, “and I make them pay.”
Dale is hurting too. I see it in the way he stares into space, even the way he drinks, slower than usual, like he’s trying to hold himself together instead of drowning it out completely.
We both loved Anika. Losing her . . . it’s unbearable. It just sits there, heavy in your chest, making everything else harder to breathe through. We were siblings, just not by blood. And that’s a greater bond in my eyes because we chose each other.
He sits beside me at the bar, a glass of whiskey in his hand, and it’s barely noon. I fill him in on the police visit. He listens without interrupting, which isn’t like him at all. When I’m done, I take a long drink and set the glass down harder than necessary.
“We need to pay Luke a visit,” I say.
Dale glances at me. “Luke? Why Luke?”
“Because he’s been seeing Anika,” I snap. “And I want to know why. What the fuck were they talking about?”
Dale exhales slowly. “Does it matter?”
I turn to him sharply. “Yes, it fucking matters. You’re not bothered he’s been near her after everything he did?”
He gives a short, humourless laugh. “You say that like we’ve never treated women badly.”
“That’s different,” I bite out. “He’s after her money.”
“We’ve already handled that,” Dale says, his voice calm and measured. “He’s not getting much, and whatever he does get, goes towards Sebastian. So, it’s not the end of the world.”
“He’s not keeping the kid,” I say firmly.
Dale drags a hand over his face, already tired of the argument. “Jesus, Ray, he’s the kid’s dad. You really want Sebastian growing up without parents like we did?”
“Anika didn’t want Luke to have custody.”
“She’s not here anymore,” he says quietly. The words land like a punch. He leans forward, resting his forearms on the bar. “Look, I get it. I do. But we don’t have any legal standing here. And if we push too hard, Luke takes Sebastian and we never see him again.”
I clench my jaw, but I don’t argue. He’s right.
“Richard’s meeting with Luke’s lawyer today,” Dale continues. “Once Luke realises there’s no big payout waiting for him, he’ll come sniffing around here. And when he does, we need to be smarter than him.”
I nod slowly, my anger settling into something colder. Something more controlled.
Dale takes another sip, then glances at me sideways. “And for the record,” he adds casually, “Wynter was a good one.” I don’t respond. “Yeah,” he continues, like he’s talking about the weather, “you fucked that up.”