Chapter 31
Lucan
When I told Sadie about the dinner with my father, I said it would be a casual thing. Food, wine, conversation.
But now that we’re here, accepting drinks from waiters on a terrace overlooking the endless grounds of our estate, I realize I unintentionally misled her. For one, there are other guests. Dad invited Gareth, who also brought his new family.
Uncle Gareth and I have been more distant since Hannah and Parker died. Seeing me seems to trouble him, and I can only guess why. Maybe he knows more than he lets on about their deaths, or maybe I remind him of them. Either way, he shuts down when I try to talk to him about it.
With investigations reopened, word has spread far and wide that Hannah was murdered by the same person who killed Parker. It’s probably been difficult for Gareth to face, even though we already suspected she didn’t die accidentally.
On the terrace, the men and women drink in two separate groups. I keep one eye on Sadie at all times.
Gareth’s wife, Teenie, wears several million in pink and white diamonds. Her helmet of blonde hair is a feat of engineering, not a single strand moved by the breeze. While she trills with laughter at whatever the women are discussing, Sadie clutches her champagne flute for dear life.
The opaline afternoon light bathes my beautiful girlfriend, limning her features like she’s the statue of a goddess.
My. Girlfriend.
She said yes. Having her feels as good as I imagined, as though a gigantic missing piece in my chest has been restored.
I caught myself humming a tune as I dressed for tonight’s dinner. The song was “The Perfect Drug” by Nine Inch Nails, but still.
As Sadie speaks, I devour her every microexpression, breathing pattern, and gesture, filing them away for total mental saturation. I want my image of her in my head to be as vivid as the woman herself. That way, I’ll never have to be without her.
Though my instinct is to rescue her from the banal musings of Teenie, I resist. I must let Sadie stand tall in my world of her own accord. She has what it takes—she just needs to realize it.
Her dress is deep purple and the necklace I gave her glimmers subtly on her smooth décolletage.
It reassures me that she’s wearing the pendant. I had to push hard to get her to keep it on after our first date. It’s like she thinks she’s unworthy of a priceless heirloom.
Doesn’t she understand that she is priceless?
I just hope Dad doesn’t mention the pendant. That could get awkward.
Teenie’s daughter stands with the women. Adelle and her twin brother, Damon, are the Royce University students who are now, along with their mother, the heirs to Uncle Gareth’s estate.
“Lucan,” says my father curtly. “Your uncle asked you a question.”
He looks at me expectantly, whiskey in hand. Damon and Gareth are also waiting for me to speak.
“Yes?” I ask Gareth.
My uncle smooths his jacket lapel. “Parker’s board seat. I’d like to fill it with Damon. He’s a business major, like you, and quite keen for the challenge.”
I’m sure he is. He would have the deciding vote on all major matters of Hale Enterprises.
Gareth continues. “Do you object? I believe Parker would approve.”
Inwardly, I groan. How can I deny my uncle after he invoked the name of his deceased son?
Dad and I exchange the briefest of glances.
It’s not that Parker and Hannah disliked Teenie and her twins. More like, they felt replaced, and with good reason.
Teenie removed photos of their late mother from around the house, saying it was depressing to have a dead woman gazing at them, day in and day out. Maybe it was, but she still had no right, and my uncle let her.
Gareth did love his children though, so I don’t want to be an asshole about the board seat. Marrying Teenie doesn’t make him evil.
My gaze strays to Damon. I know little about him and Adelle, except they’re both exceptionally intelligent, and in Damon’s case, ambitious.
Could they be killers? A multi-billion-dollar fortune is one hell of a motive, and hunting my cousins would’ve been a simple task, speaking as a hunter myself. The twins could’ve easily preyed on sweet Hannah and broken Parker.
My uncle never provided my cousins with the appropriate security for elite heirs. Negligent of him, if you ask me.
Dad’s secret investigations into Gareth’s new family have turned up nothing solid.
But then again, Teenie and the twins have access to the same abundant resources we do.
If they killed Hannah and Parker, proving it might be tough.
They could’ve covered their tracks with professionals, and then hired some guy to terrorize Sadie, the only witness.
Or Damon might’ve put on a hoodie and tried to drag her into a car himself. He attended the gala too.
“Out of respect for Parker, I think we should allow the police to finalize their investigations before we make any board appointments,” I say. “It’s tactless to replace him so soon.”
Gareth frowns. “Very well.”
Dad gives me a stern look, his eyes wide. He clearly doesn’t suspect Gareth’s family as much as I do.
My father doesn’t have Sadie to worry about though. The idea of possibly breaking bread with her attacker makes my blood pressure rise.
Damon gives me an easy smile, which falters when our eyes meet. He must register my dark line of thought.
Sipping my whiskey, I fight to regain control of myself.
My blood’s running uncharacteristically hot these days. Discovering that you value someone more than life itself does that to a man.
Gareth seems to check out of the conversation. His eyes slide unfocused as he swigs whiskey at twice the rate of the rest of us.
Guilt pricks at me. Maybe I was too harsh by shutting him down about the board seat. I should save my venom for actual suspects, not my grieving uncle.
His drinking worries me too, because it reminds me of how Parker acted before his death.
Draining his glass, my uncle wanders away on his own.
“Family’s important,” says Damon to my father and me. “Mom married Gareth only last year, but we’ve grown close to him in that time. I hope you know I’m here for anything he needs.”
“I’m sure you’re staying close,” I say. “And once he’s gone, you’ll take his place at Hale Enterprises. A pretty nice deal for you, all things considered.”
“Lucan,” says Dad through a clenched jaw. “What has gotten into you?”
I’m sick of waiting, that’s what. Sick of not knowing who the fuck is tearing through my nearest and dearest with such viciousness.
Damon’s expression darkens, his back stiffening.
“Get to know me, Lucan,” he says. “You’ll soon understand that stealing isn’t my style.”
Without another word, he stalks away, leaving my father and me alone.
Dad lets out a short sigh. “He tried to help Parker, you know? Got him a place at a private rehab upstate. He offered to drive your cousin there himself.”
Uncertainty trickles through me. “I didn’t know that.”
“An unfamiliar experience for you, I’m sure. He didn’t want to embarrass Parker by making it common knowledge.”
“His generosity could’ve been a ploy. And what about Adelle?”
“What about her?” Dad grunts. “You want to go over there and insult her too? I might ask you to wait until after the appetizers are served. I’m famished.”
Damon speaks quietly to his sister, and her sharp gaze flicks to me.
Shit. Did he tell her what I just said?
I should’ve been more careful. I approached the conversation with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
A murkier question dwells beneath the suspicion dominating my mind:
Why didn’t I help my cousin with his drinking problem the way Damon did?
I gave Parker an ultimatum and not politely. He was my blood, yet the last words he heard from me were full of frustration.
His grief for Hannah was overwhelming. By drinking, he just wanted a break, and me pressuring him would’ve only made him want to escape more.
My shitty behavior haunts me now more than ever. The crack Sadie put in my armor seems to be widening. Emotions are pouring through that gap in a way I’ve never experienced.
I dearly wish I had done better by my cousins. Sadie’s the only one I can save now, and I will, even if it kills me.
Dad examines me, his eyes narrowed. “I’ve never seen you like this. Sadie’s making you come unhinged.”
She’s making me care.
And yeah, unhinged.
Our butler appears on the terrace, murmuring brief words to my father.
“Dinner’s ready!” says Dad to everyone.
As we walk inside, Sadie and I link up like we’re magnetized.
I gently squeeze her hand. “How are you doing?”
“Me?” she whispers, glancing behind her. “What on earth did you say to Damon?”
“Nothing. Er, much.”
“Do you think he’s the killer?” she breathes.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “Do you recognize anything about him? His voice? His size?”
Her brows knit. “I couldn’t say. The man who attacked me spoke in a low tone, almost a growl.”
“Trying to disguise his voice?”
She shrugs. “I guess.”
In the dining room, candlelight from the chandeliers reflects on the long wood table.
I enter first so I can swap place cards, putting Sadie next to me. Being on her own during drinks was probably enough. I want her to feel comfortable while we eat.
“What are you doing?” she asks, shooting a look at the doorway.
“Dad has a rule about never seating couples together,” I say.
“Then I want to abide by the rule. He’ll think I’m weak otherwise. They all will.”
My hand hesitates over the place card. “Are you sure?”
She answers by standing behind her assigned seat. The determined jut of her chin is unbelievably fucking sweet.
On that freezing February night in the bar, when she spoke the most soul-breaking sonnet I’ve heard, she had that same resolve. Even though her voice shook.
Nobody could ever make me feel so protective.
“Alright,” I say, pulling out her chair as the other guests enter the room.
Damon and Adelle move smoothly to take the seats on either side of Sadie.
Why would Dad put them next to her? He knows I suspect them of the murders. Maybe he’s hoping I’ll mellow out, or maybe that Sadie will recognize something about Damon as the killer. Somehow I doubt it’s the latter.
The twins better behave themselves. If those creepy bastards are unkind to my girl, I swear to god, I’ll scoop out their eyeballs with my soup spoon. My hospitality can only extend so far.
With a dark cloud over my head, I stroke the back of Sadie’s neck briefly and step away from her.