CHAPTER 14 #3
TOM: ??
Oh, thank God the family is with him, and they are okay…
My hands shake, and I want to cry. The anxiety and nerves I’ve been suppressing come flooding back, and hit me with a rush of conflicting emotions.
I feel so happy that a loving family gets to live, but at the same time, I feel so sad that I belong to a family so rotten that it keeps forcing me to do things like this.
But now everything is okay.
And not just because the family is safe, but because this could be the last time I ever have to do this.
According to Damián, the intel we’ve collected is piling up, and it won’t be long before we find a loose thread that connects everything directly to my father.
I open Damián’s chat.
OLIVER: Hey, babe. The party is a success, but I wish you were here.
I am about to set the phone on the desk when it vibrates in my hand. I open the thread and read a reply I never thought I would get.
DAMIáN: I’m proud of you, nene.
DAMIáN: And yeah… I miss you too.
Oh wow.
My heart races, and my chest feels incredibly full. I close my eyes and reach up, my fingers brushing against the mark Damián gave me not even two days ago. Goosebumps pebble my skin as I remember exactly how it felt: having him kissing and sucking at my skin so desperately as he came apart.
Oh God… no, no, no.
I shake my head, forcing the memory away before I get too hot and bothered.
The mission was a success, but there is still a party happening outside.
I close the chat, finish getting dressed, and lock everything back inside my duffel bag except for the clothes I was just wearing.
Those, I stuff them into a paper bag along with the ropes they came tied with, and I leave the room.
Outside, Castor is waiting for me. I drop my duffel bag at his feet and shove the paper bag into his chest.
“Burn this.” Then, I hand him the Polaroids I took of the family. “And give these to my father.”
“Yes, sir.”
I head up the stairs to the bow of the boat, where Zara is dancing and taking a bunch of pictures with a group of Instagrammers currently living the ‘yacht life.’
I sit down, take a drink from a passing staff member, and just watch everyone.
I don’t know… call me old, but I miss the days when phones didn’t have cameras. I feel like we actually had more fun back then.
I mean, all of these people are at a luxury yacht party, and instead of actually dancing or having fun, they’re just taking pictures of themselves pretending they’re dancing and having fun.
For Christ’s sake, that woman over there, with the long red hair and golden dress, has taken ten different pictures with the exact same drink, just in different poses.
Like… Why?
“Are you judging the art of selfies again?”
I turn around to see Zara standing next to me.
“It’s not the art that I’m judging… It’s the unnecessary quantity,” I mutter, leaning my head against her shoulder.
“How was your Zoom call?”
“Stressful, but it went well. The testing package has reached the client.”
“Good to know.” She kisses the side of my head. “You did great.”
“We did great.”
“Yeah, well, I am awesome.”
“…Damián texted.”
“He did?” She smiles and points at the hickey I have on my neck. “I mean, by the looks of it, I can tell you guys are happily in lust again?”
“We fixed things,” I say, and glare at her. “Which happened right after he showed up because of a picture you posted… the one you made it look like Kaleo and I were flirting.”
Zara grins. “I’ll take that glare as your way of saying, ‘Wow, thank you so, so much, Zara! You are incredible, and thanks to you, I overcame my stupid stubbornness, and now I will marry the love of my life and spend my days pinned under his body.’”
“Pinned under his body?” I ask, laughing.
“Hun, your man is one thousand percent a top… You will be pinned under his body.”
“You are ridiculous.” I laugh, and man, it feels nice to actually laugh. “But yes, thank you for that insanely manipulative way to fix my lack of communication with Dami.”
“No need to thank me. Just don’t forget to name the baby you adopt after me.” She winks at me and chugs the last of her champagne.
“Damián said he was proud of me.”
“He better fucking be.” She offers me her hand with a bright grin. “Now stop sulking and take me to dance. We gotta take some selfies!”
— ¤ —
Five hours later, I finally made it home. I drag myself through the front door and head straight for the stairs.
“Sir…”
I turn around to find Martin standing by the coat rack. “Martin, it’s six in the fucking morning. Why are you awake?”
“Your father is calling for you.”
“I just cleaned up one of his messes. I am high, drunk, and tired as fuck.” I rub my eyes, desperately trying to stay awake, since aside from the being ‘high’ part, everything else is true. “Tell him Castor has everything he needs, and that I’ll talk to him tomorrow when I wake up.”
“I understand,” he says, and heads toward his office.
I climb the stairs, flop face-first onto my bed, and instantly pass out… completely unaware of what a massive mistake ignoring my father would turn out to be.