Chapter 8
EIGHT
KANE
If I have to endure another one of these painfully pretentious parties that are just an excuse for mistakes and fornication, I’m going to fucking scream. But I’m still a top guy. So here I am, hosting a party for Ava’s twenty-first birthday.
The girl in question has gone missing, and strangely enough, Maverick has too. Cash offers me a beer, but I decline, half-slouched on the couch, watching girls dance and grind on the dance floor.
It’s been weeks since I last heard Jessica’s voice.
Weeks since I let her go to keep her safe and sacrificed the only thing I care about anymore.
I thought—foolishly, it seems—that my obsession with her would fade, but I still stalk her social media like some lovesick jerk, and I beat my fist to memories of her every night.
I thought it might help to sleep with someone else, handle my issues like my bed-hopping twin.
But every time the opportunity arises—and it happens often—I always say no.
I can’t even look at other women that way.
As much as I hate to admit it, there’s no one like Jessica.
My father, however, is thrilled that I’ve finally become the robotic, numb son he wanted me to be.
The other day, Noah and I received orders to find and interrogate the CEO of a pharmaceutical company after some information was leaked. I shot a bullet through his lover’s eyebrows without hesitation. He wasn’t even supposed to be there. Wrong time, wrong place, and all.
Cash snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Anybody home?”
I give him a deadpan look. “Move. You’re blocking the view.”
A scoff. “What? Them?” He gestures to the group of girls across the room. “We both know you’re not interested in any of them. You don’t fool me, Kane.”
I shift out of the way when he sits down beside me to watch the show, while I unlock my screen to see who’s calling.
The witch. She keeps calling. The other weekend, we went to the cabin with her and the senator. Cash spent the two days floating in another dimension, high as a kite, while I withdrew inward. I only have vague memories of what happened. Thank fuck.
Cash looks at the screen, grabs my phone, and turns it off. “Fuck her.”
Once again, he’s looking out for me, unlike before. Back then, he was the one needing someone to pull him out of the darkness.
The scary part is that it’s not even dark here, where I am.
It’s just... nothing.
A vast emptiness, full of nothingness. No colors, smells, or sights. Just... nothing.
“I’m worried about you."
“If I took a shot every time you said that, I’d be in the hospital by now. That, or dead.”
“I’m serious, Kane. You’re getting worse each day. Soon, you’ll be completely catatonic.”
“I’d be so lucky,” I mutter.
I’d give anything to go back to the old me before Jessica cut out my heart. Sometimes, I almost give in. Sometimes, I even try to find her.
And sometimes I do.
Like the other night, I stood outside her house in the fucking rain, soaked through like some pathetic stalker. That was my lowest point.
Cash showed up with Maverick and Noah, and he drove us home without a word because I was in no shape to drive again.
Cash extends his leg to pull his phone out of his pocket and reads the incoming message. Then he tosses it to me, and I catch it questioningly before reading the message.
Maverick:
Kane’s phone is off. Tell him to get to his father’s office.
What does he want now?
I stand up, glancing at Cash, who sips his beer while eyeing the girls. “Don’t get into trouble tonight.”
He doesn’t respond and finishes the last of his beer before handing me my phone. “Don’t answer Beverley’s calls if you turn it on. Better yet, block her number.”
If I cut off contact, she’ll run to my father at the first opportunity, and he’ll make sure I live to regret being born. I have no choice but to play by his rules—not if I want to keep my sanity until I’m old enough to take him down and burn his company to the ground.
A curvy blonde attempts to talk to me as I exit the room, so I shrug her wandering hands off my arm.
It’s that nauseating feeling when Beverly runs her palms over my chest, admiring my muscles through my shirt. Which is why I leave the room before I hurt someone.
Once I turn the corner, Maverick pushes off the wall, ending whatever phone call he’s on. He’s dressed in an open-collared shirt, pleated slacks, and sneakers. His hair is styled back and a bit on the longer side. It’s been a while since he had a haircut.
“I restored the CCTV footage,” he says as he gets close enough.
“And? Did you find anything?” I glance over my shoulder, but there’s no one in sight. This part of the house is far enough that guests rarely wander here by accident.
“I was going to show you a few days ago, but we decided to wait until tonight—”
“Excuse me? Show me what? And what do you mean by we?” I ask, lowering my voice. “Why haven’t you shown me what you found? You know my father is on my case about this. It’s a fucking miracle I’ve kept him at bay this long. I need that dagger back at all costs.”
“It’s better if you see for yourself.”
“What?” I don’t like the amusement in his voice. He’s scheming.
Of course, I want to know what he’s up to. I’m nothing if not curious, after all.
A sudden shuffling noise stops me in my tracks, and I glance over at the door to my father’s office.
Hang on. There’s someone in there.
Maverick is watching me intently.
I can practically feel his gaze burn into me as I inch toward the door, careful not to reveal my presence.
This feels a lot like that day I discovered a little rabbit in my father’s office. Could it be her?
“Is that who I think it is?” I ask, and my Adam’s apple jumps in my throat.
No matter if it’s wrong of me to want it to be true, I can’t help myself. Hope is rising like a tidal wave, ready to tear down every reason I have for staying away.
It’s already too late to retreat to higher ground because the wall of water is growing taller by the second. I don’t know whether I should run in the opposite direction to save her or stand here and gawk at my impending destruction. Either way, I’m doomed.
“You let Jessica come here? Why? You know I can’t be with her.”
“Can’t or you’re too scared to?”
“Can’t!” I hiss, keeping my voice low so it doesn’t carry through the door. “Why are you meddling in my business? My father has her shadowed by his damn men. They could have seen her come here. Do you know what my father will do to her if he finds out about this?”
There’s no need to explain this to him. He knows just as well as I do the danger involved.
“You don’t have to worry about his men,” he assures. “Ava already took care of that.”
I think the confusion is written on my face because he struggles not to laugh.
“Ava?” I almost snap. “What the hell does she have to do with this?”
“She reached out to me. Let’s just say, I don’t know what went down with you two that night when you drove off with her, but she seems to think that girl in there”—he points to the door—“is the key to your happiness or some bullshit like that.”
What?
Maverick shrugs casually. “Never thought I’d see the day she dropped the bitch act. Miracles happen.”
Then he meanders off with a final small smile over his shoulder. “You’re up, Kane. You want her? Drive. Don’t break now.”