Chapter 8
FUCK THE INSOLENCE OUT OF YOU
SEBASTIAN
Imogen returns to our office just as I’m hanging up from the video call I’d been on with a business associate in Amsterdam.
“Tour’s done, and now she’s having a nap.
I introduced her to Dante, Kresta, Sabrina and Daniella when I found them all in the gym.
Didn’t really know how to explain who she was, so I just went with a friend.
” She leans against the back of her desk and crosses her arms. “So… Are you going to explain what’s going on with Lily, or am I going to have to guess?
Cause she is incredibly anxious,” she says.
I raise an eyebrow. “I’m interested to hear what those guesses might be,” I reply, avoiding answering her question.
She raises a finger. “One - she’s in the witness protection program and you’re hiding her away from the mafia,” she says, before raising a second finger.
“Two - she’s some long-lost relative you’ve never mentioned before, although that doesn’t really explain the looks I’ve seen exchanged between you both.
I can’t really think of a third one, but I’m sure I could find something. ”
It’s a little scary how close she is to the truth with both those guesses.
Leaning back in my chair, I pinch the bridge of my nose for a moment with my eyes closed. When I open them again, Imogen is regarding me with concern.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
I sigh, figuring I might as well just come out and tell her.
“Lily married my now former friend eight years ago. I haven’t seen her since then. Before that, she and Daniel were almost inseparable from the age of fifteen.”
“When you got custody of him?” Imogen asks, and I nod.
“Yes. We moved to the eastern suburbs after I got him out of foster care, and he met Lily at the private school I enrolled him in. Lily was a bit of a loner, like Daniel, and they gravitated towards each other. She started spending most of her time with us because her family situation wasn’t the best. She was the sister Daniel never had. ”
She cocks her head to the side. “But not you?”
This woman has always had the ability to read me in ways no one else has. Perhaps because we are both so similar.
I huff out a dark laugh, laced with bitterness. “No. Not me.”
“So she fell for you?” she asks.
“We never discussed her feelings for me,” I reply, warily.
She raises an eyebrow and a smirk slowly spreads across her face. “Ah… so you had feelings for her, too.” It isn’t a question, but a statement, and I have to keep from grinding my teeth.
I sigh. “It’s complicated, Imogen.”
The smirk grows wider as her eyes twinkle with amusement. “So she married your ex-friend because you were too chicken to do anything about your feelings, thus causing you to move to Brisbane and bury your head in the sand. Got it.”
I scowl at her. “It wasn’t like that.”
She crosses her arms. “Enlighten me, then. Because it seems pretty uncomplicated, from where I’m standing.”
“It’s complicated because whilst I cared deeply for her, you, of all people, know how I live my life. It’s not conducive with a relationship, let alone one with someone like Lily.”
“Wait… So you thought you’d do what? Corrupt her with your wicked ways?”
I let my silence answer for me, and Imogen scoffs after a moment, shaking her head. “Unbelievable.”
I raise an eyebrow, feeling my jaw tense. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that I distinctly remember us having a frightfully similar conversation about me and Cam not that long ago. Seems like you probably should have followed your own advice. How do you know Lily wouldn’t be okay with how you live your life if you didn’t ask her?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose again, wishing I’d just kept it brief.
“I didn’t need to ask her. I met her when she was fifteen. And she was sweet and innocent. Two things I have never been. And -” I cut myself off, realising I was about to talk about the thing that had hurt the most.
The thing I’ve never spoken to anyone about.
Imogen’s eyes narrow. “And what?”
“It was nothing.”
She purses her lips. “There’s more to this than you’re telling me.”
I shake my head. “Just that sweet and innocent people don’t belong in our world. I wasn’t prepared to be responsible for her downfall.”
Cocking her head again, she studies me for a moment, sadness slowly replacing the smirk. “But someone else was, weren’t they? That’s why she’s here?”
I nod. “My life in Sydney was very different from here. It was a large part of why I left. The company I kept was less than savoury, filled with powerful men who are prone to violence. You weren’t too far off the mark when you mentioned the mafia, although it wasn’t as organised as that.
I met Joseph Sinclair when I sought out my father’s family, after I aged out of foster care.
And when I inherited everything a few months later and gained custody of Daniel, Joseph introduced me to the right people for me to start building our hotel portfolio.
That later led to Dark Desires, as you know.
For the longest time, I was able to keep Lily away from all those people.
” I grimace at the memory of my fruitless attempts to protect her.
“Her father was a notorious social climber who wanted nothing more than to get into that circle, and I knew he would throw Lily to the wolves in order to do it.” Imogen’s eyes glisten a little, and I know she can sense where this story is going.
“I made sure Daniel went to university, hoping to keep him away from all of them, and Lily went with him. But at the beginning of their final year, Joseph met her for the first time. He was already in deep with the wrong people by that point, and I’d started to distance myself from him.
I told him to stay away from her. That just made him want her more.
And Lily… I don’t know if the fact that I kept her at arms-length drove her towards him, but as soon as they started seeing each other, he’d convinced her not to continue studying.
Convinced her there was no future for her as a dancer, which was her life’s passion.
She’d been doing a dual degree, studying business with Daniel, as well as dancing, with the dream of opening a dance studio one day.
So I had to walk away. I couldn’t tell her what to do, and though Daniel tried to warn her about what a piece of work Joseph could be, she only saw what Joseph wanted her to see.
When they got married, she went radio silent, even with Daniel.
Neither of us has seen or spoken to that man in years.
But Daniel apparently saw them at a charity function a few months ago and got into contact with Lily without Joseph’s knowledge.
And one day he went to pick her up, finding her beaten almost to death, lying in a pool of her own blood.
So he grabbed what he could and got her the fuck out of there.
And she’s been hiding at the Rose Hill club ever since. ”
Imogen shakes her head. “That poor woman.”
“While your circumstances weren’t as violent, I know you can relate to at least some of what she’s been through.”
She nods. “Yeah, I can,” she says quietly.
Imogen’s ex-husband was an emotionally abusive arsehole, and her parents are pieces of shit that she cut herself off from at twenty, so she definitely gets it.
She sighs after a moment. “Well, that’s a rather fucked up situation. She’s lucky to have you and Daniel, though. A lot of women don’t have that.”
“I just wish we’d known what was going on, so we could have gotten her out of there sooner.
As it is, Joseph apparently saw her with Daniel earlier this week, so now I’m concerned that he might try to do something to Daniel.
Not that my hot-headed baby brother seems to care.
I’m sure he’d welcome the fight.” Daniel has dabbled in mixed martial arts over the years, and while it requires discipline, I doubt that discipline would extend to the man who nearly killed his best friend.
Imogen straightens. “Is he dangerous? Is he likely to do something at the club?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I’ve asked Connell to arrange for extra security at both locations.
And to have someone discreetly follow Daniel when he leaves either of them.
He would never agree to a bodyguard, so I’ve arranged for him to get one without him knowing.
It’s my job to keep him safe, whether he likes it or not. ”
She draws in a shaky breath. “This is all messy, Sebastian.”
I nod. “I know. I think, for the next few months, at least, it’s best you don’t go to the Sydney clubs. Daniel can handle them for the time being. I would never forgive myself if another person I cared for was dragged into that world because of choices I made.”
She scowls. “You shouldn’t feel responsible for anything that arsehole did. And you’re doing the best you can now. But yeah, I don’t want to get caught up in something if he shows up while I’m at the club, so thank you. But you should be careful too. Do you think he knows where you are?”
I run a hand through my hair, exhaustion from my sleepless night threatening to overcome me. Or maybe it’s because I just told Imogen almost everything I’ve kept bottled up for close to a decade and my body is sighing in relief.
“I don’t know if Joseph knows anything about my life now. But you know we have excellent security, and I doubt Joseph would think to look for Lily here. I think that’s why she chose to come back with me.”
Imogen shakes her head. “She would have gone wherever you were. I saw how she looked at you. You make her feel safe.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Which is ironic, because of all the people she should feel safe around, I’m at the bottom of the list.”
Imogen pushes off from her desk and marches around mine to grab my chin, forcing me to look at her as she glares down at me. “Whatever bullshit you’re spinning in your head, right now, it’s just that. Bullshit. Just because you believe she’s sweet and innocent doesn’t make you the devil.”
I pull away from her grasp. “Careful, Imogen,” I say, giving her a warning look.
She scoffs. “Or what? You don’t scare me, Sebastian DeLuca, and you never have. We’ve done some very fucked up shit together, and I have trusted you with my safety every single time.”
I push my chair back, standing so that I’m looking down at her now. “Do I need to remind you who’s in charge, Miss Delphine?”
Her eyes flash. “I don’t know, sir. Do you?” she says with attitude. “Seems to me like you’re trying to goad me into fucking so that you can stop thinking about all of this.”
I clench my jaw so hard I’m surprised I don’t crack a tooth. “And if I am?”
A smirk appears, replacing the anger from a moment ago. “Then I say let’s do it.”
I grip her chin and kiss her hard. “Good. Because I need to fuck the insolence out of you after that.”
She chuckles. “Good luck with that.”
So I set about showing her just how much she’s pissed me off. All the while trying to ignore the emotions that this entire exchange has caused to come crashing to the surface.