Chapter 22 – Mari
As soon as Cameron signed, I slipped a copy of the paperwork under the apartment door in case Ash was still there. The others went to Donnaghal and Sons to file. I let Laidan know I wanted the divorce finalized immediately, and she promised she knew exactly who to call to make it happen.
With any luck, Aislynn would be free again soon. Maybe it would be the kick-start she needed to begin again. To heal.
Fuck, I hoped so.
When we finally got back to the new house that night, I lay in bed. Not sleeping, not resting, just existing with my men pressed around me.
Tennessee had texted sometime between my getting the divorce papers signed and our arriving home with an update I didn’t like.
Ash never returned to the Celestine. She didn’t answer any calls or texts. I even resorted to sending emails to her work address. Still nothing. She was a ghost.
The only thing keeping me from tearing the city apart to find her was Rafael. He promised he was watching her, that she was safe but needed to be alone. I didn’t like it, but I had to respect her wishes. She deserved the chance to process however she needed.
I wasn’t sure how I’d react in her place. Finding out my husband had manipulated me into loving him, that he’d made plans for the future, knowing he didn’t give a shit about me—that would destroy me. And that was without the knowledge that he was intentionally trying to impregnate her to steal her birthright too.
Fuck, I didn’t want to see the damage that bomb would cause.
After an infuriating text exchange with my uncle, during which he refused to send even a proof-of-life photo, I video-called Shara. She’d been close to my cousin too and she needed to know, but telling her was brutal. I could have called before we caught him, but Christian and Adrien had been moving her to the safe house, and I wanted her to have time to settle in. Selfishly, I also wanted a break myself, or maybe I just needed the answers he gave before I told her.
Even if I didn’t want it to, time always passed, no matter how much you wanted to hide from it.
Recounting everything Cameron had said to me was heartbreaking, and we were both quiet and numb after. I was just grateful that even though Shara could see how destroyed I was, she didn’t push me to talk yet, letting me stare out the window instead. We sat in silence, two people who’d lost someone they considered family, grieving together. No words of condolence or anger. Just quiet pain shared among women who’d seen too much of it.
Eventually, I sighed and turned back to the call. As expected, she watched me patiently.
“I don’t like this,” I said for the hundredth time, and we both knew I wasn’t talking about him.
“Neither do I, but she needs time to lick her wounds. Considering what you just said, I’d say she deserves it.”
“He’s not dead.” Yet.
I was still unsure what the best punishment for my cousin’s betrayal would be. Did I kill him and end his existence and my suffering, or did I put him somewhere no one would find him, forcing him to live his life knowing he’d lost everything to me again?
What would give me more satisfaction? What would give Aislynn the closure she needed?
“Her husband was a fraud and a traitor to the both of you. She’s just got to come to terms with that, and it could take her a while. All we can do is be there for her and support her.”
Shoving my hands through my hair, I sighed. “I shouldn’t have pushed her into this.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I was being selfish. I didn’t want O’Bannon to have Greyson, so I shoved her at Cameron instead. I put her on this path because I didn’t want to lose him.”
“Of course you didn’t. He’s your husband.”
“Now, but he wasn’t before. Before, he was just my second-in-command and the man her father wanted her to marry.”
Shara frowned, obviously not liking my train of thought. “She wouldn’t blame you for keeping Greyson, Mari. Everyone could see that he matters to you. Honestly, I’m just shocked it took this long to wife him up.”
She should blame me. I’d ruined her life.
“This is a blip,” Shara said gently.
But it was more than that.
It was so obvious how much Cameron meant to Ash. When I’d told her that O’Bannon was dead, she didn’t even flinch. In fact, she’d told me good riddance. When my cousin had broken her heart, she’d fled.
He’d manipulated her, convinced her to love him, to plan a future with him—all while knowing he didn’t give a shit about her. That was bound to create such trust issues that I wasn’t sure she’d ever recover from, and it killed me.
Aislynn O’Bannon had only ever wanted three things in life: her business, her freedom, and the love of a good man. Knowing she’d had that last one under false pretenses was going to cause shock waves I wasn’t sure we could help her through. I didn’t want to lose her to the darkness of his treachery.
Shara sat forward, pulling my attention back. “It’ll take time, but she’s strong enough. She’ll make it through, and we’ll help her. But right now, she needs to be alone.”
The only thing Ash was asking for after everything was space, and as the person who’d put her on this path to heartbreak, I had to give it to her. I didn’t have to like it, though.
“How are you?” I had to change the subject before I lost my mind. “How’s the safehouse?”
“It’s good.” Shara smiled. “I’m actually enjoying myself.”
“Enjoying yourself…or enjoying Adrien?” There was no need to be coy with Shara. We both knew what I was asking, and as expected, she laughed.
“Both.”
“You like him?”
“I’ve liked him since the moment I set eyes on him,” she admitted.
“And Christian?”
She squirmed a little, and I laughed, enjoying how uncomfortable she looked. “Is it weird?”
“What, that you’re attracted to him?”
“He’s your cousin, Mari. He’s Antoni’s cousin.”
Understanding softened me. “He wouldn’t be upset with you. Antoni would have wanted you to follow your heart, wherever that led. He wasn’t the type to hold you back just because something wasn’t normal.” When she didn’t respond, I asked, “Is it a problem for Christian?”
“I haven’t asked,” she admitted.
I heard a world of unspoken things in her words. “Are you scared too?”
Shara had lost the love of her life, and she was watching her best friend lose hers too. It wouldn’t be out of bounds to assume the idea of diving into something new would terrify her.
“He’s just so…infuriating.” She growled in frustration, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing again. “Seriously, he’s so hot and cold all the time. Sometimes he stares at me and I think he’s mentally undressing me. Other times, I’m pretty sure he’s skinning me alive.”
“Are you being annoying?” One thing that people didn’t know about Shara was she livedto irritate her men. She used to drive Antoni crazy, poking at him, doing everything she shouldn’t, until he finally snapped.
He’d grab her by the neck, haul her over his shoulder, and disappear out of the room. We wouldn’t see them for at least two days, and no onewent into their wing of the house for fear of needing to bleach their eyes.
“Of course not. I’m a lady.” She huffed, and I rolled my eyes. Like I’d ever believe she was prim and proper.
“Maybe he’s just not used to sharing,” I suggested.
That made her tap her long nails on the counter in front of her. “That’s what Adrien said, but I’m not sure I believe it.”
“You think they’ve shared before you?”
“Better not have,” she snapped before taking a calming breath. It was the first hint of jealousy I’d noticed her show in a while, and it was nice to see her care enough about someone to bring that out again. “I don’t see why sharing would be an issue. If you really want someone, you do what it takes to get them. Even if it means sharing with your bestie.”
True, but… “The men in our world would not do well with sharing. They want what they want, and they’ll take out anyone in their way. You know this.”
“Yeah, I do. It still sucks, though. I wish he wanted me enough to try.”
The conversation was hitting closer to home than I expected. Cameron thought of me as an obstacle in his path to greatness, and all I wanted was for him to love me enough to try to be on my side again.
I swallowed thickly as irritation bloomed in my chest. What the fuck had I ever done to him except exist? It was bullshit for him to blame his shortcomings on me. I had been a little girl—the only little girl on the compound—and as hard as the men in our family were, they were also fathers.
They saw young me as someone to dote on when the urge struck and nothing more, but all he saw was one more person to split the gold with.
“Are you okay?” Shara asked, soft understanding on her face.
“I think I hate him,” I admitted. When she nodded, encouraging me to continue, I did. “I spent my whole life putting him on a pedestal as one of my closest allies, my best friend, and he never felt the same. I’m so sick of men thinking it’s okay to use and abuse women’s feelings to get what they want. I mean, Christ. Do they think we’ll just lie down and take it?”
There was so much bubbling inside that I realized it wasn’t just my cousin I was mad at; it was Joaquin too. It was the remnants of the anger I’d felt toward Nate and even Dominic when he’d first come back. I thought I’d worked through it, but some still remained and that pissed me off.
“Cameron probably assumed you’d never find out, or if you did, it would be too late to do anything.”
Light from the coffee table stole my attention, and I stiffened as Cameron’s phone rang. Grey had downloaded the files on it right away, and while he was digging through them, I’d kept the phone close, waiting for Cash to reach out. Even though it irritated me that my eyes kept straying to it, I couldn’t seem to put it too far out of my reach.
“Hey, Shara. I gotta go.”
“Okay. Be careful, babe.”
“You too. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
“Don’t worry about me. The boys are taking good care of me.” She waggled her eyebrows and gave me an exaggerated wink.
Grateful for the tension-breaker, I grinned. “Don’t forget—no glove, no love.”
She barked a laugh. “You know I have stock in condoms. Talk soon.”
With another quick love you, we both hung up.
Tossing my phone to the side, I moved to the other. The text from Cash was two sentences that boiled my blood.
You’re late. Where’s my intel?
And there it was, a blatant reminder of just how far Cameron had fallen. His treachery infuriated me, jolting me into action before I could overthink it.
Sorry to say, your little mouse got caught in a trap. Seems you’ll have to find another.
I wondered how long I’d have to wait for a response, but Cash texted almost immediately.
Is that you, little queen? Have you stolen one more thing from your cousin?
No, I’ve stolen from you. He’s just an added bonus.
Enjoy my leftovers. I’ve got enough intel to get to you if I want, but I’m enjoying our game too much to end it at this point.
It’s so fun watching you squirm.
I hope you’re still saying that when I kill you.
I gritted my teeth and sent back one more message before breaking the phone in half and throwing it to the side.
If you want me, come and find me.
As usual, I sought solace in the gym. I spent some time with a heavy bag and then realized all I wanted to do was run. I had just done my fifth mile when Grey rushed in.
A quick tap to my phone paused my music, and I pulled out the earbud. “What’s wrong?”
“You should see this.”
Grabbing a towel to wipe my face, I followed him through the house to his office. As with the rest of our new home, Greyson had taken his time to make sure the room was perfect for his needs. He’d set up multiple massive work desks, each with their own docking station so he could manipulate whatever tech he was messing with, but the highlight of the room was an entire wall of monitors that he could move around at will.
He tapped on the keyboard, and the main screen changed. It took only a moment for me to realize what I was seeing.
“Is that the penthouse?”
It was almost strange to see the Celestine again, not to mention the psychopath stalking through it.
Grey nodded. “He broke in five minutes ago.”
My eyes lifted in surprise, and I watched, detached, as Cash destroyed our suite.
He threw tables and broke chairs. He took a bat to the TVs and pissed on the couches. That wasn’t even mentioning what he did when he found my room. Grey and I were silent as he went batshit on our former home.
Knowing I’d pushed him to it, if only to prove to himself that he had a leg up on me, I let it happen. No use losing good men when he was throwing another temper tantrum. It was all stuff that could easily be replaced anyway. When he disappeared into the bathroom, I looked at my man. “Find out how he got upstairs.”
“Already on it,” Grey said. “He could have duplicated Cameron’s keycard access.”
“I thought we blocked his access to any floors but his own?”
“We did, but Cash could’ve forced the stairwell open.”
Humming, I decided that made the most sense. “Any casualties?”
“None.”
“Security?”
Grey pulled up another screen, and we watched as the security team lined up in front of the penthouse. Cash paused his destruction, cocking his head like a golden retriever hearing his favorite squeaky toy. By the time security broke down the door like a SWAT team, ready and willing to take Cash dead or alive, he was already moving.
Knowing Nate had climbed from the roof, I wondered how Cash was getting out. As my men filtered into the apartment, we watched as Cash slipped out a window and disappeared from the frame.
“Did he climb down?”
Grey switched camera views to the blind spot Nate had manipulated to get to me. “Looks like he parachuted.”
Are you fucking kidding me? “I thought people only did that shit in movies.”
“Apparently not.”
Sure enough, Cash was already halfway down the block, his body completely covered by the fabric of his parachute. The little psycho didn’t seem to care that any malfunction could’ve meant his death. His unpredictability worried me. How did we beat someone who didn’t give a shit if he lived or died?
“Fucking Beckstroms.”
Grey laughed, and we watched as our men cleared the penthouse before surveying the damage.
Too bad the parachute didn’t fail.Even as I thought it, I knew our story would end in bloodshed and pain. That was fine, though. No matter what it took, I intended to be the last one standing.