Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Family is Forever
HENRY
“Ipromise the cats will be well looked after. Parker thinks they’re the bee’s knees,” Josie reassured me as I slung my laptop bag over my shoulder.
“I trust you,” I told her distractedly, all my attention on Ri’s pale face as she waited by the stairs. “We’ll be back within forty-eight hours. I’m sure Abernathy won’t pine for Ri too melodramatically.”
As if on cue, Abs let out a screeching wail and darted away under the lounge. But I couldn’t worry about my cats. I needed to get Ri to Sydney and back again without attracting the attention of the police or the media.
I’d never broken so many rules in my life as I had since I’d met her. What was another if it meant she could see her friend who needed all the support she could get?
We’d made several approaches to Dom before wearing him down enough to explain the circumstances of Kat’s attack. The details had been enough to make me sick to my stomach, and I wondered how he must be feeling, to know what had almost been done to his partner.
I’d had trouble sleeping that night, picturing myself finding Ri in that scenario … a broken cheekbone seemed far too light a punishment for the spineless weasel who had attacked Kat, had sexually assaulted her … had almost raped her. If Dom hadn’t found her in time …
But the thing that had frightened me the most had been the tormented expression on Ri’s face when she’d read Dom’s message. It had cemented in my mind that Ri needed to see her friend, if only to reassure herself that Kat was okay. That she would make it through this horrendous ordeal.
We climbed aboard the same helicopter that had ferried supplies to us two days ago.
It took us to a small, private airport near Airlie Beach where my jet had been waiting, thanks to Liv’s superior organisational skills.
The transfer from chopper to plane went off without a hitch—so seamless and swift that there was no chance anyone would have had time to notice us.
The plan was to fly under the radar back to Sydney, where Lucian was on call to whisk Ri off the plane directly to Frankwright Hospital for a visit with Kat and then return her to me.
We’d decided that my presence beside Ri at the hospital would attract unwanted attention, so I was trusting Lucian to ensure her safety while I waited on the plane.
If I had to entrust her to anyone but myself, he was my man. No matter the argument we’d had before Ri and I departed Sydney, he was family—the only family I had. Until Ri.
My chest felt simultaneously too large, and too tight, at that thought. Family was forever, no matter how bumpy the road. And no matter what people said, you could choose your family.
I choose Ri. Without question, and without pause. I’ll fight for her, lie for her, whatever it takes to keep her safe and happy, and free of the demons of her past.
We hit turbulence on the descent into Sydney, and Ri’s already pasty face turned green. Fear started a frantic drumming in my ribcage.
“Air sickness?” I asked, handing her a bag. “Or are you frightened about the state you’re going to find Kat in?”
Ri breathed shakily, waving the bag away. “I’m just … I’m so horrified about what that g?oaz? did to her. But I have to be strong, for her. I don’t want her to feel like she has to reassure me that she’s okay … I should be the one reassuring her.”
“You don’t have to pretend, Ri. You can show people the vulnerable parts of yourself.”
“She’s at her lowest, so I can’t. That would be selfish,” she argued, wiping at her eyes.
As much as seeing her cry tore at me, I reminded myself that it was an honour to know I was a safe haven for her to let her real emotions out.
I got the unfiltered Irina, and I … loved all her jagged edges, as much as I did the smooth ones.
I wrapped her in my arms as best as I could, given the seatbelt light was on for our imminent landing. She pressed her lips to my skin, just above the collar of my T-shirt.
When the plane came to a stop, Ri extricated herself from me and took a long, deep breath, the mask falling into place over her face. The beautiful, fun, cheeky mask that was just one facet of Irina—the one she donned like armour.
“I’ll be here waiting when you get back,” I reminded her, unbuckled my seatbelt and stood, pulling her into my arms. “Go be with your friend.”
“Thank you, Henry.” She looked up, and for a second, I saw the mask slip, saw a tiny glimpse of that haunted expression before she smiled, and it disappeared once more.
Whatever was going on inside her head, it was about more than just her worry for her friend. But I wasn’t going to pry. She would tell me when she was ready. I’d made my peace with being patient for more of her.
The flight attendant unlocked the cabin door, and it swung open, Lucian stepping through. His expression was stern. “I’ll say it again, Bax. This is a terrible idea, and it’s not too late to change your mind and head straight back to the yacht.”
Ri tried to pull out of my arms, but I held her tight, glaring at my cousin over her head. “And I’ll say it again. This visit is non-negotiable. Friends show up in times of need, and Kat needs to see Ri.” I refrained from adding that Ri needed to see Kat just as much.
Lucian’s jaw twitched, but he nodded. “Well, you’d better be on your best behaviour, Irina,” he glowered. Ri rolled her eyes before getting up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to the tip of my nose.
“I promise I won’t do anything that will stop me from coming back to you,” she whispered against my cheek. I managed a quick stroke of my fingertips down her face before she was marching towards Lucian.
“Let’s go, Lumberjack,” she ordered, heading for the stairs. Lucian scowled after her.
“Lumberjack?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lucian ran a hand through his hair. “Kat called me that, the night Ri went out with her and her friends. Clearly Irina finds it amusing.”
I coughed to cover my chuckle—it was amusing. “Go. We can’t have her being seen by anyone who might report it back to immigration.”
“Sure, a crowded hospital is going to be the best place for me to take her then.” Lucian grumbled as he headed for the door. Before he exited, he paused, glancing back at me. “Have you spoken to Atlas recently?”
I shook my head, guilt threading through my stomach. I’d let myself forget about the real world, about my business and my business partner, for days of bliss with Ri. I hadn’t even been checking TechRaker, who always loved to report on Atlas’s shenanigans when he was in California.
Lucian knocked a fist against the fuselage, brows furrowed. “I think you should get in touch with him, sooner rather than later.”
He ducked his head and was out the door before I could ask why. I watched out the window as he climbed into his SUV, the dark-tinted windows already concealing Ri from me. I told myself that was a good thing—if I couldn’t see her then other prying eyes couldn’t either.
“This is such a big risk,” I muttered, finally letting myself acknowledge the reality. With a shaky sigh, I sat down and opened my laptop, pulling up TechRaker to get myself up to speed with whatever Atlas had been up to in my absence.
My stomach dropped from the headline, and only got worse as I read on.
Doing drugs in club bathrooms? Throwing punches at industry colleagues? What on earth had he been arguing about with the SynAPPsee founders?
I tapped on his icon in my call favourites, putting the phone to my ear with a sigh.
Why had I left him to his own devices for so long?
This was a PR nightmare. I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder, pulling up our internal communication software on my laptop and typing out a terse directive to Liv to engage a crisis management specialist immediately.
Olivia: Already on it! I’ve briefed a firm, and they’re putting together a formal statement for us to release as we speak. I’ll send it to you for approval.
Henry: Thank you! I don’t know what I’d do without you, Liv.
Olivia: I think I deserve a raise
Henry: Already on it.
“Well, hello! If you’re hearing this, it’s because I’m either busy or screening my calls. Leave a message, and you might hear back from me.”
The beep of Atlas’s voice message set my teeth on edge.
“Atlas, I really hope you’re sleeping off whatever hangover you’re nursing. This is serious. You need to get in touch so that we can get damage control underway.”
I hung up, scowling at the phone, my stomach a riot of anxiety. Navigating to the text app, my fingers flew over the screen.
Henry: Are you asleep? If not, you need to call me ASAP. And get yourself on a plane back to Australia, we need to regroup and work out how we manage this colossal screw up.
I set my phone down and found my knees, breathing in through my nose and squeezing.
I couldn’t afford to break down over this.
We already had one Tickle founder having a public meltdown; I needed to keep myself together, to keep our business on track.
And then there was Ri. I couldn’t let her down.
Not in our little visa scheme, and not in our fledgling relationship.
It felt like a vice was slowly tightening in my chest. Not squeezing me enough to rob me of breath just yet, but a constant reminder that I couldn’t control everything and everyone around me.
I’d let whatever was simmering with Atlas go on for too long, and it was backfiring in the most spectacularly catastrophic way.
And I was alone on this grounded jet with nothing to do but wait. Wait for Ri to return. Wait for Atlas to call me back.
At least I had my vape. I rummaged through our bag until my fingers closed around it. Three long pulls, and the edges of my anxiety blurred enough for the wait to not feel quite so insurmountable.