by CR Robertson
“You need to think of her as something other than sexy,” I deadpanned.
He grinned and finally relaxed. “I’m going to be a Grandfather? Lucas will be pissed I was first over the line for the title.”
“Yeah, that brings me to the next part of our story and how we found out she was pregnant.”
Jordan and Ash arrived as I started to tell our story, filling in pieces when the memories began to enrage me. Dad stared out the window, his jaw tight, and his leg that was crossed beating time.
“That bastard Malcom has left a litany of problems for us to sort out. At least we don’t have to worry about his properties and his coming back if he’s been taken care of.” He moved his attention to Jordan. “Has he been taken care of?”
The scary smile Jordan produced was enough to freeze the blood in your veins.
“Well that is one less problem,” Dad confirmed. “His partners in his sex trade have been starting to call in his debts since his involvement has been revealed. They are incredibly unpleasant men who wouldn’t care if they got their money in cash or by abducting his young wife and two small daughters.”
Jordan’s head snapped around to Dad. His expression neutralised before he began tapping on his phone. Jordan was a sadistic sonofabitch who didn’t care who he tortured and killed. But rape and sexual abuse of kids was something he would never tolerate.
“There’s a team heading to their home now. We have a few safe houses within the Council that I can make available to them,” Jordan said, his eyes never leaving his phone as he continued to talk.
“His wife is the daughter of an old friend of mine. He thought being married to Malcolm would keep her safe because he was dull. Turns out he had us all fooled.” Dad leaned back on the sofa and studied the ceiling.
“I never trusted him,” Jordan snipped. “You should trust loud people who curse because they tend to be honest. The quiet ones who lurk and can’t bring themselves to say ‘fuck’ tend to be slimy little fuckers with a taste for darkness.”
Ash laughed. “There speaks the voice of experience.”
“Malcolm proved my point for me. Everyone thought he was boring, but he’d had a house filled with sex slaves and his fingers in human trafficking. I should have had his ass followed years ago.”
Rolling my eyes at him, I returned to the original reason we were here. “What’s happening, Dad? We can only help if we know.”
His tongue wet his lips before he spoke. “Malcolm was a wizard when it came to money. He brought a lot of money into the Council.”
I groaned, not liking where this was going, especially since the police were investigating Malcolm, and now the Council because of Michael. My hands scrubbed down my face. “Please tell me we’re not connected to all this?”
“I don’t know is the honest answer. Everyone is trying to track our assets, but that’s hard to do when you didn’t know the man you trusted was corrupt.”
“On it!” Ash said, bringing his phone out to begin typing. “I’ll need access to my computers back at the office, but I can start the searches now.”
“His business partners are on their way to England. I spoke to them when they contacted Moira. She came to me since her father trusted her safety to me when he died.” Dad said.
“Holy fuck!” I exclaimed, my eyes meeting Jordan’s. “Give us as many details as you have.”
“All I had was a phone number and a location I was to meet them at next week.” Dad had always been a force to be reckoned with, his personality overbearing at times. For the first time, I saw the lines at his eyes and the grey in his hair.
It was my turn for my phone to come out. “Details,” I grated out, typing them in when he uttered them. “Right now, I’m putting everyone on lockdown. Cas is already at home with her friend Megan, so I need to put you where we can watch you.”
I lived in the penthouse of my apartment block. It had been built by our company and the helipad on the roof was the reason we got to Cassandra so quickly. Over the years, I’d bought the lower apartments when they’d come on the market, deliberately leaving them empty for such an eventuality. Uncle Lucas and Lucrezia would be put in one, Dad in another, and it was probably best to have Jordan and Ash there in case the shit really hit the fan.
“I’m fine here with my security detail.” He waved off my concerns.
“Pack a bag and we’re out of here in twenty,” I said. “Bring what you need until this is over.”
My family was all that mattered to me in the world and I would do everything in my power to keep them safe.
Dad looked ready to protest, but one look at my fixed expression had him nodding wearily. His butler Owen had their bags at the door in fifteen minutes, since he was used to packing for Dad’s business trips. He’d be going into lockdown with Dad since he’d been around for as long as I could remember.
The suitcases were packed into the car in the garage far from prying eyes, and we left at different times. I had an entire parking level that was only accessible by key card reserved for the apartments I owned.
“I always thought you were being overly cautious,” Ash said. “Guess you’re having the last laugh right now.”
“I really wish I wasn’t,” I muttered.
Dad studied Cassandra when I went to get everyone keys to their new homes until this was over. The building was bombproof and had so many security measures in it that it would be nearly impossible to break into. We’d added more with every apartment I’d acquired. The apartment directly under mine was a mini base of operations that I used when I couldn’t sleep. No one would ever be able to search my apartment and find anything incriminating. Not even a key to that apartment, as it was only accessible with biometrics.
“You’re marrying my son?” Dad asked Cassandra, his gaze taking in the way she casually sat in our apartment and the ring on her finger. It was the little things that screamed she lived here, like the hair bobble on the coffee table and her handbags sitting about. Who knew that you needed more than one handbag at a time? She seemed to have one for every occasion. Normally I found bras hanging on door handles.
She chewed the side of her cheek. “Zee can be forceful when he gets an idea in his head.”
I knew Dad was going to argue because he was disgruntled that he never noticed what was under her nose. “Let’s get you settled,” I interrupted, my hand on his shoulder to guide him out. We could carry out an inquisition another day.
Jordan whistled when I let them into my base of operations, adding their details to the user manifest. “You’ve been holding out on us.”
“I tend to work when I can’t sleep. The back staircase from my apartment can access this level. It means work is separate from home.” The computers were set up the same as the ones in our office. It allowed me to access nearly all the same programmes, but from the comfort of home.
Ash pulled out a chair. “I’ll start the searches to track the money Malcolm was using. It’ll take a few hours to complete.” Ash had crashed here before and had spare clothes in the apartment he preferred to use.
Jordan owned an apartment in the building so he could use the helipad when he needed. He tended to move constantly between his homes, never setting a pattern. Jordan left the room as Ash and I started to track all Malcolm’s assets and anything he did for the Council. By tomorrow, there wouldn’t be a trace of any of his filthy money connected to our names.
“Uncle Lucas is coming for next Friday,” I said in idle conversation.
Ash’s body stiffened. “Is he travelling alone?”
“No idea. Want me to ask him?” I knew my cousin Lucrezia was coming but I wanted Ash to finally put both of them out of their dating misery. The girl had hearts in her eyes every time she looked at him. He’d sulked for days when she left London with Uncle Lucas a few weeks ago.
His slid me a side-eyed look. “He’d kill me if I went anywhere near her.”
“He’d have to catch you first and you can run faster than him.
” I stopped typing to look at my friend. “Cas makes me happy. I never realised I was miserable until she wandered into my life and left bras hanging on my door handles and turned my drain into a Wookiee. What if Lucrezia is your Cas and you’re just too stubborn to find out? Show him your damn portfolio and buy a ring to show your intent. You’re obsessed with her, helping with her business venture. I doubt that’s going to change anytime soon.”
“Is she coming?” His tone held both trepidation and hope.
“Yeah, and if you let her leave this country without propositioning her, I’m disowning you as a friend.”
“Noted.”
“It bloody better be,” I muttered darkly.
Cas sat on the sofa surrounded by a mass of cushions, her legs tucked under her and her Kindle in her hand.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, taking a mental picture of her in the place that I’d always claimed was a confirmed bachelor pad.
“Jay came up and got all bossy with Megan. He dragged her off, caveman style.” She set her Kindle down. “Is he always that rude and intense?”
“He probably already has her tied up in his apartment,” I deadpanned.
She put her hands over her stomach. “Shush! Not in front of the baby!”
“Are you covering their ears?” I asked with a grin at her antics.
“Yes. Bubble is too little to hear about their auntie and uncle tying each other up in a sex game.” She’d taken to calling the baby Bubble since we didn’t know if it was a boy or girl.
“I don’t think baby Bubble can hear us.”
Cassandra pouted, her hands rubbing her still flat tummy. “I read they can hear noises and respond to music.”
“Mmmm. We’d better make sure that Mummy is quiet when she orgasms then.” I moved across the room and gently tugged her to her feet.
“Maybe we should stop sex until after they arrive?” she suggested with huge, wide innocent eyes.
“Not happening, babe. Bubble will just have to go to therapy and tell them all about the times Mummy and Daddy had sex.”
Cassandra grinned up at me, her arms winding around my waist. “Are we planning on having sex multiple times?”
I bent and slid my arms under her ass to lift her. “Per night or in general?” I asked on my way to the bedroom.
Her giggle vibrated against my throat. “You’ll get bored of me and we’ll end up only having sex on birthdays and Christmas.”
I tossed her onto the bed and stood over her. “I’ll say this one last time, Cas. You’re it for me. I could have spent my life having endless affairs like Dad or in The Midnight Rooms. I choose you. Simple.”
“No one ever chooses me,” she whispered, propping herself up on her elbows.
I crawled on the bed, deliberately looming over her. “I’ve already followed you once, don’t make me do it again.”
She flushed, her eyes locking with mine. I had the tracker inserted into her ankle when she was still groggy from all the medication after her assault. There was no way she’d ever run or be taken again without me knowing.
“What if you run?”
My lips hovered over hers. “I’m not going anywhere,” I replied.
Cassandra wrapped her arms around my neck, hauling me down to her. I’d never wanted anything permanent until she walked into my life, but now I couldn’t envisage my world without her in the centre of it.
She’d arrived at the most turbulent era of my life with enemies starting to appear at every turn. A trickle of fear rippled down my back at the thought of anything happening to her. Nothing else mattered anymore except keeping her safe from the predators stalking me.
***
Chapter Sixteen
Cassandra
Megan and I were officially under house arrest. After much protesting, we were driven to work and picked up at the end of every day. Both of us carried a personal alarm and I was sure the new guy downstairs on the security desk had been put there by Xavier.
Before my abduction, I would have felt suffocated; now I was glad that someone was watching over me. Perspective was a pair of glasses everyone should wear before they judged others. Much to Xavier’s displeasure my ring was in my handbag. It pissed him off even more that Jordan accompanied Megan and me to buy new trousers and skirts since I no longer fit into my office clothes. I would have to announce my pregnancy soon.
“I’m leaving for my medical appointment, Sasha,” I said from the door as I left for the day. My scan was in half an hour and Xavier was waiting for me in the carpark.
“Are you feeling okay, Cas? You’ve been very quiet lately.” She stared at me with motherly concern, since she’d semi-adopted me since I arrived here.
“Yeah, I’m still not feeling great after that cold and then the fall.” That fake smile I’d perfected over the years appeared on my lips. “Honestly, you need to stop worrying.”
I waved and used the back elevator down to the carpark. Xavier tended to use his Jaguar when he drove me around since it was bigger inside than some of his other cars. The glass made it impossible to see who was inside. I slid in without knocking, and he was in the middle of a full argument on the phone.
“I don’t give a fuck who they are. If they come near me or anyone I care for, tell them I’ve got a bullet with their name on it. I don’t take threats lightly.” He hung up, face tight with anger. I jumped when he slammed his fist into the steering wheel.
Xavier groaned. “Sorry, baby. My world is a shit storm at the moment. You were meant to text on your way down.”
I stared at him wordlessly because I rarely saw the aggressive Xavier. His emotions pulsed off him in waves that made me feel shame. I’d been so wrapped up in my own problems, that it never occurred to me to ask why everyone was living in our building or what the repercussions about Malcolm were.
“Let’s go to the doctor and then when we get home, you can tell me all about what’s been happening.”
He sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’m just trying to balance a few things at the moment.”
I slapped his arm and glared at him. Xavier turned to face me with his eyebrows raised. “If you want me to live in your world and wear your ring, then you’ll damn well tell me what the fuck is going on.”
His gaze roved over my face even as his shoulders stiffened.
“You have to let me in, Zee. Where’s the man who could tell me anything in the dark? I need that man right now because I’m frightened.”
His hand cupped my cheek. “I need to keep you safe.”
“Lack of information didn’t keep me safe last time,” I pointed out.
“My world is too dark for someone as pure as you to live in.”
“Zee.” I grabbed his hand with both of mine. “This is our world; I should have grown up in this world beside you. If knowing about your enemies keeps our baby safe, then I need to be kept in the loop.”
He leaned forward until his forehead pressed to mine. “You’re too good for me,” he muttered.
“Well, you have to keep me now because you got me pregnant.”
He laughed, his breath mingling with mine. “If I recollect, you were a willing participant.”
“Yeah, well, I’m blaming your dick.” I pressed a quick kiss to his lips before turning to put my seatbelt on. “He dickmatised me.”
His chuckle made me smile as he turned the engine on and manoeuvred the car out. I tended to blame his dick on most things. “You’re so fucking weird that I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“You try being a woman around that magical dick of yours when he starts working his voodoo on your hoodoo, and the next thing you know you’re pregnant.”
His laugh echoed around me. “My what on your what?”
“Exactly.” I nodded and folded my arms as if I’d won the argument.
“Let me get this straight. My dick performed magic on your vagina and made her corrupt your contraceptive pill so t
hat he could get you pregnant?”
“Don’t be silly,” I snapped. “Your super potent sperm annihilated my contraceptive pill.”
His eyebrows shot up. “I’m putting this down to pregnancy hormones,” he quipped.
“Which are technically your fault.”
His mouth opened like he was going to say something, but then he snapped it shut again. A slow, sexy smirk lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Don’t even say it,” I warned. “Today is not the day to be a smartass or a clever dick. I can no longer fit into my favourite work skirt and that is your fault. My beautiful collection of sexy heels no longer fit because my feet swell up.”
Xavier looked perplexed, his brow furrowed. “Sorry?” he replied in question.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to find that perfect skirt that makes you feel confident? Then you accompany it with the perfect pair of red heels that say fuck me but scowl at the same time if anyone approaches.”
“Sorry, baby. I’ll be honest, I don’t have the legs for skirts and all my heels are in storage.”
“Are you humouring me?” I demanded. “I loved that skirt and those shoes.”
Then I started crying as I remembered how I felt in those shoes. They cost me a month’s wages but had been worth every single pound.
“Shit!” The car swerved as Xavier turned to stare at me. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I wailed. “You made me fat and pregnant and my pretty shoes don’t fit anymore.”
His eyes widened in panic at the crazy woman in his car. Xavier controlled every situation, but right now he had the appearance of a man ready to tear his hair out. The car accelerated forward, weaving through traffic until we got to the obstetrician’s office.
He didn’t speak until we went inside, and he gave the receptionist our details. She handed me a hankie.
“My favourite skirt and shoes don’t fit,” I sniffed.
The receptionist nodded sympathetically. “What type of shoes?”
“Jimmy Choo.” It was ridiculous, even I knew that, but I couldn’t stop the sobs that followed.
