by Rowe, Ruby
“Thank you, Fletcher. I won’t need you tomorrow, so rest assured you’ll have the day off.”
“Thank you, sir. Have a good night.” He nods his head at me, and his silver hair shines off the top of it. I consider his age and when he might retire, and I hope that’s not happening any time soon. His wife died about seven years ago, so he hasn’t minded my erratic schedule.
He lets himself out, and as I remove Greyson’s shoes, his legs slide off the sofa. I shove them back onto it and attempt to straighten his body.
Camilla’s in the kitchen, getting a glass of water and a wastebasket to set beside him. He’s a lucky man tonight. If it wasn’t for her, he’d be on his own couch, fending for himself.
It’s been a long time since he’s been this blitzed, and it concerns me since he’s a recovered addict, to drugs that is. He never stopped drinking, but he usually knows his limitations.
“Ellis,” he mumbles.
“What?”
Opening his eyes, he works at bringing me into focus.
“I don’t want to marry her.”
“Then don’t.”
“I have to or … or Dad and Lawrence will hate me.” His eyes close again, and his mouth is agape.
“I don’t believe that.” As I shove a pillow beneath his head, he grabs my arm.
“Whit … she’s not the one. Why don’t they want me to be happy?”
I sit down on the coffee table in front of the sofa and rest my arms on my knees.
“Greyson, I don’t know why they’re different with you. All I know is you have to fix it before you’re looking for something stronger to numb your pain.”
Hearing a noise, I look up, and Camilla is at the doorway. She clears her throat and brings over the items for him.
“I’m gonna go change,” she says.
“I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
Before leaving the room, she looks at Greyson with sympathy in her eyes. She heard too much. If my cousin doesn’t have a talk with his father soon, I’ll be the one to do it.
I watch him until he drifts off to sleep, which doesn’t take long. Camilla isn’t in my room, so after I change out of my dress clothes into a pair of black sweats, I search for her. She’s sitting on her bed, staring at Liam on the video monitor.
“I thought we agreed you weren’t sleeping in here any longer.”
She doesn’t take her eyes off the screen.
“Sorry, I got sidetracked. I wasn’t able to spend much time with him today.”
“Yeah, I missed the little guy, too. Is he OK?”
“Yes, but I’m wondering if Beatrice had trouble getting him to sleep since she’s on the cot.” She peels her eyes off the screen to glance at me. “Do you think I should wake her and send her home?”
“It’s late. If she gets uncomfortable, she’ll go to the spare bedroom.”
Leaning her head back, Camilla stares at the ceiling and takes a deep breath. Her boobs push outward in the thin tank top she changed into, and it’s turning me on. I stroll over and hold my hand out.
“Come. It’s time for me to have a taste … or maybe a feast. And don’t worry, I’ll gag you so your screams don’t wake our guests.” Expecting a coy smile from her, I’m surprised when she lowers her head and frowns.
“I think one of us should sleep downstairs in the family room so we can keep an eye on Greyson.”
“He hasn’t thrown up since we left the gala, and he was snoring when I headed up. I think he’s out for the night.”
“Then have a seat so we can talk.”
Grabbing my hips, I tilt my head to the side.
“Baby, going down on you seems way more exciting for the both of us. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Ellis, please… I know it’s poor timing, but this can’t wait.” Bringing my arm across my chest, I grab my shoulder and contemplate whether I want to cooperate.
She’s so stressed out. I guess the sooner we talk, the sooner I can get her in my bed, even if it’s only to sleep.
“All right.” I sit down next to her. “Let’s talk.”
She touches her forehead, palms her cheeks and then wrings her hands in her lap.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
“Don’t be nervous.” I rest my hand on her thigh. “Maybe I can help. Is this about the night we met at Tony’s party years ago?”
Her head swings toward me. “You remember that night?”
“Some of it came back to me recently. I’ve had this recurring dream for a few years now, and I thought it was just that–a dream, but I guess the time we’ve spent together triggered the memories.”
“Um, so you know we were in Tony’s spare bedroom together?”
“Yeah, and I remember we were drinking champagne.” Falling back on the bed, I scratch my stomach. “I figured you were keeping it a secret to spare me the humiliation. I know I was drunk, and that’s never a pretty sight.”
“That’s not why I hadn’t said anything.” She turns back to look at me. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Let’s see … I was on the bed like this and asked you to lie with me. I said something about us being dizzy together.”
She rubs her forehead. “God.”
“Camilla, just tell me the whole story.” I graze my fingers along her lower back.
“I didn’t just happen upon you that night. Tony asked me to spend time with you.”
My hand drops to the bed. “Why would he do that?”
“Remember how I said he made you out to be evil and dangerous? Well, he told me he needed to get inside your safe to retrieve a flash drive that held top-secret documents.”
I sit up. “What?” As I try to make sense of her words, I shake my head.
“Tony said the classified information on the flash drive was about our country’s power grids. He claimed you were going to sell the information to the Chinese government. I know it seems so stupid now, but I believed him. He was convincing and persuasive—”
“What the fuck, Camilla?”
“Ellis, I didn’t feel I had a choice at the time. He said he’d pay me to do it. I was broke, and Sasha was strung out. I was going to use the money to get her clean. He offered me twenty-five thousand dollars to distract you while he broke in and stole the flash drive.
“He said he had to get his hands on the documents before you sold them, but after getting to know you and hearing the truth about him, I now wonder if he wanted to sell the information.”
“So, you got me drunk on champagne while he snuck into my home?”
“Yes, but there’s more to it than that.”
I stand and pace in front of her. “What else?”
“Tony gave me the impression you would pass out right away since you had already consumed a few drinks, but that’s not what happened. We drank the champagne, and then I didn’t feel right. Not at all. It was like something had been added to the bottle.
“You were flirting and touching me a little, and then you asked me to lie down next to you, like you said earlier. And then …” Camilla presses her palms to her eyes and struggles to take a breath.
“Finish now. Tell me the rest,” I demand coldly.
“I can’t say it.”
“Tell me, dammit!” Flinching, she begins to cry, so I drop to my knees in front of her and grasp her hands. “I have a right to know what happened that night and what my brother did to me.”
“I didn’t remember everything, either, Ellis. I swear I only recently recalled the entire night.”
“OK, then tell me what I don’t remember.”
Slinging her head back, she blows out a breath and stares above us. Tears streak her cheeks and drop to her pajama pants.
“The next thing I knew, you were on top of me. We could hardly hold our eyes open, but you were kissing on my neck and breasts, and then–and then you begged me to let you inside of me.”
“No … no, that didn’t happen.” As I jerk away, her cry becomes a wail, and
the sound is like a fast-moving train. The crash is imminent, and there’ll be casualties for sure. This, I’m certain of.
“Shit, Camilla, tell me I didn’t force myself on you.” With desperation in her puffy eyes, she grabs for my arms, but I step back.
“You didn’t hurt me. You asked ... and I said yes.” Her tears spill as her head drops to her chest.
“We slept together?” I squint in astonishment. Nodding, she sucks in air to catch her breath and stop her cries. How could I not remember? How? I fall to the floor and pull my knees up to rest my arms on them.
“Is that it? Is that everything?”
“No. The next morning, I woke up face down on the floor between the bed and the wall. I’m guessing I tried to get up in the night but fell and passed out again. When I finally woke up, no one was in the room.
“All I remembered at that time was us sitting on the bed and talking, so I knew I’d blacked out at some point. I looked for Tony in the house.”
She shakes her head as if she wants to erase a bad memory. “I won’t say how I found him, but he did confess to drugging us with GHB.
“He said he wanted to be sure neither of us left that room, and he implied he might be killed for not finding what he needed. I didn’t take the money, Ellis. I couldn’t do it.”
Grabbing my head, I tug on my hair. How could my own brother drug me? That flash drive wasn’t in my safe, so what he orchestrated was for nothing. He risked our lives for not a goddamn thing.
“You lied to me. You kept this huge secret even after I bared my soul to you about my relationship with Tony and our careers. Even after I forgave you for the secret you kept about Christopher.”
“I’m sorry, but I was terrified you’d take Liam from me if you knew the truth, and after discovering you were the good guy and loved your brother, I couldn’t find it in myself to break your heart.”
“You mean not until now.” I stand up and charge toward the door.
“Wait, there’s something else. The most important detail of them all.”
Gripping my hips, I hang my head.
“What’s that, Camilla?”
She sniffles and hiccups a breath. “The paternity test … it said you’re Liam’s father. It’s true, Ellis. Liam’s your son.”
With my back to her, I press my hand against the door in front of me to brace myself. From the shock, my head spins as it falls against it. My blood pounds in my veins hard enough to feel it in my neck, and I could vomit.
“Please say something.” She sobs again, and I’m trapped in a cramped, dark space where strobe lights flash and speakers blast metal music I can’t decipher. What I wished for with Liam has now blinded me and knocked the air from my lungs.
“Ellis, all my life I’ve had to protect those I love. It’s all I’ve known, so that’s what I did. By the time I remembered we’d slept together and believed I could trust you, it seemed too late to confess, but I never meant to hurt you.”
“I thought I could trust you, too, but I was wrong. It’s over, and I wish I never fucking met you.”
I hear her come off the bed. “You take that back.” Jerking open the door, I storm out. “I mean it!” she shouts. “For Liam, you take it back right now!”
In the middle of the hallway, I fall to my knees. I sit back on my legs and struggle to take one agonizing breath. She steps in front of me, and I stare at her balled fists.
“You can be furious with Tony and me, but don’t you dare think of taking it out on that sweet boy.”
“Get out of my face, Camilla. You’re no longer the only one who’ll make decisions where he’s concerned.”
“What does that mean?”
“Go back to your room.”
“You’re going to take him from me. I knew it. It’s another reason I couldn’t tell you the truth.”
“I can’t believe you still think that. Get out of my face.” Wailing again, she stomps back to her room and slams the door behind her. Another door opens, and I look up to see Beatrice leaving Liam’s room.
“Mr. Burke, is everything OK?”
“Go to bed, Beatrice. I’m sorry we woke you.”
Nodding, her head lowers as she scurries into the spare room across from Liam’s. I stand and walk down to his bedroom. Pressing my palm to his door, I listen in the silence to hear if he’s awake. There’s not a sound other than the thundering in my ears.
“I don’t regret you, Liam. I could never regret you.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Camilla
As I open and close my dry mouth to moisten it, I place a hand on the bed and work my way up to a standing position. I’m alone in the room, one that’s spinning, and I’m about to hurl, so I look for a door to a bathroom and run there fast, just making it to the toilet in time.
After vomiting, I drop to the floor in front of the commode and rest my head against the cool porcelain. It’s a gross thing to do, but I’m too sick to care.
Once I throw up two more times, I drag myself up off the floor and pee. While washing my hands, I stare at death in the mirror and try to remember what happened last night, but I can only recall bits and pieces.
Why did I think I could help Tony without consequences? Dishonesty brings Karma, and the choice I made must be the definition for rock-bottom desperation. It was made from an urgency to save my sister.
Cupping my hand, I catch water from the sink to rinse out my mouth, and after pulling up the straps to my chemise, I leave to find Tony. I know the lunatic drugged Ellis and me, and he better be in this house somewhere so I can confront him.
I amble to the family room first and roll my eyes over the number of people passed out on the floor and furniture. There are strippers, who Tony likely has on his payroll, and I only recognize one from Octavia. Hell, for all I know, they may be prostitutes.
Since the house is quiet, I stumble back down the hallway to Tony’s bedroom, where I left my purse and dress last night. I crack open the door and see from a shape under the covers that he’s in bed.
Anger festers as I think about how he left me drugged in one of his spare bedrooms all night. What if he had killed Ellis and me? Would he even care?
Walking to his bed, I spot his brown hair peeking out, so I yank back the comforter.
“You son of a bitch,” I breathe. Rolling from his stomach to his side, he opens one eye and looks up at me. “I wouldn’t roll over any farther unless you want to squish the bitch next to you, which would be fine with me.”
Like it’s no big deal, he glances behind him and moves his leg around to feel for another set. “Seriously?” I ask.
“This is nothing,” he replies through a yawn.
“Wow, you having sex with someone else means nothing?” The blonde whimpers and rolls away from him.
“I don’t recall us ever saying we were exclusive, and besides, when I opened the door to the spare bedroom late last night, you were sleeping pretty damn close to my brother.”
“That was because we were drugged, you asshole. Admit that you put something in our champagne.”
Sitting up at the side of his bed, he sighs. He’s naked, and for the first time ever, it repulses me.
“OK, I did it, but it was necessary. I couldn’t take a chance of you letting him out of that room. Although, a lot of good it did me. I couldn’t find what I wanted, and I’ll probably end up dead because of it.”
Wrapping an arm around my stomach, I inhale slowly to ward off the sadness and shame setting in. It was all for nothing.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
“I didn’t think you’d realize it, so I didn’t see the harm.”
“You could’ve killed us by mixing a drug with our alcohol.”
Looking to the floor, he ruffles his hair.
“It was just a little GHB. A bad hangover and possibly memory loss was all I was shooting for.”
I smack him hard across the cheek, and his head slings to his right. He brings it back to face me, along wi
th a glare. The slut next to him sits up, and her ginormous fake boobs bounce in the process.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Nothing, baby.”
“Baby?” I snarl. “Has he slept with you before?” I ask her, with my hand firmly planted on my hip.
“Don’t answer that,” Tony interjects.
“I hate you, and I don’t want one cent of your goddamn money.” Stomping to the bench at the foot of his bed, I grab my burgundy dress and pull it over my head, not bothering to remove my lingerie. I pick up my purse and spot the envelope that I already know is full of cash.
I stare down at it and think about Sasha. It’s so tempting. I could take it right out of this room and never look back … but I would look back and often. I’d think even worse of myself for the sick scheme I partook in.
“Take it,” he says. “I know you need it.”
Pulling out the envelope, I toss it on his bed.
“I need my dignity more.”
“You’re a stripper, Camilla. I think you lost your dignity a long time ago.”
“Heyyyyy,” the blonde whines, “I strip, too.” God, I want to rip those pouty lips right off her face.
“Fuck you, Tony.” I say.
He shakes his head. “If you breathe a damn word about this to anyone, you’ll pay for it.”
“Don’t worry, I’m going to forget you ever existed.”
***
My throbbing head wakes me from a dreadful dream, but then I revisit reality, which is much more devastating. I open my eyes, but strands of hair block my view, so I try to move them. A chunk is stuck to my cheek from crying myself to sleep.
My alarm clock reads 7:00 a.m., which means Liam will be up soon since his internal clock couldn’t care less that it’s a Sunday.
From thinking about him and Ellis, tears rush to the surface, but I can’t break down again, fearing I’ll never get out of this bed if I do.
Instead, I trudge to the bathroom and take a shower. Tears come again, and I can’t combat them this time, so while I weep, I let the water rain on my head.
My heart is broken, and knowing I shattered Ellis’s makes it ache worse. What will he do now? Will he make us leave? Make only me leave? He implied he wouldn’t, but he still holds the power.
