by Kat Mizera
“You already got laid,” I teased. “Now what do you want?”
“I was considering suggesting wild monkey sex but I’m thinking that’s a no with your shoulder and ribs.”
“Can you give me a week?”
“I can.”
He said the words I wanted to hear but they fell flat to my ears because I didn’t know where we would be in a week. Well, I would be here with my family and he’d be…somewhere far from me.
“So.” I sat at the kitchen table and popped a piece of salami into my mouth as he got things out of the refrigerator. “What now?”
“I don’t know, baby. I think—” He paused when his phone rang. “It’s Liz.”
“Go ahead and answer. She might help us find the answer to my question.”
He answered, masking his discomfort pretty well in my opinion. “Hey, Liz.”
“Hey. How are you? Are you with Casey?”
“We’re good and yes.”
“Oh good.” She let out a breath. “We’ve been worried.”
“It’s all good.” He met my eyes questioningly and I nodded. “I’m going to put you on speaker,” he said. “Are you with Jayson?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, good.” He put his phone on the counter and pushed the button to have it on speaker.
“Casey?” Jayson spoke quietly, his voice a little hoarse. “How are you?”
“I’m good. How about you? My mom texted me that the girls had dinner with you last night and you’re eating solid food.”
“Yeah.” He coughed. “I’m doing better. Doctor says about six weeks before I’m on my feet, more or less, but I’m on the mend.”
“I’m glad.”
There was a brief, uncomfortable silence before Erik asked, “Is there any information on the man that hit you?”
“Not yet,” Liz said. “Ace said he got a hit from Interpol but there was some kind of red tape and Langley was elevating it to a priority status to see if they’ll share it with us.”
“We also have to tell you something else,” Jayson said.
There was whispering on the other end and then Jayson’s voice again. “No, we have to, Liz. This can’t wait.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, bracing for another blow of some kind.
“I’m pregnant,” Liz said softly.
“Seriously?” I groaned. “Having an affair wasn’t enough, but you had to get pregnant too? So now the kids are going to know you were cheating, Jay. Jesus Christ.”
“It’s my fault,” Liz said hurriedly. “It had been so long since I was sexually active, my IUD wasn’t effective anymore. I forgot all about replacing it and…”
“I know this is a mess,” Jayson spoke up. “But we love each other and we’re excited about a baby. Which brings us to what we’re going to do going forward.”
“We have to tell the kids we’re getting divorced,” I said. “But we have to frame it in a way that doesn’t make you look like an asshole because I’m not hitting them with you having an affair at this stage in their lives. Luke’s already heard gossip at school and it upset him.”
“Then we’ll handle it however you think is best,” he said after a moment.
“I think we need to tell them that we’ve been separated for a while, even though we didn’t physically separate because we had to go on tour. We can say that’s the real reason you went skiing with them over the holidays and I went to Greece instead.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry, Casey,” Liz said. “I know you’re angry with me, but Jay and I are willing to do whatever will make this easiest for you. No one has to know the baby is his. And frankly, it’s not like I can leave Monte Carlo right now. So if you want to—”
“Oh my god, stop.” I squeezed the bridge of my nose, wishing all of this would go away. “Until we know whether or not the car accident was related to…Scott’s past, or Jay’s gambling, or something else, we can’t make any decisions. Right now, the kids are going to join me here in Greece where we can hopefully stay out of the public eye and buy us a little time. Until then, you two need to make sure you’re not seen together in public and, Liz, stay away from the hospital.”
“I know, I just…”
“Where’s Leni?” Erik asked, interrupting.
“With Nick and Skye. She and the girls have been having a blast.”
“Good. How long are you going to stay in Vegas?”
There was silence on the line and Erik sighed. “Liz, we can’t both be gone all this time.”
“Jay’s going to be in the hospital at least another week, and I don’t want to leave him yet.”
“You’ll be safer at the house,” I said automatically. “Our house. It’s private, with plenty of security. Nick can send a limo from the hotel to pick Jay up and then you can get there on your own. The press knows I’m out of the country so they shouldn’t be staking out the house.”
“I’m sorry,” Jayson said after a moment. “I feel like this is my fault. If the gambling hadn’t been out of control—”
“We don’t know if this had anything to do with your gambling,” Erik interrupted him. “It might not have had anything to do with anything except an accident. In which case, you and Liz are going to go on your merry way and I’m going to go back to my life in Monte Carlo.”
“But—” Jayson began.
“Let’s wait until we know something before we make any other plans, okay?” Liz was quick to cut him off and I had a feeling she knew what he’d been about to say. I knew Jayson well and he was probably worried about me, so he’d been about to ask what Erik and I were going to do if Erik was going back to Monte Carlo. I was grateful Liz hadn’t let him finish, because I still didn’t know what we were doing either.
“I’ll call Leni in a little while,” Erik told Liz. “And make sure she’s taking her allergy meds. She tends to say she has but she gets busy and forgets.”
“I know, Scott,” Liz responded, a little more sharply than she’d spoken thus far.
“Yes, but Nick and Skye don’t and you’ve had a lot on your mind, so I didn’t know if you’d warned them.”
She took an audible breath. “No, I haven’t. But I will.”
“Let me know as soon as you hear from Ace.”
“I will.”
“Casey…we’ll talk soon,” Jayson called out.
“Be well,” I called back. This was the weirdest conversation ever and Erik disconnected with a frown.
For a long moment neither of us said anything and then I looked at him. “You’re just going back to Monte Carlo? Without even discussing it with me?”
He pulled me against his chest. “Baby, you know that’s the last thing I want, but I don’t know what else to do. I have a kid too, and her life has to have some semblance of normalcy because her mother being pregnant by another guy is going to upset her life, no matter what story we go with. We still don’t know anything about who the guy that hit you was, and that makes me nervous. If this was truly nothing but an accident, we would have found out everything about him by now. Instead, he’s a guy without a past and since I currently live my life as a guy without a past, that makes me very suspicious.”
“But what could have happened to make someone come after you now?”
“This may not be about coming after me,” he said quietly. “It might be about drawing me out.”
“By using me?” I frowned. “But I could have died in that car—how would killing me bring you out?”
“If—and I emphasize the word if—it’s about me, Anwar knows I would find out and go after him for revenge.”
“Why now?”
“I don’t know. It could tie into Liz’s affair with Jayson. She told him everything, and while you say you trust him, it’s still possible he told someone.”
I shook my head. “No. He wouldn’t. We’ve had our problems and our marriage hasn’t been great, but he wouldn’t hurt me or the kids by putting us in danger. He loves Luke and our gi
rls.”
“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on the kids, but his gambling debts…” His voice trailed off.
“Oh my god. You think it’s possible someone bribed him? Paid off some of his debts in exchange for information about…?”
“Liz. Me. You. He may not have told anyone about Luke, that would be pretty shitty for anyone, but look at it objectively. Who am I to him? No one. He wouldn’t have loyalty to me, so why not tell some random stranger the fallen prince of Limaj is still alive?”
“I can’t believe he’d do that. And anyway, don’t you think Liz would have asked him by now?”
“She’s in love. Pregnant. Distracted. Trying to make really big decisions. She’s thirty-eight and has a history of miscarriage, so—”
“History of miscarriage?”
“Yes. I hate to break Liz’s confidence, but I owe you as much of the truth as I know.” He told me about Liz’s miscarriage after Ricky’s death.
“Oh. She never told me about that.”
“I know. So I’m sure pregnancy, at her age, is freaking her out.”
“Women are having babies well into their forties these days,” I said. “With proper medical care and a little luck, she and the baby will be fine.”
“You don’t seem angry.”
“Not about the baby. I mean, it adds a layer of complication I wish we could avoid because of the kids, but I’m happy for her. To be honest, my biggest worry is the kids.”
“I’m worried about all of you.”
“I don’t want to lose you,” I whispered, resting my head flat against his torso and drawing strength from the steady rhythm of his heart.
“I don’t want to lose you either.”
“Promise me something.”
“Casey…”
“Promise.”
“Promise what?”
“That we’ll get married.”
14
Erik
We’d just gotten into bed and Casey had finally agreed to take a pain pill, so I was about to address her request when her phone rang. She smiled as she looked at the screen. “It’s Luke. Want me to put him on speaker?”
“Yes, please.” I got into bed next to her as she answered.
“Hey, sweetie. How are you?”
“Hey, Mom.” His voice apparently hadn’t changed yet so it was a little higher than I was expecting, but it still made me smile.
“What’s going on? How are finals going?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“You sound bummed. What’s wrong?”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too, but you’ll be here in a few days.”
“Uncle Loco is grumpy and Dad’s acting all weird.”
“Why is your dad acting weird?”
“I don’t know. He’s on the phone, like, all the time and then he goes into the other room, like he’s got some big secret.”
“You know he has all kinds of stuff going on at the hotel.”
“Yeah, but he never leaves the room when he’s talking about the hotel.” He paused. “Do you think he has a girlfriend like Jayson does?”
My eyes flew to Casey’s and she made a face.
“I thought we agreed you weren’t going to listen to gossip?” she asked him.
“It’s not gossip. She’s here in Vegas, hanging out with him. It’s all over the internet, Mom.”
Her eyes flew to mine and she pointed at her laptop, which was on the desk by the window. I got up and brought it to her.
“What’s all over the internet?” she was asking Luke as she logged in.
“He’s fooling around with Aunt Liz. I mean, duh. Strangers wouldn’t know it but the twins and I recognized her right away.”
“You showed the twins?” Casey demanded.
“Of course not.” He sounded affronted. “They showed me. They’re not dumb, Mom. They know how to use the internet.”
Casey had closed her eyes and was shaking her head. “Luke, they’re still little. I’m counting on you to protect them from this.”
“It’s too late. They told Aunt Skye and—”
“Oh no.” She sat up even though the pain made her wince. “Listen to me, I need you to focus on nothing but finals for two more days, okay? You’ll leave that night, fly overnight and be here with me by lunchtime the next day. We’ll talk about everything, I promise, but I don’t want you worrying about it now.”
“What’s going to happen to us?” Luke whispered. “If you and Jay get divorced, I mean.”
“Nothing,” she said firmly. “You’ll all live with me at our house and the twins will go to wherever Jay is living when you go to your dad’s. Nothing major is going to change, I promise.”
“But Jay won’t be here and the twins won’t ever come with me to Dad’s and Sasha’s gone and I hate everything!” He burst into tears.
“Don’t cry, sweetie, okay?” She started typing on her laptop. “I’m going to get on the next flight home and we’re going to figure this out, okay?”
“Do you promise?”
“Yes, I’ll be home tomorrow. I’ll fly all day and get to you by dinnertime. Just get through tomorrow’s exams and promise me you won’t talk about any of this until I get there. Okay?”
“O-okay.” He sniffled.
“Is Uncle Loco there?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, tell him I’m going to call him. I love you, kiddo. Don’t cry. I’m going to make everything okay. I promise.”
“I love you, too.” He sniffled once more.
Casey hung up and looked at me. “I fucking hate them right now. Why? Why did they have to do this? If they were lonely or not getting what they needed from you and me, why not find strangers?”
“You really think strangers being involved would make this better?” I asked gently, kneeling next to her.
“I don’t know, but I have to go home. This is too much for the kids and obviously they’re way too smart for their own good.”
I smiled. “Sounds like it. You’re close to him, aren’t you?”
She frowned, pausing from whatever she was typing. “Of course. Aren’t you close to Leni?”
“I am, but it’s partly because her mother is a lot more distant, busy with the hotel and her missions. Is Nick distant like that?”
“No.” She shook her head. “He’s wonderful with all the kids, including the twins, but Luke and I have a special bond. Just like he’s close to our moms, but he has a special relationship with your dad. Kids tend to have favorites as they grow up and change. Sasha adored Nick until she turned fifteen and since then it’s been all me. I’m closer to Jessie than Joss, and Joss is thick as thieves with Jayson. I’m sure this is hitting her hard and she’s probably going to announce she wants to live with her dad if we split up.”
I made a face. “Jesus. This is going to be complicated no matter what we do, isn’t it?”
“Yup.” She looked down at the screen. “Okay, I’m on the nine o’clock out of Chania, and the noon out of Athens. What are you going to do? Do you want to come with me?”
“How would that work?”
She shrugged. “I always travel with a bodyguard.”
My mouth fell open. “You want me to pose as your bodyguard?”
“Why not? No one knows Scott Baxter and between your baseball cap and dark sunglasses, no one will think twice.”
I wanted to protest, tell her we were taking a risk, but I was helpless to deny her anything.
“Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t have taken a pill. Now I’m going to be drowsy in the morning.”
“You can sleep on the plane,” I told her. “Go ahead and close your eyes. I’ll pack your things and make myself a reservation.”
“Okay.” She leaned back, closing her laptop and handing it to me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I brushed my lips across her forehead and walked out of the room. I had to talk to Liz again, try to get on the same flight as Casey and make sure the overn
ight security guard was aware we would be up and out early.
We got to Vegas after a long, grueling day of travel and parted ways at baggage claim. I couldn’t touch her, not in public like this, but I didn’t want her to worry.
“I’ll be at the Charleston,” I told her softly. “As soon as you’ve gotten the situation with the kids handled, I’ll come to you or you can come to me.”
She nodded, but didn’t quite meet my eyes.
“Babe, you have my word—I’m not leaving again unless we talk about it. I swear it. On Luke.”
Her eyes flew to mine and she nodded. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I hated not being able to kiss her but I saw Sandor pull up in the family SUV, with the limo from the Charleston right behind him. “I’ll see you soon.” I squeezed her arm, waved to Sandor and got in the limo.
To my surprise, Ace was inside and he didn’t look happy.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We know who was driving the truck that hit Jayson and Casey.”
“Who?”
“His real name was Samuel Barahi.”
“Barahi is a common Limaji name.”
“Yes.”
“Who was he? Related to Anwar somehow?”
“Worse.”
“Worse?”
“He was Daniil’s roommate at boarding school.”
15
Casey
I was so frustrated I wanted to scream. Erik and I had just found each other, back in our happy place in Crete, and everything was already falling apart. Again. I didn’t regret my decision to get back to my children, but I didn’t understand how Liz had been so careless. I didn’t blame Jay, he was still in rough shape, but Liz should have known better. Jay and I were on the media’s radar no matter what was going on, so after a bad accident like we’d had, they would have been staking out the hospital and we all knew it. Liz was either not thinking straight because of the pregnancy or something else was going on, but no matter what happened with Jay, I wasn’t going to let her actions impact my kids. I’d been frustrated leaving Greece, but now that I’d had to leave Erik when we parted ways at the airport, I was pissed. It felt like foreshadowing of what our lives were going to be like going forward.
