Love, Cass

by St. Klaire, Stephanie

  “Daisy. I’m Eva Valdez.” The woman smiled, a sultry exotic accent rolling through her words. “You did see me at Senator Martinez’s mansion, but I was not there for the reasons you suspect.”

  Eva stepped forward, grabbed each of Daisy’s hands, and held them in her own. “We were trying to help him. Unfortunately, he didn’t take the help in time. I’m sorry you had to witness his…demise, but I assure you, we will do everything to bring his murderer to justice.”

  “I-I’m sorry, Eva. I didn’t know. I am so sorry,” Daisy said, her tears of fear now those of defeat and blushing chagrin.

  “It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot these past few days.” Eva’s warm smile allowed Daisy to relax.

  Daisy wiped her tears, and awkwardly laughed. “Wow, I’m a mess. I promise I’m not usually so high strung.”

  “It’s okay,” Wylie said with a sly smile. “Eva tends to make people cry.”

  Without turning to face him, Eva fired back, “Shut up, Wylie. Or you’ll cry next.”

  The laughter their banter evoked broke the tension and put Daisy at ease.

  “Hey, let’s go grab a coffee at Wired. It’s a great little place on the corner,” City offered. “It’s right outside the building, literally. Eva, let’s see if Lydia wants to join us.”

  “I’m in.” Eva grabbed her phone and sent a text.

  “Not a good idea,” Luke interrupted. “We just had a meeting and agreed she doesn’t leave the building until we hear from Carter and know what we’re up against.”

  “Correction, big guy,” City fired back. “She isn’t going anywhere alone or unprotected until we know more.”

  “You’re going to protect her?” Luke chided.

  “No,” City smiled, “you are! You’re also buying. Let’s go.”

  “Lydia will meet us in the lobby. She’s in,” Eva added.

  Eva and City each linked arms with Daisy and walked her to the elevator.

  “Oh! Gibson!” Daisy paused.

  “If my wife is meeting you in the lobby, that means I’m needed at home for kid duty. Gibson can come with me and Dick,” Declan offered, already summoning the dogs. “We’ll make sure she gets back to you. My guess is the dogs will be with someone else before the night’s over. The kids seem to work the same way around here. They’re all over the place.”

  That made Daisy smile. They took care of each other and looked out for one another…even the dogs. “Family,” she said, nodding.

  “Exactly. It’s what we do best.” Declan smiled. “Even this asshole.” He slapped Luke on the back.

  Family, she thought. What she wouldn’t give…

  CHAPTER 5

  Days felt like weeks while cooped up in Luke’s apartment. Daisy had gone to the rooftop garden daily and spent time out on the balcony, but that was the extent of her exploring. Luke had her holed up until they heard from Carter, which should have happened already, but hadn’t. Because of that, Luke had pulled in the already significantly short reigns, keeping Daisy confined to these four walls.

  Sure, he was allowed to leave – even Gibson was able to leave when Luke took her running with him. It surprised her, but those runs were doing good things for the anxious dog. She’d taken a liking to Luke. Gibson went to bed with Daisy, but wound up in bed with Luke. Lucky dog, Daisy thought, before slapping her hands over her mouth, shocked by the direction her mind went. Yep, she’d been locked up too long.

  A knock at the door had her attention. She stared at it, unsure what to do. It wasn’t like it was her home. She was here hiding from mercenaries. And how the hell did anyone get into this prison of a building anyway? When the doorknob wiggled, then turned, she jumped and looked around, searching for somewhere to lay low, until familiar laughter made its way in before the women on the other side of the door.

  “Surprise,” City said as she walked in with several bags hanging from her arms. “We come bearing a to-do list.”

  “A to-do list?” Daisy laughed as Eva and Lydia filed in, but it was the last woman through the door who surprised her. “Sheridan.”

  “Ding, ding, ding,” Sheridan teased. “She’s smarter than she looks.”

  “Sheridan!” Eva scolded.

  “Oh my God, I’m just kidding,” Sheridan said, tossing an arm around Daisy, surprising her. “These chicks thought you’d like all of us to invade your space, keep you company, and do a bunch of wedding shit. Daisy, feel free to kick us out.”

  “Oh. Oh. No, I’m glad to have visitors! I would’ve cooked or something if I knew you were coming,” Daisy said, clapping her hands. “What’s the wedding stuff? Is this DIY?”

  “You cook?” City asked.

  “Well, no. I don’t cook. Luke has been doing that, but I totally would have asked him to go get something.” Daisy rushed to the refrigerator. “There really isn’t much here, but…leftovers.”

  “Good thing we made a junk run,” Eva said, tossing a brown grocery bag onto the nearby table. “What are you up for? Chocolate, chips, cookies, ice cream…”

  “Oooh! Ice cream!” Daisy didn’t really care what they ate, she was just happy to have company. “With cookies on top…and the chocolate. What else you got in there?”

  The ladies laughed as they gathered around the coffee table and plopped down on the floor while Daisy grabbed spoons from the kitchen. A DIY project came out of a box, but it sat undone while the ladies flipped through wedding magazines, oohing and ahhing over the various themes, gorgeous dresses, and swooning over articles about romantic proposals. When they each had a turn on every magazine, they resorted to gossip about anything and everything.

  It was a total girls’ day, and Daisy loved it. She hadn’t done something like this in longer than she could remember. The women around her had welcomed her into their world without hesitation, and it felt nice – a sense of belonging she hadn’t realized was missing until now. There was no telling how long she would be there with all of them under Luke’s protection, but she knew leaving, even this early, would be difficult.

  This was the closest thing she had ever felt to having family, yet she’d only known them a handful of days. The bond they all shared was obvious her first day at Watermark, and she craved it then, she just hadn’t realized how easily they would pull her into the very clutches she’d only just recognized and desired.

  “You know, my best friend Cally is an event planner,” Daisy added to the wedding chatter. “She does amazing work – highly sought after, actually. She can pull off a wedding anywhere.”

  “Cally…what’s her last name?” City asked.

  “Swanson,” Daisy said in between bites of ice cream. “Cally Swanson. She’s the best. I work for her here and there when I don’t have a singing gig. Actually, it’s singing I usually do for her. I’m the entertainment.”

  “Cally Swanson is your best friend?” City flipped through one of the bridal magazines and turned it around in Daisy’s direction, pointing to a featured picture. “This Cally Swanson?”

  “Oh my God! She was featured…in a national publication! This is huge! I should call…” Daisy’s words trailed off as her heart broke. She couldn’t call her friend and congratulate her on such an enormous accomplishment. “Well…I guess I’ll have to save that for…when this is over. If you’re interested in booking her, just drop my name. It’ll get you up the list. We’re like…sisters. Just don’t tell her where I am, or Luke will do that grunt thing he does.”

  The room was silent briefly, the ladies giving Daisy a moment to collect herself before Sheridan chimed in. “She thinks you’re on a gig. Opportunity of a lifetime.”

  “She what?”

  “Thinks you’re out of town on a gig. When the police arrived at the scene, she was trying to report you missing,” Sheridan said. “I might have told her you were…on a plane…to Europe.”

  “To Europe? And she believed you?” Daisy laughed, not sure whether Sheridan was serious or just being Sheridan.

  “She didn’t ha
ve a choice. You were gone, and I was the only one with answers. I couldn’t have her asking anymore questions or filing a missing person’s report, so I told her we heard your soundcheck earlier in the evening and my client…wanted you on her new album.” Sheridan shrugged like it was no big deal, but Daisy knew it was. Had Sheridan not intervened, Daisy may have been inadvertently exposed.

  “I told Cally I stayed behind to tie up loose ends because you didn’t want to leave her in a bad way with a client. Before I could do that and congratulate the senator on a successful fundraiser…all hell broke loose.” The room was silent, all eyes and dropped jaws focused on Sheridan’s elaborate story – then the laughter erupted.

  “I can’t believe you came up with that, Sher,” Eva said between bouts of laughter. “That is the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard.”

  “Well, I was on the spot and didn’t know shit about this Cally person or our witness here. I just…said the first thing that came to mind. It was either that or take her out because she was a loose end.”

  “Oh my God!” City laughed. “Take her out? Sheridan…there were a hundred other ways to handle that, and stories to match.”

  “Screw you guys. I saved the day and the witness. Next time, send me with a damn script.”

  “Well, I think you did a good job – even if the story was very…Hollywood,” Daisy joked. “And actually, it wasn’t too farfetched for us. She believed it because it actually suits me. I’m kind of…free spirited that way. Cally knows the more ridiculous the story or opportunity, the more likely it’s me. So, bravo.”

  “So, you’re a little bit hippy is what you’re saying,” Lydia inquired, relating to that topic more than any of them knew. Before Declan, she was a bit whimsey herself – rich whimsey.

  “Maybe.” Daisy shrugged. “I just don’t have a lot of roots and stuff. I kind of do what I have to do to keep a roof over my head and food on the table for Gibson and me. I guess I just float around a bit and focus on living.”

  “Does that include pursuing music?” City asked.

  “No. I mean, those opportunities find me. I love to sing, to perform, but I don’t want it to be my job. Then it’s not something I love, but something I have to do. I don’t want it to lose its magic.”

  “Wow. That’s really beautiful,” Lydia replied, and the rest of the ladies nodded in agreement. “I’ve heard you. Out on the balcony, I assume. Your voice is incredible. I can tell you love music. It means something to you.”

  She smiled. “It does. I sing to my Gran. She’s in a home because I can’t care for her anymore. She says the music is healing, but I think she means healing for me, not her. She knows it’s hard for me. She’s getting up there, ya know? And then Gibson. She’s a hot mess sometimes and the music…it calms her down. Music just…makes everything better.”

  “Has Luke heard you sing?” Lydia asked with a grin.

  “I don’t think so. He’s usually gone when I’m singing to Gibson. She’s taken to him, and she doesn’t like anyone – especially men,” Daisy replied after considering the question.

  “And how about you?” Eva grinned. “Have you taken to him?”

  “Ew. Can we not talk about this? He’s my cousin.” The ladies laughed at Sheridan’s complaining and now covered ears.

  “Do I think he’s a nice guy? I suppose. He doesn’t really say much. He grunts a lot,” Daisy admitted. “When he’s here, he feeds me, like all the time. Sometimes he’ll sit and watch a movie with me, but that’s about it. He seems nice enough, but when I try talking, he just listens. It’s like talking to myself.”

  “He doesn’t take you out at all? Not even to Wired or Scoops downstairs? They’re literally part of this building,” City asked in surprise.

  “Nope. Not safe until we get the all clear from Carter, and no one has heard from him yet. So, I’m stuck here – the rooftop and balcony are my only escape.” Daisy laughed.

  “Luke…he’s a special guy,” City began. “He’s been through a lot – just since I’ve been part of the family, ya know? He has a big heart, but doesn’t show it, because then it can be broken. If anyone has seen the world in all its darkest moments, it’s Luke.”

  “When we were kids, Luke was the outgoing one, the loud one,” Sheridan added. “He started all the football games, the first one to jump in the ocean – he was the doer. He chose a career only he could pursue, and he had what it took, but it changed him.”

  “The military?” Daisy asked.

  “So much more than the military you and I know. Our boys did a lot with their careers – did the stuff we only see in movies, never on the news. But Luke…he did more than the rest, saw more – lost more,” Sheridan explained, her eyes welling with emotion.

  “Lost more?” Daisy’s heart sank, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to her own question. “A loved one?”

  “Worse. He lost himself,” Sheridan deadpanned. “He doesn’t think he deserves…normal. It’s like he can’t appreciate what he does have because he’s afraid it’ll be taken away because of the things he did. Things he had to do.”

  “That’s…awful.” There were no other words to describe what Daisy felt for Luke and what he had been through. “He doesn’t think he deserves it – any of you – his brothers—”

  “That about sums it up,” Sheridan cut in.

  “Sher’s right,” City confirmed. “You should see him with the kids – pure joy. Then he just…stops. Like something triggers and he remembers who he is. He’d do anything – anything – for the people he loves, and he has.”

  “He has,” Daisy repeated, knowing full well where City was going with that statement, but afraid to ask more. She didn’t want to know – didn’t need to know. It didn’t change who he was to her. If anything, it helped her understand him better.

  The door opened, and the room went silent as all eyes shifted to Luke. He stood in the entryway, staring back at the women and their sullen expressions.

  “Why do I feel like I just walked into a hornet’s nest?” After an awkward silence and no answer, he said, “Okay? Did I do something?”

  “Yes,” Sheridan cut in. “You’ve been keeping her locked up in your castle, jerk.”

  He looked around the space. “Castle?”

  “You know what I mean. She’s not an animal – let her out of her cage,” Sheridan insisted with her own brand of sass.

  “I…uh…” Luke was at a loss. He really had walked into a hornet’s nest, given the sharp stares he was getting in support of Sheridan’s outburst. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  The ladies stood, quick to clean up any remaining evidence of their afternoon. With a hug for Daisy from each, they said their goodbyes, promised to visit more, and made sure she knew she could visit any of them any time. She appreciated that, and would make good on the offers. She enjoyed each of them immensely and appreciated how supportive they were. Not only of each other, but of her.

  As the women filed by Luke, they dropped a kiss on his cheek and gave him a brief hug that made him look entirely too awkward and uncomfortable. When Sheridan reached him, she whispered, “Take the girl out to Wired for a coffee, or at least sit with her on the rooftop. She’s lonely.”

  Luke nodded, his eyes drifting to Daisy. He could see the change in her demeanor as each of the ladies left. Maybe she was lonely. He didn’t see how, given how much she talked. Maybe that was the point – she did all the talking.

  As the door closed behind him, he made his way to the living room, grabbed the remaining bowls and spoons Daisy couldn’t, and followed her to the kitchen.

  “Where’s Gibson?”

  “With Dec. She didn’t want to leave Dick,” Luke replied.

  “Huh. Those two seem to be pretty fond of each other,” she said, making her way back to the couch.

  “Maybe,” Luke replied in single-word Luke fashion.

  “Anyone hear from Carter today?”

  “Nope.”

  “Okay then,�
�� Daisy said, her expression leaving little to the imagination.

  “It should be anytime,” Luke offered, earning a puzzled look from Daisy. “That we hear from Carter. We should hear…anytime.”

  “Oh. Okay. That’s…great.” Her smile was weak, and one hundred percent forced. He saw the real emotion she was feeling, and it was anything but great. “We got into a lot of sugar this afternoon and I’m feeling a little sluggish. Do you think maybe we can grab a coffee downstairs?”

  “Not safe. We need to wait for—”

  Daisy interrupted with another one of those false smiles. “Carter. Wait for his call. Got it.”

  She picked up a magazine City had left behind and began turning the pages one at a time, slow as can be with her eyes fixed on the balcony, or what was beyond. She was lonely. He was keeping her like a caged animal. It was with good intentions, but nonetheless, it was miserable. Daisy was somewhat of a homebody, she loved her movies, but she wasn’t an introvert, that was certain. She needed out – needed to breathe a little. She needed to be Daisy.

  “You know what?” he eventually conceded. “Get your shoes on. We’re grabbing a coffee.”

  Finally, there it was: the smile he had been missing. “Shoes are already on. Let’s go.”

  “Wired only, though. Got it? Nowhere else. We can’t.”

  “I’ll take it!” Grabbing his arm, she pulled him out the door, and somehow, he felt her joy.

  When they hit the sidewalk, she couldn’t help but think about what the ladies told her about him. Sure, there was more to the story, but it was his story to tell. That didn’t mean they couldn’t have their own story, though, and be friendly, if not friends, while they were together.

  “Do you talk?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  She giggled. “Do you talk?”

  “Of course I do. I’m talking now.” Unimpressed with the line of questioning, he gave her a bewildered look.

  “I stand corrected. You talk, you just don’t engage in actual conversation.” She shrugged, nodding her head as if it all made sense. “And grunting – you do lots of that.”