Bound by Tears (Cauld Ane Book 6)

by Tracey Jane Jackson

  “Yep, got it,” she said again.

  “Okay. I’ll be there soon. ’Bye.”

  “See ya.”

  “Is everything okay?” Sophia asked.

  “Everything’s going to be fine.” Jesska tugged Sophia into the elevator and then walked quickly to Cameron’s door, nearly dropping her spare key when she tried to put it in the lock. She took a deep breath and turned the lock, pushing Sophia inside before her and locking the door before entering the code for the alarm. “How about I make us something to eat and we’ll watch a movie.”

  “I have to study,” Sophia said, dropping her backpack on Cameron’s sofa.

  “Did anyone ever tell you you’re an overachiever?”

  Sophia giggled. “Not today.”

  “Why don’t you use Cam’s office? It’ll be quieter in there.”

  “Good idea,” Sophia said, picking up her bag and heading down the hall.

  Jesska lowered herself onto the sofa and dropped her face in her hands. Now that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off, she started to shake. Who was that man and why was she drawn to him? She rubbed Brady’s ring and felt guilt settle over her. Whoever he was, she needed to make sure she never saw him again. For a brief time, she’d forgotten about Brady, and that was unacceptable. This man was entirely too good-looking and when he touched her, she felt like she knew him, but worse than that, she felt like he knew her.

  She shook her head, her thoughts turning to him again. He had eyes so green, they reminded her of emeralds, and when he looked at her, his face softened, and she felt her breath catch. She’d itched to reach out and touch the day’s growth of stubble that covered his strong jaw. She groaned, shaking her head again.

  “You okay?” Sophia called.

  “No, I’m an idiot,” she mumbled.

  “Auntie? Are you okay?” Sophia asked again.

  “Yep, I’m fine,” she called back, and stood to head down the hall. Arriving at the office, she pushed open the door and leaned against the doorjamb. “Are you hungry or is your stomach still sore?”

  Sophia looked up from Cameron’s desk. “I feel totally fine. No pain, no nothing. And yes, I’m starving.”

  Jesska smiled. “I’ll find us something to eat.”

  Sophia nodded, placing an earbud in her ear and going back to her book while Jesska headed to the kitchen to raid her brother’s pantry. Her thoughts turned to the mysterious man again and she reached for Brady’s ring. “I won’t forget, Bradykins.”

  She focused on making sandwiches, grateful Cameron kept fresh bread and every fixing imaginable. Hearing the locks turn in the door, she grabbed a knife and stepped out from behind the kitchen island, positioning herself between the office where Sophia studied, and whoever was coming in. She sighed when her brother walked inside.

  “Jess,” he warned. “What were you planning on doing with that?”

  “I don’t know.” She frowned at the knife. “I was going to defend Sophia, I guess?”

  “Put the knife down, Jess,” Cameron said. “You could end up being the cautionary tale of what happens when you bring a knife to a gun fight.”

  “You have your gun?”

  “I always have my gun.”

  Jesska set the knife on the island and watched as Cameron locked up the apartment again. “Do you want a sandwich?” she asked.

  “Sure. Where’s Soph?”

  “In your office, studying.”

  “I’ll go say hi and then you and I can talk, sound good?”

  “Yep. Here, take this to her.” Jesska handed him a sandwich and a bottled water.

  He returned and they sat side-by-side at the island to eat. Jesska couldn’t stop her knee from bouncing as she chewed.

  Cameron set his hand on her leg and shook his head with a smile. “What do you want to know?”

  “Everything. Who was that guy? Why is he looking for Megan and Sophia? Why did he call her Ása? Does he have the wrong person? If not, then what does he want with them?” Why am I so freaking attracted to him? That question, she kept to herself.

  “He is Sophia’s uncle, we’re still not sure, and in answer to your third question, again, we’re not sure.”

  Jesska let out a frustrated sigh. “Useless.”

  Cameron chuckled. “I know.”

  “Let’s discuss what you do know.”

  Cameron nodded as he chewed.

  Jesska took a swig of water and then asked, “Why didn’t Megan tell us about this uncle person and that he might come looking for them?”

  Cameron shook his head. “I don’t think she knew about him. I don’t know all the details, but when Megan got back to the States, she changed Sophia’s name, took on Mom’s maiden name, and filled me in on what she said she could. I don’t know all the details. I think she’s a little surprised it’s taken this long for these people to come looking for her. I think she expected it to happen a while ago.”

  “This guy that Megan ran off to Iceland with, what happened to him?”

  “No idea,” Cameron admitted. “Megan’s on her way from court, so she’ll hopefully be able to fill us in.”

  “Are they in danger?”

  “I don’t think so, Messka. I think Kaspar’s just looking for answers.”

  “Kaspar? That’s the uncle?”

  Cameron nodded.

  Jesska tried to stamp down her dreamy reaction. Sexy man, sexy name, sexy everything. Yep, she was in big, big trouble. Shaking off her thoughts, she carried her plate to the sink and finished the dishes.

  * * *

  Megan arrived almost an hour later, rushing in to see Sophia before sitting down with Cameron and Jesska. Jesska frowned. Her sister was frazzled. Megan didn’t get frazzled.

  “Sophia filled me in on everything, including this man putting his hand on her,” Megan said. “Which is not okay. No one touches my girl.”

  “He was helping her, I think,” Jesska rushed to say. She had no idea why she had the sudden need to defend him.

  “No one touches her, period.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Did he say what he wanted?” Megan asked.

  Jesska shook her head. “Not in so many words. He called her Ása and said he was her uncle.”

  “Crap.”

  “Dalton told me to let me know someone’s looking for you and Sophia,” Cameron said.

  “And you didn’t think that would be something I should know?” Megan ground out.

  “I wanted more information before I worried you.”

  “You are a total pain in the ass, Cameron,” she said. “Stop trying to protect everyone.”

  “No,” he countered.

  “What do you know?”

  “Not much, Megan,” Cameron admitted. “Just that someone is looking for you.”

  Megan swore.

  “Do we get the story now?” Jesska asked.

  Megan nodded, flopping onto Cameron’s sofa facing the large picture window. “I guess it’s time, huh?”

  “Does Sophia know anything?” Cameron asked.

  “I haven’t really told her much, although she’s smart, so she might have figured out more than I’m guessing,” Megan admitted. “That being said, however, she’s never really asked about her father. There were questions when she was little, but I just told her that her daddy couldn’t live with us. I’ve been putting her off for more than ten years.” She frowned. “I don’t know why Ari’s suddenly made this an issue. Where the hell has he been for the last sixteen years?”

  “Wait,” Jesska said. “I thought he was dead.”

  “She lied,” Cameron said.

  “I had to.” Megan rolled her eyes. “Not that you believed me, apparently.”

  “No, I didn’t believe you,” he said. “But when I couldn’t find any information out about the guy, I assumed you’d left him and changed your names so he couldn’t find you.”

  “You looked for him?”

  “Hell, yes, I looked for him. What kind of bastard
just lets his woman walk out the door with his baby daughter and not scour the earth looking for her?”

  Megan nodded. “I get it. But, I’m not mad that he didn’t come looking for us back then, I’m just confused about why he is now.”

  “Was he that horrible?” Jesska asked.

  “No. He was wonderful.”

  “What? Seriously?” Cameron asked. “Why did you leave, then?”

  “It’s complicated,” she said.

  “Megan,” Cameron warned.

  “Look, I was young and stupid. Obviously. I would have followed him anywhere. But all of a sudden, things between us changed, and it frightened me. We’d been to hell and back, but he was different. I had to leave. He was just…so…intense. I can’t explain it.”

  Cameron studied her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “What do you consider to hell and back? What aren’t you telling us?”

  “Cam.”

  “Tell us, Megan.”

  “Sophia has two sisters.” Megan’s eyes filled with tears. “I gave birth to them several years before her.”

  “What?” Jesska squeaked. “You had more babies?”

  Megan nodded, reaching for the tissues.

  “Where are they?” Cameron demanded.

  “I don’t know. I had two really difficult deliveries and lost a lot of blood with each of them. I was hospitalized for a week with the first and four days with the second. With the first one, when I woke up, Ari was in a rage and the baby was gone. He’d taken precautions with the second, but she disappeared as well right after I gave birth.”

  “Where?” Cameron demanded.

  “I don’t know,” Megan said. “For a while, I forgot. Literally forgot I had ever been pregnant before.” She shook her head. “Somehow Ari was able to protect us this time, I don’t know how, but Sophia was in my arms when I woke up. I was really out of it, because I’d lost a dangerous amount of blood again. But soon after I had her, he changed. I remember it really well, because it was on my twenty-fifth birthday, which he managed to ruin spectacularly.” She shuddered. “I had to leave him, but it took me three tries before I succeeded. A lovely woman helped me get out of Iceland, and then I managed to get home.”

  “I still don’t quite understand why you had to leave him,” Jesska said. “Was he abusive?”

  Megan shook her head, closing her eyes for a second. “No. He was just…different. I can’t explain it.” She groaned. “I’m a coward. I know I am, but I was too frightened by what I was feeling to stay. And then to remember my babies and not know where they were, I just couldn’t function. If Ari, with all his money and influence, couldn’t find them, we were screwed. But I knew that Sophia and I could disappear without a trace. I just needed to find a way to keep her safe.”

  Jesska reached out and squeezed her hand.

  “Who is this man looking for us?” Megan asked.

  “Ari is it?” Cameron asked. “Your ex?”

  Megan nodded.

  “It’s Ari’s brother. Kaspar. He’s some kind of royalty.”

  “I knew about the royalty part, but Ari would never introduce me to any of his family. I only knew he had a couple of brothers who lived in some isolated place in Iceland. Ari and I lived in a ridiculously opulent apartment in Reykjavík, and he’d occasionally leave me for a weekend or a few days to visit with them, but would never take me.” Megan wiped her eyes again. “I think he was ashamed of me. I was just a normal girl, without a royal connection and therefore, unworthy to meet them.”

  “What an entitled jerk,” Jesska said.

  “What do we do now, Cam? What does your friend say about the whole thing? Do I have to see Kaspar?” Megan asked.

  “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” Cameron promised. “I think he wants some answers, which I will be happy to provide. I do think you should stay here for a couple of days, though. Just to be safe. He won’t be able to get to you here. Can Sophia get her assignments from her teachers and work from here?”

  Megan nodded. “I don’t have court for a week, so I can work from here too. Perks of working for yourself, I guess.”

  Jesska rubbed her temples. Her hangover was catching up with her, and she just wanted to go home and sleep. “I think I’m going to take off. I didn’t sleep much last night, so I need to get an early night if I’m going to be able to function tomorrow.”

  “Are you feeling okay?” Megan asked in concern.

  “Yes. I’m fine, sissy. Just tired.” Jesska rose to her feet and stretched. “I’ll say good night to Soph and then get out of your hair. Do you want me to run by your place and pick up anything?”

  “I can do that,” Megan said.

  “Let’s wait a bit, huh?” Cameron countered. “I can pick up anything you need later tonight.”

  “Really?” Jesska challenged. “You’re going to grab tampons and undies and the like?”

  Cameron groaned, his face bright red.

  Jesska and Megan giggled.

  “I’ll be happy to grab whatever you need,” Jesska said. “Just give me a list.”

  “Thanks, Jessie,” Megan said. “I’ll write it while you say good night to Sophia.”

  Jesska hugged her niece and then grabbed her purse and keys and the list from Megan. “I’ll run by your place now and then Cam can pick the stuff up from me later. Sound good?”

  “Perfect.”

  Megan hugged her and then Cameron did the same, and Jesska headed to her car.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  JESSKA PULLED UP to Megan’s home on Alberta and parked on the street. She loved her sister’s little house that suited her and Sophia perfectly. It might be small, but Megan owned it, and had worked hard to afford it after paying for law school. Letting herself inside, Jesska didn’t have any warning before the energy shifted in the room and she realized she wasn’t alone. Spinning back toward the front door, she let out a squeak to find Kaspar filling the frame, blocking the light from the porch.

  “What the hell do you want?” she demanded.

  “I don’t mean to frighten you, little one.”

  “Says the man standing inside my sister’s doorway, uninvited and threatening.”

  “I apologize.” He stepped outside and smiled. “I’m now not in the doorway.”

  “Smartass,” she said, and tried to close the door, but he laid his palm against it, and his strength far outweighed hers.

  “I’m not here to hurt you, elskan. I am looking for my niece.”

  “She’s not here.”

  “Where is she?”

  “None of your business,” she said.

  Anger flashed in his eyes, and Jesska tried not to panic.

  “I’m sorry, elskan.” He reached out and ran a finger down her cheek, and she immediately felt calmer, much to her amazement. “I will not hurt you. I would never hurt you.”

  She believed him. To her core, she knew he’d protect her with his life. She just didn’t know how or why she knew that. She took a deep breath. “Maybe that’s true, but I don’t know you, and the fact that you’re stalking my niece makes me question your intentions.”

  “Will you allow me to explain?” he asked. “I will tell you everything I know if you’ll just let me.”

  Jesska stared up at him for several seconds. “Fine. I’ll give you five minutes, but not inside. This isn’t my home, and I don’t feel comfortable inviting you in.”

  “On the porch, then.”

  Jesska paused for a second before stepping outside, locking the door behind her, and sitting in one of the porch chairs.

  Kaspar sat in the other and stared out to the street. “My brother has made a few unfortunate choices of late—”

  Jesska snorted. “A few?”

  “Já. More than a few, eh?” Kaspar sighed.

  “Já,” she mimicked. “What’s his deal with my sister anyway? She obviously left him for a reason.”

  Kaspar cocked his head. “What do you know of their sto
ry?”

  “Probably less than you.”

  “I doubt that,” he admitted. “Did she tell you how they met?”

  “All I know is that Megan met him at some party, and ran off with him to Iceland. She came home when Sophia was one, but she never talked about your brother, and I never asked. I was only ten when they got back.” Jesska stared out to the street. “As I got older, I just assumed something bad had happened and respected Megan’s privacy enough not to ask her about it. She told us he died, and I remember thinking it was weird that she changed their last name to Bailey, but I was too young to really understand the reason behind it. I’ve only recently learned a few of the details around her story with your brother, so I’m sure it’s cloudy memories anyway.”

  “I understand why she did it now.” Kaspar grimaced. “I just wish I’d known about it at the time.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I could have helped. I could have protected them.”

  “From what?” Jesska demanded.

  “From everything. Right now, we are unclear as to exactly what is going on, but if I’d known about Megan, I would have insisted she come to my residence during her pregnancies. It’s the safest place in Iceland, perhaps in the world.”

  “What did your brother tell you?” Jesska asked.

  “Not much,” he said. “I’m still ignorant of the entire truth, because Ari’s afraid. Of what, I’m also not entirely clear about. All I know is that I have three nieces that no one in our family but he knew anything about until recently, and that someone wants these girls…for what purpose, I don’t know.”

  Jesska frowned. “You don’t seem to know much, do you? Do you know why our nieces are in demand, so to speak?”

  “They are special.”

  Jesska pushed out of her chair and paced the small porch. “Special, how, exactly?”

  “That you’re not ready to hear yet.”

  “What? Why not?” she asked, leaning against the railing.

  “There are things that you can’t believe, elskan, and until you’re open to believing, you won’t.”

  “What does elskan mean? Why do you keep saying that?”

  He chuckled. “Something else you’re not ready to hear.”