by Kat Mizera
“Regardless, the alternative is waiting for something else to happen and I’m not going to do that.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ace said.
“Luke said he doesn’t want to go to Greece right now,” Casey said slowly. “So I guess we’re going to hunker down here at the house and I’ll try to make everything as normal as possible for the kids while we sort through everything.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Ace said. “I think you should double and triple up on security as well.”
“I’ll call Chains, see if he’s available to help out,” Sandor said.
“Chains?” I was surprised. “Is he still working with Joe?”
“Heads up security at some sex club in town.” Sandor grinned. “Place called Club Inferno. Married with a kid on the way, but I’m sure he’ll help out. He’s good people.”
“I like Chains,” Casey said. “He was a lot of fun when he took over for you on tour that time.” Sandor had come down with pneumonia several years ago and it had knocked him out of commission for six weeks. Chains had taken over and he’d been a good fit with all of us.
“If he’s available, I’d like Chains to be in charge of your personal security,” Sandor said. “And I’ll make sure the kids are with me.”
“One of us has to get back to Monte Carlo at some point,” Liz said to me.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be in London, but when I’m done, I can pop into the hotel for a few days to make sure things are okay.”
“If it’ll help, I can run the Monte Carlo hotel for a few weeks,” Nick said. “I don’t mind and Skye will probably want to come for a bit too. The girls can stay with Ben and Kari.”
“That would really help,” Liz said. “Thank you.”
“I appreciate it,” I told him. “I don’t know what I’m going to find in London so it’s hard to schedule anything.”
“No problem. I’ll head out day after tomorrow. My father’s bored as fuck, so I’m sure he’ll be happy to step back into his role overseeing the hotel.” Nick grinned.
“We have to go back to being highly cognizant of everything we do,” Sandor said. “Just like in the beginning. We’ve gotten lax over the years because it didn’t appear that there was a threat. Now that there is, we need to use burner phones, refrain from using names like Erik and Anwar no matter who we’re talking to or where, and be extremely vigilant.” He looked at Casey. “No quick trips to the hair dresser or your mom’s house without letting me or Chains, or whomever, know.”
She nodded. “Got it.”
The door slammed a minute later and a voice that could only belong to my son called out, “Mo-om!”
“Shit.” I jumped to my feet and Casey motioned to the garage.
“Go!” she hissed under her breath.
I shut the door behind me just as I heard him say, “Mom, I got a ride home with David’s mom—oh, hey, Dad…what are you doing here?”
17
Casey
“Luke, you have to ask me before you get a ride with someone,” I said, my heart pounding painfully.
“We finished our exams at the same time and his mom said I could ride with her… She’s listed as an adult they can release me to… Are you mad?” He looked confused.
I took a deep breath. He was right. David was one of his best friends and his mother, Sarina, and I had listed each other as people the boys could leave with since they often hung out after school and on weekends.
“It’s not a problem,” Sandor interjected smoothly. “But since the accident, the press is everywhere, so we want you to be extra careful. Just until it dies down.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Luke looked contrite.
“No problem.” I managed a smile. “Say hello to Aunt Liz and our friend Ace.”
“Hey!” He gave them a friendly grin. “Mom, I’m starving.”
“Let me get you something.” Nick got up. “Your mom’s shoulder hurts.”
I watched in a kind of detached reality as Nick got him a snack and Sandor asked about today’s exams. They took two a day for three days and today was the last day of the school year. Meanwhile, poor Erik was probably sweltering out in the garage since it was ninety degrees out, and simultaneously he was just a few feet away from the son he’d never really met. He’d told me about the two times Sandor had arranged for them to meet, but this had to be excruciating for him.
Sandor unobtrusively got up and wandered into the garage, something Luke wouldn’t think twice about since Sandor checked out the house and grounds regularly. I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck, torn between wanting them to meet and protecting my son from all the things in Erik’s world that would undoubtedly hurt him. Not Erik himself, of course, but everything else, from Daniil to Anwar to something I couldn’t put my finger on but was somehow inevitable.
“Can I go for a swim?” Luke asked after he finished having his snack.
“Go put your things away and change and I’ll go with you,” Sandor said, rejoining us.
“I’m not a baby,” Luke protested.
“You know the rules,” I said firmly.
He sighed. “I know. No swimming without an adult present. Fine. I’m going to change. Bye, Dad! Bye, everyone.” He took off at a run and we all seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. That had been close.
“All right, we have to go,” Nick said. “I need to make plans to spend a few weeks in Monte Carlo and I’m sure the rest of us have plans to make.”
“Let me go say goodbye to Erik.” I walked into the garage and found him sitting at Sandor’s tool bench, doing something on his phone.
“Hey.” He looked up with a smile. “He’s awesome.”
I chuckled. “You might sing a different tune if you were the one reminding him of the rules all the time.”
“I have one at home,” he said with a grin. “And she tests my patience regularly.”
“Leni seems lovely,” I said. “I haven’t spent a lot of time with her, but when I do, she’s well-behaved and bright, really funny.”
“She’s a practical joker too,” he replied. “I think she gets it from her mother.”
“Probably.”
He got up and pulled me to him. “I’m leaving for London tonight. I booked a flight using my phone just now, but I’ll be back, okay?”
“I’m going to worry,” I sighed, wrapping one arm around his neck and leaning up to kiss him. Every time he touched me it was like another piece of me healed a little and I wasn’t sure what would happen when he inevitably left me again. Or when I had to leave him. I didn’t want to think about it too hard, but it was so damn hard not to.
“I know, but even though nothing is guaranteed, I trust Jesper. We were friends since childhood and even though he’s a bit older, we were close. He’s known I was alive and never told anyone or did anything. That we know of. But like we said earlier, we can’t live in fear, wondering when the next shoe is going to drop. I’m going to get ahead of this. Then I’ll be back. Promise me you’ll be extra careful until we have more information and you won’t go anywhere alone.”
“I promise.”
“Try to rest, and heal, okay? We’re going to figure this out and then we’re going to go back to Greece.”
I managed a wry smile. “Why don’t I believe you?”
He cupped the side of my face. “Baby, I’ve put you through so much, but I’m working on figuring out a way out of this. I don’t have any answers yet, but I swear to you, I’m not going to rest until I find a way for us to be together again.”
“And married.”
“And married.” He smiled.
“I love you. Be careful.”
“I love you too.” His mouth found mine and we kissed hungrily, tongues tangling, my fingers digging into his shirt, most likely tugging at the hair on his chest.
“Damn, baby, I have a lot of years of celibacy to make up for… You’re making me a little crazy.” His eyes burned into mine.
�
�I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I wish I was in better shape and we could do it in the car or something.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be back before you know it and we can have as much hotel sex as you’re capable of.”
“Sounds wonderful.” I kissed him once more. “Be safe. Call when you can.”
“I promise.”
“Go out the side door.” I pointed. “He won’t see you.”
He pressed his lips to mine, and once more, he was gone.
I took the twins to see Jay that afternoon and went down to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee while they visited. Chains had agreed to provide security for me short-term and we walked in companionable silence. Once I got my coffee, I sat at a table by the window and Chains sat across from me. He didn’t say anything for a while, but then his eyes met mine.
“You look tired,” he said with his soft British accent. “You’re not sleeping well?”
“It’s been a long ten days, as you can imagine.”
“I was concerned when I saw the report about the accident.” He paused. “You know I’m a big fan in addition to us being friends.”
“You hated being on tour with us,” I chuckled. “Every time a screaming groupie tried to get on the bus or backstage, I thought your head was going to explode.”
He rumbled out a laugh. “It wasn’t my favorite job, but working with you and the band was great. I’ve been hoping you’d stop by the club and say hello. I’d love for you to meet Emilie.”
“Does she work there too?”
“She manages it. I run security.”
“I hear you’re expecting a baby.”
“Our third. Well, my first, her third, but I consider all of them mine.”
“That’s lovely,” I said softly. “My children have that with their fathers and stepparents as well. It’s a much nicer way to raise a family than some of the horrible divorce stories you see out there.”
He nodded. “Yeah. We prefer it this way. Anyway, my wife’s due to go into labor soon, so fair warning—if I can’t find someone I trust to keep you safe when the time comes, I’ll be dragging you with me.”
I grimaced. “Then tell her there better not be a three in the morning breakage of water.”
We laughed together. We talked until it was time to go get the twins and I was surprised to see Liz there with Leni. She and the twins appeared to be deep in conversation about nail polish and I hated to interrupt.
“Can Leni come play at our house?” Joss asked me. “Please? She lives in Monte Carlo so we never get to see her. Pretty please?”
“Please, Mommy?” Jessie batted her eyelashes at me.
“It’s up to Leni’s mom,” I said. “If it’s okay with her, and Leni wants to come, she can spend the afternoon with us and I’ll have Sandor bring her back to the Charleston after dinner.”
“It’s okay with me,” Liz said. “Behave yourself, young lady.” She hugged Leni.
“I’m an angel,” Leni laughed.
The three girls giggled all the way to the SUV and Sandor glanced at me. “Really? Because we don’t have enough going on?”
“If they’re busy and happy, we have less to do.”
He grunted.
18
Erik
It had been years since I’d been to London. I’d avoided it because it had been my second home the first twenty-four years of my life. I went to boarding school and university in and just outside of London, and I’d had a flat near Oxford that I’d called home for six years. My father had everything in it packed up and sold after my death, much to my chagrin, but we’d had no choice at the time. Not that I would have been able to use it, but it had been my home. I’d eventually gotten my clothes and personal items from him, a little at a time, but it wasn’t the same.
Just to torture myself, I drove through my old neighborhood, slowing down and taking in places I knew. Nostalgia washed over me, remembering all the fun Sandor and I had had during our years at Oxford. It seemed like a lifetime ago and I wondered what my life would have been like if my cousin hadn’t killed his father and brothers to steal the throne. If I’d taken the position in Parliament my uncle had offered me before he died. If Casey hadn’t been pregnant and we’d fought Anwar together. If I hadn’t faked my own death.
That train of thought was useless, so I thought of other things as I got on the motorway and headed back toward London. My CIA handler, Dean, had found Jesper’s address and I was on my way there. He lived outside of London, thankfully, since traffic in the city was brutal. There was no way to know if he was home, but it was Sunday, so I was hopeful.
I pulled up in front of a house in a nice neighborhood, driveways filled with Mercedes and BMWs. This was very suburban, not the kind of place I expected Jesper to live, though I wasn’t sure why. He seemed more like a city guy to me, living in a high-rise building in London and out on the town every night. This area was full of schools and children and nannies walking to the park at the corner. Had Jesper found a partner and had children?
I got out of my rental car and walked to the door, wondering how he was going to react to seeing me. I hadn’t shaved my head in a week, after Casey said she liked me with hair better than bald, and now I had a head full of stubble. It looked ridiculous but I wasn’t all that concerned.
I knocked and waited, tapping my foot impatiently.
Jesper opened the door, a toddler on his hip and a smile on his face. “Good morning. Can I help you?”
“Hello, Jesper.” I waited, taking off my baseball cap and meeting his gaze directly.
It took him a minute, but to his credit, he didn’t seem shocked or frightened. He merely cocked his head and shifted the child on his hip.
“Well, you’re a sight for sore eyes. That’s a butt-ugly haircut, but come in.”
I chuckled and followed him inside the house. “Who’s this?” I asked, tickling the boy’s foot and making him giggle.
“This is Jacob. He’s two. Briony is eight months, but she’s down for her nap.”
“Wow. Two kids and a house in the suburbs. Not what I was expecting.”
He set the boy on the floor and glanced back at me. “Been a long time, my friend.”
“It has.”
“Tea?”
“Sure.” We went into a modern but busy kitchen, filled with kids’ toys, artwork and plastic utensils that littered the countertops. He moved a plastic dish from a stool by the island and motioned for me to sit there as he made us tea. He pulled some scones from a bread box and set them on a plate, all while Jacob clung to his leg, eyeing me warily.
“Be a good lad and go watch some telly,” Jesper told him in an accent I would never have recognized had I not known he was from Limaj. He had an accent because English was his second language, added to his British accent since this was where he’d learned English; it wasn’t like anyone else I knew.
“What are you up to these days?” I asked him.
He smiled. “Being a dad. Teaching a world affairs online class at the university keeps my brain engaged in between diaper changes and playdates.”
The sound of a baby crying filled the room and he said, “Briony’s awake. Help yourself—I’ll be right back.” He disappeared and I poured myself a cup of tea, skipping the sugar and honey he’d put out. The scones looked fresh, though, and I took a bite, remembering that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.
Jesper came back with a sleepy infant in his arms. He pulled a bottle out of the refrigerator and put it in the microwave. Once it was done, he shook it, opened the top and tested the temperature before putting it in the baby’s mouth.
I watched in fascination. Not because he was an efficient father, but because it was the last thing I’d expected of him. I’d thought for sure he would follow in his father’s political footsteps, despite his sexual orientation, since here in the U.K. being gay wasn’t the big deal it was in Limaj. But apparently he’d gone in another direction entirely professionally.
“So
what’s going on?” he asked, sinking onto the stool beside me, Briony still in his arms.
“I need your help.”
“I’m not really in the game anymore, but you know I’ll do anything I can.”
“A lot’s been happening,” I told him. “Did you hear about my ex-fiancée, Casey, being in a car accident?”
He nodded. “Of course. Pretty Harts is one of my favorite bands. She’s doing okay?”
“Yes, thankfully. But we got some disturbing news about the man driving the truck that hit them.”
“What?”
“Apparently, he was in the U.S. using a fake identity. Between the CIA and Interpol we finally identified him.”
“Uh-oh.” Jesper grimaced. “This can’t be good.”
“Do you remember my cousin Daniil?”
Jesper frowned. “Of course. I think I need to—”
“The man driving was Daniil’s roommate at boarding school.”
Jesper’s face paled slightly. “You have to get out of here,” he said, getting to his feet. “Now. Quickly.”
“Jesper, what—”
“It’s not safe for you here. Jesus Christ, I should have known.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Have you a secure line we can talk on?”
“Yes, but—”
“Write the number down. Quickly!”
I scribbled the number on the paper he thrust at me and he stuffed it in his back pocket.
“Leave, my friend. Before it’s too late.”
“I don’t understand.” I was already pulling my keys out of my pocket.
We heard a key in the lock and Jesper groaned. “Fuck.”
“I’m home, love.” My fucking cousin walked in the front door with two bags of groceries.
19
Casey
With my injuries preventing me from doing much of anything fun, the band on hold, Jayson still in the hospital, and the kids clingier than they’d ever been, the first few days after Erik left were busy. I spent hours every day on the phone with the record company, the band’s management company, and even the press. I didn’t address our personal situation, but I gave an update on our injuries and promised that the band would finish all the cancelled tour dates as soon as we were physically able.