And didn’t that also confirm what they were saying? She hadn’t understood Katherine’s sudden change of heart—the way her entire demeanor had changed and she’d gone from overbearing to ... something else entirely.
She’d been trying to prevent this very moment from happening—she hadn’t wanted Karina to find out the truth about what happened that day.
“Where?” she asked, the word coming out as a whisper. “Where is she?”
Uilleam never took his eyes off of her as he gestured to the back hallway with a nod of his head. “In the bedroom.”
That was all she needed to hear.
Nothing could have kept her standing there once she heard those words. It didn’t matter that she felt as if she couldn’t catch her breath—that this entire situation felt so surreal that she still couldn’t bring herself to believe it just yet.
No, she needed to see her.
She needed to see what they saw. Because there was a chance they could be wrong. How many girls had her mother taken in over the years? How many had been young and unknown to her? She couldn’t put a number to it.
This was Uilleam’s foolish hope that things weren’t what they seemed. She understood it, even sympathized. How many times had she tried to imagine a different reality where they had never lost their daughter and the last many years hadn’t happened ...
Yet, her hand still shook as she reached the door Uilleam had indicated. She still hesitated with her fingers braced over the knob as soft voices carried from the other side. But it wasn’t until she felt Uilleam standing behind her, his hand briefly resting on her back that she finally found the courage to turn the handle and push the door open.
At first, all she saw was Uilleam’s sister sitting in the middle of the floor, balancing a saucer and empty tea cup on her leg, surrounded by a number of stuffed animals and dolls that were all lined up in a tidy circle.
But then, she heard the sweetest voice, soft and far too kind. “More tea?”
“I would adore more tea, thank you very much.”
And then, all she saw was a head of beautiful black hair surrounding a heart-shaped face pop up and Karina understood for the second time in her life what true pain was.
Because now standing across the room, holding a play teapot was a miniature version of her. Oh, she had plenty of Uilleam’s features—his eyes and the slope of his nose—but more than anything Karina saw herself.
Karina wasn’t sure what brought their attention to her, though if she had to guess, it might have been the audible gasp she’d felt herself make. But while she was mindful of Elsie, she couldn’t bring herself to take her eyes off of the little girl staring at her with wide eyes.
Her father’s eyes.
Poppy.
The girl she hadn’t known existed—the daughter she hadn’t gotten the chance to raise and see grow up through the years.
Poppy’s face blurred as tears flooded Karina’s eyes, as it felt as if her heart was breaking and piecing itself back together all at once.
Poppy, who seemed suddenly shy now, ducked her head, hair falling over her shoulders. “Mummy, why are you crying?”
Later she could break down and allow herself to feel the betrayal her mother had caused her. Later, she would cry and hurt and allow herself to dwell in her grief of everything she had lost because of another person’s greed.
But now ... now, she couldn’t bring herself to fall apart.
Quickly swiping away tears, Karina cleared her throat. “I’m just so happy to finally see you.”
“Oh ... Nana always said you were too busy.”
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized without thinking, taking a step forward. “I was ... lost for a while.”
And she hadn’t even known Poppy was waiting.
Worse, she couldn’t decide which betrayal was worse—the knowledge that Katherine had kept Poppy from her from the very beginning, or that she had made her believe that Karina was too busy to see her all of these years.
“But I’m here now,” she whispered, going down to her knees until they were nearly eye level. “We’re here now,” she corrected a moment later.
There was nothing more heart shattering than the hopeful expression that crossed her face as Poppy looked at her in that searching way only a child could. And though there was some uncertainty when she looked at Uilleam, Karina could tell this was what she wanted.
“Do you promise?” Poppy asked, looking down at her feet, almost as if she were afraid of the answer.
“I promise we won’t ever leave you again.”
Poppy seemed to accept that because in the next moment, she hurried forward and wrapped her arms around Karina’s neck, holding on tighter than any child should.
And in this moment she knew, her wrath would be biblical and there was nothing and no one that would be able to save Katherine from what she had coming to her.
TO BE CONTINUED …
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The quiet hum of her phone made Karina groan as she woke slowly, the pillow resting over her face blocking out much of the noise, but as much as she wanted to ignore the call and drift back off to sleep, it was the second time it had rang in as many minutes, and she knew the caller wouldn’t be giving up anytime soon. After a moment of silent contemplation, she blindly reached out, shifting keys, a glass of water, and other bits on her dresser until she finally grasped the phone and connected the call.
“Hello?”
“Is this what you sound like when you fuck because if it is, I’ll try a little harder to get you in my bed.”
Grumbling out a curse, she considered whether it would be in her best interest to end the call now before Orion could annoy her any further. “What do you want at”—she squinted as she pulled her phone away to glance at the too bright screen—“four in the damn morning?”
“Doing what I said I wouldn’t.”
“Leave me in peace to sleep?”
“Help you get close to Uilleam Runehart,” he replied dryly.
The name instantly sent adrenaline racing through her, and any chance of falling back asleep went right out the window as she sat up and shoved the tangled strands of her hair back out of her face. “How?”
“Seems I’ve got your attention now.”
She rolled her eyes, not caring that he wouldn’t be able to see it. “You knew you would. Now answer my question.”
Maybe it was urgency in her voice or his own fascination with the man, but he stopped joking around. “Calm down. It’s not going to be what you think.”
Whatever it was, it wouldn’t matter if he could do what he was suggesting. “What did you do, Orion?”
“There’s a dinner in a couple of weeks–a fundraiser for whoever the fuck. Anyway, the guest list is full of your usual deep pockets, but they also invited a few people who I know for sure have been on Uilleam’s client list a time or two and a few more trying to make their way onto it. If they’re going to be there, I figure he will be too.”
Two weeks.
She didn’t doubt that what Orion told her was the truth. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t joke about something like this. Especially something he knew was important to her.
He didn’t waste time with lies and misdirection.
“Invitations are going to be impossible,” she muttered out loud, already considering the possibilities and the number of favors she would need to call in.
And even that was a long shot.
“Why do you think I’m calling, babe?”
She smiled, even before she meant to. “Should I even ask how you managed this?”
“Friend of a friend of an enemy. Small circles, ya know.”
> Sometimes, it felt that way, but she was often reminded that while everyone seemed to know the next criminal, no one knew everyone. She was counting on that.
“So I’ve got an invitation and need a plus one. Know anyone available for me?”
Now was her chance. “Pick me up at seven.”
* * *
She might have been quick to agree to attend the dinner, but the event had quickly slipped Karina’s mind as she continued working and doing everything she could to further her investigation into Paxton.
Between trying to get back into the good graces of her boss—who was slowly coming around and giving her less grunt work—she wasn’t at all prepared for a night out with people who would be dressed as if they were walking a red carpet.
Her wardrobe consisted mainly of jeans and blouses, even a few blazers here and there—nothing at all that would be appropriate for a night like this.
At first, she considered wearing the little black dress that hung in her closet ever since the paper’s 4th of July party, but after reviewing the guest list Orion had texted her a picture of, she knew the simple outfit would make her stand out in a bad way.
And while she might have been living in NYC for nearly a year, she still wasn’t at all familiar with the numerous boutiques. But, she did know one person she could call, and while they were currently busy in Berlin, she knew they knew the city like the back of their hand.
“As happy as I am to hear from you, you do realize it’s creeping up on midnight here,” Isla said, her voice carrying only the slightest traces of sleep.
It didn’t matter that it was late where she was in the world, or that she probably had endless things to do the next day—because she always stayed busy—there was never a time when Karina called that she didn’t answer the phone.
“I have a problem you can help me with,” Karina said, smiling as she listened to her sister’s voice.
This wasn’t the first time they had gone more than a couple of months without speaking, caught up in their own lives, but just as she had before, that feeling of homesickness weighed heavy on her.
Isla, if no one, else was what she missed most about being home.
The pale pink cherry blossom trees that bloomed so prettily in the spring were a distant second.
“Anything for you,” came her quick reply.
As she had expected it to be. “I need a dress. Something formal, but easy-going. Nothing too ostentatious, but enough that the right person would notice.”
One person in particular, but she didn’t bother to mention that to Isla.
It wasn’t quite time for that yet.
“What’s the occasion?”
“It’s a fundraiser dinner.”
Isla made a humming sound in the back of her throat. “The city’s elite, I imagine.”
“From the more popular families, yes.”
The ones with more money than they could ever spend in a lifetime.
And after doing a little research, they were also some of the ones who liked to dip their toes in illegal activities, though it had yet to be proven.
“Go to Shauney’s on 15th and tell Donna I sent you. She’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” She paused for a moment. “When was the last time you talked to Mother?”
Karina grimaced as she stepped up to the edge of the sidewalk, raising her hand to flag down a cab. This was the one question she’d been attempting to avoid. “Not recently.”
“Karina.” She managed to sound both admonishing and amused. “You know she requires check-ins … or would you just prefer she show her face? She’s not above that, you know.”
Unfortunately, she did know. and while she hoped the latter wouldn’t happen, she still wasn’t ready to take her phone call.
“Couldn’t you stall her for a bit?” Karina asked, breathing out a sigh as a taxi quickly switched lanes and pulled to the side for her. “I’m working on … something, and—”
“Something interesting?” Isla asked, sounding more awake now.
Karina slipped into the back of the cab, quickly giving the address to the man behind the wheel, but as she readied to explain everything that had happened over the past few weeks—months, really, considering how long she had been looking for Uilleam, though she hadn’t known it at the time—nothing came out. The mystery behind him had been such a well-kept secret of hers that she didn’t even work on what little she could gather about him until the wee hours of the morning though there was never anyone around to see what she was doing.
He was also a man who she didn’t enjoy the thought of sharing with anyone just yet. It had become imperative for Orion to know, considering she had needed his aid directly, but she couldn’t imagine sharing anything with anyone else.
Not until she had more.
This was something she needed to sort through herself.
“Not your sort of interesting, Iz,” she said quickly, hoping she wouldn’t push further. “Just a few bits at work.”
“Careful,” Isla said oddly. “Your accent slipped a bit there.”
Karina played back her words in her mind, thinking of what she’d said and realized the mistake she’d made. Anyone else might not have noticed her misstep, or at the very least, they would have thought she was watching a lot of BBC America television shows—which was accurate, all the same—but only Isla would pick up on something so minuscule.
It was what she was taught to do.
Both of them, really, though Isla had always been better at this sort of thing.
From the moment she had arrived in New York and began a new life where no one knew her name or where she had come from, she had quickly adopted the accent around her.
She blended in.
It made starting a routine and slipping into everyday life rather easy, considering no one would ask about the accent she hid or why she had moved to the States at all.
That would undoubtedly be the first question, and while innocent in nature, it was quite easily the most complicated one of all.
“It’s because I’m talking to you,” Karina reminded her, staring out at the city around her as she ventured farther into the city. “And honestly, Iz, it’s been a year. You don’t expect me to lose it completely, do you?”
“You’d do well to, but that’s neither here nor there. The one you’re using now works just as fine.”
A noise sounded in the background, then a hushed, highly masculine voice spoke, and Isla murmured her reply. Karina didn’t interrupt, not when she didn’t know who Isla was in the room with.
It might have been a boyfriend that she didn’t know about … or a leader of a foreign government.
There was no telling with her.
While she waited for her return, Karina paid the cabbie before climbing out and crossing the street toward the boutique with the minimalist sign hanging above the doors.
“Sorry,” Isla said, returning to their conversation. “What were you saying?”
“You were lecturing me about my use of a noun.”
“I wouldn’t have to lecture you if you actually followed Mother’s rules instead of trying to rebel against them. The constant battle must be tedious by now.”
Karina thought of responding and telling her that it wasn’t necessarily the rules she was refusing to live by—rules Isla followed nearly to a fault. It wasn’t tedious either, constantly seeing the differences between her and her family.
While Mother worked steadily toward her goal of becoming a formidable opponent against men in her field, with Isla quickly following on her heels, Karina was content not to be a part of the family business.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it, or even that she didn’t find the work interesting, but she didn’t feel the same calling to it as they did.
A conundrum, considering what she did for a living.
But it was one thing to learn all the bad things people did for the sake of money or power
. It was something else entirely when she was the one actively participating.
For now, however, it wasn’t something she needed to think about.
“As much as I’d love to get into a discussion about that, I’m already running late.”
Not to mention, she still needed to get home, shower, and do her hair and makeup. The longer she idled—or rather, avoided the topic of conversation entirely—the more time she was wasting.
“Evasion won’t save you forever,” Isla warned. “You know she’s going to try to get you to change your mind.”
Which was the exact reason Karina was avoiding her calls for the time being because she still hadn’t made a decision yet.
“A dress, Iz. I need one.”
Avoidance would only work for so long, but for now, it would do.
* * *
At three minutes to seven, a heavy knock sounded on the front door.
Though she had already been ready for a half an hour, Karina still double-checked her appearance in the full-length mirror resting against the wall next to the front door, making sure her makeup was impeccable and the wisps of hair that had fallen free of the loose bun she had twisted it into still looked nice.
She was as ready as she would ever get.
Taking a breath, she opened the front door to find Orion waiting for her.
He might have been most comfortable in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket, but tonight he made quite the sight in an Armani suit with his dark hair combed and gelled into place. The dark auburn of the scruff covering his square jaw only added to his overall package.
“You clean up nice,” she remarked with a smile, stepping out of her apartment and pulling the door closed behind her.
“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed with a shameless shrug, but it was nothing compared to the way he shamelessly ogled her. “But compared to you …”
No one could say Orion wasn’t charming—he was definitely that—but she was immune to his flirtations. Not to mention, a romantic affair was the last thing on her mind.
Dark Horse: The Kingmaker Saga #5 Page 19