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Not in the slightest. I should probably feel some sort of remorse, but as they drop into the water with a plunk, a strange sense of calm washes over me.
She fills in the silence. “Don’t worry about the captain. He works for Dare. This secret stays between the guys, you, me, and the sea.”
I stare across the night, the roiling waves that reflect the light from the yacht, and the darkness that extends beyond it.
“Are you okay?” she asks again.
The truth is, I don’t know. I’ve built my life around this moment, spent years trying to avenge my father, and now that it’s done, I’m not really sure who I am or what my purpose is. But I don’t say any of that. I simply nod and rest my head on her shoulder, staring at the ocean as if it can give me a sense of purpose.
A reason to exist.
Something worth fighting for.
My heart trembles and I bite my cheek to keep from voicing my biggest fear. That I have nothing left.
one
CASSIA
Secrets can kill. Deceit has a way of festering, stress compounding until eventually the lies come spilling out or the body gives up. Ihatelies. It makes sense that one of the only jobs I’m good at revolves around picking them apart, breaking down deception brick by brick so the sun can shine on the truth.
It’s always better to know than not. No matter how much it might break the client’s heart.
Today is no exception.
Mei’s gaze flits between me and Orion, my boss. He’s oblivious to her thoughts, but her blatant curiosity isn’t lost on me. Her silky black hair hangs in a long bob, the strands brushing over her shoulder as she tips her head. “So...how long have you two been dating?” she asks. Anything to avoid focusing on why she invited us here.
Sometimes people call, thinking they’re ready, but when we show up, they stall. Delaying their inevitable dip into the morally gray.
“We’re not,” I say a little too harshly.
Orion gives me the look over his thick-rimmed glasses.Relax, Cassiaand my eyes instantly roll. He should be annoyed, too, since everyone assumes he’s the type to boink his assistant.
“Oh, I just assumed.” Mei chuckles and takes a drink of her tea.
“Orion is my boss,” I tell her, grabbing my own cup and tilting my head. “We’re here to talk about your husband, though, right?”
She stiffens, and I instantly feel bad for my attitude. It was a harmless question. I’m tired of having to explain to every new client that I am, in fact, NOT sleeping with my boss—or any other man, for that matter.
“How long have you suspected Larry’s been cheating on you?” I take a sip of the jasmine tea. Floral notes burst across my tongue, but they taste bitter. Love is meant to be sacred, but too many people get married on the promise of lust, and once the rose-colored glasses are removed, they realize they’re trapped. That’s when bad decisions are made.
“For a few years now.” Mei frowns and glances out of her living room window, focusing on the children shouting and playing in the yard across the street. Larry is a financial advisor, and from the size of their house, he must be good at what he does. Not many people can afford a house in New York City, let alone a three-thousand-square-foot one with marble floors.
A stab of envy runs through me. Usually, I’m content with my loft apartment, but occasionally, I wish I could afford a place like this. Investigative work only makes so much, and I’ve stopped taking the high-paying hackingjobs. Too much risk of being caught by the FBI, now that they’ve been targeting smaller hacks.
Working with Orion Investigations isn’t my first choice of work, but it’s all that made sense. I won’t work for a corporation—not that they’d hire me—and Orion pays well enough. It helps that he has a lawyer on retainer just in case.
“If you’ve known he’s been cheating for years, why are you hiring a PI?” Orion asks.
Sighing, Mei pulls her focus back to us. “Have you ever been in love?”
Orion and I both shake our heads. Outside of work, I don’t know much about my boss, but I do know that he’s a workaholic, and that doesn’t leave time for romance. As for me, once upon a time I had a boyfriend, but it didn’t work out. I thought I was in love. One day he left, and I never heard from him again. After a string of failed dating attempts, I’m starting to think love isn’t for me. I rub my chest. It does nothing to ease the pang of loneliness reverberating through me.
“I thought he’d stop,” Mei admits, gaze dropping to her lap. “But he didn’t. Then I told myself I could live with it as long as he always put our marriage first.” She digs her mauve-painted nails into her pants. “But then he met her.”
“What’s her name?” I set my tea down and pull out my laptop to take notes.
“Who cares? She’s a cunt!” Mei practically snarls. She covers her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry.”