Page 6

What was the last thing I said to Lexie?

My blood roars in my ears, and my breathing picks up. Dad grabs my arm, and I wince from his strength. “You need to pull yourself together, Jude. Now is not the place.” Nodding to show I’ve heard him, I try to calm my breathing. I’m sure this is what a panic attack feels like. Lexie and I weren’t exactly close anymore. Two years apart does that to a relationship, but she’s still my big sister–was.

I think the last time we spoke, I told her about an exam I had aced, economics I think, and she was proud of me.

“Despite what you may think, I care more about my heirs than you realize. But no one can know about Lexie yet. Not until we know what we’re up against and if there is a larger threat at play.”

This time, I can’t help it, and my lip curls with disgust as I glare at him before I turn to scan the venue and look for Mom. Things have been strained between us in the past, but we should be able to put that aside for one night as we try to deal with this as a family. Dad sees my search and quickly deduces who I’m looking for. “Your mother was…upset. I told her to go to our room to collect herself while you and I maintain appearances here.”

Whipping my head back around to look at Dad, I pin my glare on him. “Your daughter–the heir to your empire–was murdered, and all you care about is appearances?" Dad's jaw flexes as he lifts his whisky to his lips and takes a steady drink.

“Have you even considered Brooklyn and how she’s going to react to this? Or how you can support her in her grief? Because she will be devastated. Lexie was her everything.” Seeing I’ve hit a nerve, I back down for a second as Dad takes another sip of his drink.

Thank the Druids, Beau is with Brooklyn. He can help soften the blow, because I definitely can’t rely on Mom and Dad to do that. Beau has been there for all of us growing up, and while I would never admit this out loud, he’s been a better parent to us than our own.

“Do I even want to know what jobs you’re running now? Lexie can handle herself just fine, so either you're in way over your head or you fucked up by leaving her without backup.”

Dad’s nostrils flare with displeasure at my audacity at questioning his authority. "This is not the place to discuss…business."

My eyebrows shoot into my hairline, and I’m ready to start a fight with him right now for calling his heirsbusiness, when out of the corner of myeye, I see the people from our table making their way back to us from the dance floor. Dad sees this too, and his voice becomes urgent.

"If you want to go back to that university, you'll stay until the main course–and by stay, I mean behave." He raises his glass to signal a waiter for a refill, but his sharp gaze never leaves mine. “I will train Brooklyn up as heir and leave you alone. I won’t force you to take over, and we both know I could.”

The waiter sets a fresh glass full of amber liquid onto the plush sage tablecloth in front of Dad and disappears into the crowd. Staring at his new whisky, his jaw flexes as he says, “We can contain the situation. I know we can.”

Exhaustion overwhelms me, and I just want to get this over with. “Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself, Dad.” Sighing, I tell him, “Let me think about it.” Dad expected me to jump at the offer to get away from our family and this world again, exactly like I did last time, but with his drink frozen halfway to his mouth, I can see I’ve caught him off guard. Only the slight nod he gives me confirms he’s heard what I said, and he accepts it.

We both put on our masks of politeness as the other guests join the table, and we jump into socializing. My personal thoughts on the matter aside, I understand Dad’s concerns in a way. The balance between families is delicate, not only within an empire, but across them too. One wrong move or misinterpretation leads to blood. As the most powerful family, the Rhodes have more protection than most, but with Lexie gone…that changes things. I may have been gone for a while, but the rules between our families haven’t changed. They rarely do.

I compliment one of the Druids, who is successful with recent business transactions for our empire, but I forget her name. Dad’s lip tugs at the corner. Not quite pride, but his version of it. Maybe I can just ignore it and pretend it never happened. Like how we’re pretending Lexie isn’t dead.

I mechanically eat the food the waiter sets in front of me as my brain blocks out the sounds of the wedding around me. The numbness gives me a moment’s peace in my sea of grief. Briefly, I register roast beef and potatoes au gratin, one of my favorite meals, but it tastes like cardboard to me tonight. Once our mains are cleared away, I lean back in my seat and take a long hard look at Dad, trying to weigh up the decision in front of me.

Eric Rhodes cuts an impressive six foot figure in his black tux. I know it’s expensive, because he wouldn’t accept anything less than the best. Even seated, he still towers over the rest of us, and I inherited a lot of my darker coloring from him. The biggest difference, though, is the obvious beard he has, and his hair has streaks of gray.

But that doesn’t stop the looks he gets from a woman, and judging by the looks he’s gotten tonight that hasn’t changed either. Even if I’m convinced they love the idea of his power more than anything else.

I’ve always known he wanted sons and was bitterly disappointed that he had none. Now, we’re only a means to further his line. Bile stings at the back of my throat as tears threaten to overwhelm me again. He is the definition of a monster to me. He catches me staring at him, and I excuse myself to make my way back to the bar.

Using the opportunity to collect myself, I order a strong drink from the barman as I catch my reflection in the glass paneling of the shelves. My griefis obvious in my eyes, and I wonder how no one else can see it. Noticing Zac’s approach in the mirror, I brace myself for him.

Tapping me on the shoulder, like I didn’t just make eye contact with him as he approached, I remind myself that taking my frustrations out on him won’t help. Putting my false smile into place again, I hope I appear friendly as I turn to face him.

"Tired of us already?" Zac says. “One would think a two-year break was enough.”

Raising one eyebrow, I look him up and down slowly so he knows how displeased I am with his question as I take in his cheap suit. He tried to flirt with me a few years ago and never got it right, so since then, he’s been a constant thorn in my side. But he is the perfect person to help me see out an idea that just came to me.

“You’re not quite rid of me yet, Zac. I’ve got an early flight back to Chicago.”

Intrigued, he bites. "Oh, yes. I forgot you've run off to school. We can't all be cut out for this life, can we?"

Flipping my hair, I refuse to let him see how much those words anger me. I respond, “Actually, I'm flying out to pack my things. I'm moving back."

It’s at this point where I’ve reached my limit with this evening, and I’m ready to get out of here. I can’t do it anymore. That includes Zac and his mousy appearance and nosy behavior. Blowing a kiss at him, I leave the venue with my full drink sitting at the bar. If I know him, and I do, the whole venue will know this news by the end of the evening, as if I announced it to the room myself. Dad will find out eventually, but it’s good to keep the old man on his toes.

Striding out of the reception hall as fast as I can, someone calls out to me. It’s Autumn sneaking a cigarette in the shadow of an alcove. “I thought you quit?” I question the first thing we’ve said to each other in I don’t know how long. She looks sheepish for a moment as she realizes she’s been caught.

“I did, but I still indulge in the occasional social cigarette on days like today. But even then, I try to avoid overdoing it, nowhere near the two boxes a day like I used to. Anyway, that’s not important. Are you okay? You came storming out like something was bothering you?”