Page 23 of Belonging to Them

“Just…something I need to talk to you about,” she says quietly.

“If you want me to cancel that symposium,” I say, “I’ll do it in a heartbeat.I don’t even want to go up to Sacramento.It’s supposed to hit ninety-five degrees next week.”

She shakes her head.“It’s not that.You should definitely go.But stay in air conditioning as much as possible.”

“If it’s not that, then what is it?”

Biting her lip, she says, “I’ll wait until Bash gets home?—”

The elevator chimes softly and slides open.

“Lucky us, he’s here now,” I say.“Spill, sweetheart.”

Before she can say a word, Sebastian strides forward, gathers Ella in his arms, and kisses her breathless.

When he steps back, she stares at him, dazed.“What—what was that for?”

“I missed you like the devil,” he says.

There’s something in his eyes.Something’s troubling him, but I’m not a fucking mind reader, so I don’t know what it is.He sees me staring at him and smiles.He can’t think that’s going to work on me, can he?Dumbass.I’ll ask him about it later, though, because Ella’s acting weird, too.

“So, Ella,” I say.

She turns her gaze to me.“Yeah.I need to tell you both something, and I hope you’re not mad.”

I have no idea what it could be.Does it have to do with quitting her job so she can focus on her music?I really hope she can make the right decision, here.

“A few days ago, I received—no.I need to back up.Before that.You know my brother, and his…issues.”

“His gambling addiction,” Bash says.

“Right,” Ella says.“Dammit, it’s so embarrassing.No, not embarrassing, just…I’m ashamed, okay?I hate that I’m ashamed of my own brother, but I am.”

“Hey, we all have demons,” Bash says.“None of us is perfect.I mean, hell, look at Kingston and me, dating a much-younger woman like we’re a couple of midlife-crisis cliches.”

“Hey, speak for yourself on the midlife crisis,” I say.

He rolls his eyes, but again, I’m sensing more to what he’s saying and doing.

“Sorry, Ella,” he says.“Go ahead.”

“Okay.”She sighs again.“Basically, I got an anonymous note that Tommy was in trouble, saying I owed someone money.I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed, and worried.When I called the police, they didn’t even believe Tommy was missing.And it turned out, they were right not to worry.Because you know who wrote the fucking note?Tommy.I found him today, at his old apartment, where apparently he’s living quite comfortably.But I should’ve told you both about the note to begin with, and I apologize.”

I stare at her for a long moment.She blinks back tears and holds herself rigidly.She’s trying not to cry.

“You should’ve told us,” I say quietly.

“I know.”She sounds absolutely miserable.

“But we understand why you didn’t say anything,” I add.“Even though I promise you, there’s nothing for you to be ashamed of.You’re not your brother, Ella.”

Bash pulls her into a hug.“I wish you’d said something, so you weren’t holding this in.Did you at least tell your guards?”

Gripping his shirt in her fists, Ella whispers, “Um.Eventually?”

“What?”Bash takes her by the shoulders and tugs her away slightly, so he can look at her face.“You didn’t say something right away?Wasn’t it dangerous?”

“Well, no, there was nobody around.So I wasn’t actually in danger or anything, it was just a freaky note.”