Jordan cleared his throat. “I see you’re a logical man. So I have an offer for you. I can grant you immunity. You won’t have to watch your back anymore, creating decoys to protect yourself. I’ve talked to the relevant agencies and the US government is willing to shelter you if you cease operations and provide information that leads to the demise of yourcollaborators, as you’ve called them.”
Cash’s father cackled at that. “Let me guess. You’re going to take my money, put me up in a series of shitty motels where I’ll have to give up everything I enjoy about life and live like a peon until they track me down and end me for being disloyal? Get the fuck out.”
Cash could have told Jordan his father would never agree to those terms. That didn’t mean Cash wasn’t disappointed anyway.
Jordan tried again. “Mr. Kalykalaos, this might not be what you envisioned for your future, but at least you’d have one. If you reject our assistance, I guarantee you’re signing your own death warrant. Because there isn’t a way forward that doesn’t end up with you caught in the crossfire. Either you’ll be taken out by enemies of your friends, or they’ll take care of you themselves when you’re no longer useful to them. And I promise you, that day is coming. We will shut you down one way or another. Them too.”
“Are you trying to scare me?” Cash’s father snorted dismissively. “You’re like a kid wearing a vaguely creepy mask on Halloween compared to them. If they wanted to send me a message, they wouldn’t have a corporate videoconference about it. They’d cut my fucking dick off and feed it to me to make a point. I realize now that I got more than I bargained for when I took their help. But I’m going to make the most of it while I can. I’d rather go out on top than cower in the dirt—like my pathetic son—until my time is up.”
“Cash isn’t your concern anymore.” Jordan would only take so much and it appeared that was the line. “We’ve got him and we’ll be looking out for him like his mother would have insisted on. That’s why you slowly, painfully poisoned her to make it look as if she was ill, isn’t it? Because she took his side and not yours? She tried to keep you from emotionally abusing him and threatened to leave with him, but you couldn’t have that messing with your reputation now, could you?”
Grief and horror strangled Cash. He sat up perfectly straight, gasping for air, and absorbed every nuance of his father’s expression as Jordan flung accusations that every person in the room could tell were true. He hadn’t known the details, but his gut had always suspected even if he didn’t want to believe it. But now, it made so much sense.
Under the table, Sola took his hand and Aarav clasped his thigh, just over his knee. They lent him their strength and promised silently that he wasn’t alone.
“Do you think I’m about to incriminate myself? I’m not that stupid. Keep your useless ‘help’ and fuck these games you’re playing. My wife was soft and weak, exactly like the child she burdened me with.”
Jordan looked to Cash then. “We tried. If you have anything to say to this sack of shit, I recommend you do it now.”
Cash considered for a moment, then uttered a single word, knowing it was final. “Goodbye.”
His father gave him the finger, then cut their connection, leaving Cash staring at an empty black screen.
14
Sola sat at the kitchen table with Aarav as Cash paced back and forth. “Why don’t you come sit down? We can go hang out in the living room if you want? Watch the rest of that murder mystery series you started the other night?”
“Doesn’t sound very entertaining when it’s too much like real life.” Cash rubbed a hand over his hair. “I need to do something. Aarav, you want some tea?”
When did he not? He was addicted to the stuff.
“Uh, yeah. That sounds good. But I can make it…” Aarav squirmed in his chair and though he was trying to be polite, Sola knew what he wasn’t saying. He was extremely particular about it and there’s no way someone could get the ten thousand intricate steps correct to make it exactly as he liked.
“I’ve got it.” Cash pulled out the canister of loose leaf tea and Aarav’s favorite mug, set the kettle to what looked about right to Sola, then arranged the spoon rest, sugar, and milk exactly as Aarav did while he waited for the water to come up to temperature. He preset the shiny silver steeping timer for four minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
“Wow. You’ve really been paying attention.” Aarav finger-combed his beard.
“It’s important to you.” Cash shrugged one shoulder. The tea ritual seemed to settle him some as he focused on getting each precise detail correct and doing something for someone he—Sola suspected—cared for.
Thing was, as often as they’d slept together in the past several weeks, the men had always made her the focus. As decadent as it was, being so greedy, it worried her. Where did they stand with each other? They were friends, certainly, but hadn’t really crossed the line into lovers, not in the sense that she’d consider them to be dating if she weren’t also in the picture. Was that how these sorts of relationships worked? Or was that a chink in their armor?
She hadn’t pushed the issue because, frankly, she was being selfish, having too much fun being shared by them to risk it falling apart by asking difficult questions. And also because she was hoping that in time, as Aarav developed an emotional connection to Cash, things between them would evolve.
After all, it had taken him the best part of a year to embrace his attraction to her even when their career and living situation had forced them into intense bonding situations. This could be a start, though, if they could help Cash work through the obvious wounds his father had ripped wide open earlier.
Sola rose and crossed to him, hugging him from behind as he concentrated on preparing Aarav’s brew. “I’m sorry your dad is an asshole.”
If that wasn’t a greeting card yet, she thought it should be.
“That’s not news, is it?” Cash sagged in her hold. “What’s fucking with my head more is finding out I was responsible for my mother’s death.”
“Where the hell did you get an idea like that?” Aarav stood too, clutching Cash’s shoulder and turning him around until he faced them both. “I heard Jordan say yourfatherwas at fault. Not you.”
“He attacked her because of me.” He stared at the floor, unwilling to look them in the eye.
“It sounds to me like your mom was a decent human being. I’m sure if it hadn’t been that particular reason, assuming he’s even telling the truth, then it would have been something else. He doesn’t seem like he takes kindly to people questioning his decisions or beliefs.”
“You could be right.” When the kettle beeped, Cash turned around and poured the steamy water over the tea leaves until they were fully submerged and initiated the steeping timer before facing them again.