Chapter Twenty-One
Leo
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THAT HAD BEEN AN INTERESTINGflight.
I was getting used to having my Raven around, but I told myself I couldn’t think that way. She was a means to an end, that was all.
I wondered if her willingness to please would change now we were in England. She was no longer under her father’s rule and if she escaped, she’d be more likely to vanish. The UK was four times larger than Estonia and also had five times the population, so the chance of her being able to lose herself here was far greater.
I handed both our passports over at Border Control. We had connections within the passport office, so I was always fairly confident that the passports wouldn’t cause us any problems, however, there was always a moment where I was standing in front of a border control officer, where his or her gaze flicked from my passport to my face and back down again, that my mouth ran dry, and my pulse increased. The speed at which Kaja’s passport had been processed also concerned me, as did the fact she had a British passport and a foreign accent. It could easily be explained—she could have been born in the country and raised elsewhere, or have become a British citizen through naturalisation, but whatever the reason, it meant the authorities would be asking questions, and I preferred it if that didn’t happen.
I doubted Kaja was going to speak up and try to seek help from the official. If she did, she’d be deported, and if she’d been telling the truth about what she wanted, that was the last thing she’d do.
I sensed her stiffen beside me, though, frozen under the gaze of the border control officer. I wished she’d relax, but I guessed it wasn’t unusual for people to act awkwardly when being assessed with such scrutiny. It was a very British way to feel guilty when in the presence of an official, even when they’d never had so much as a parking ticket. Of course, we had every reason to feel guilty, but the official wasn’t to know that.
He closed the passports and handed them back to us. “Thanks, folks. Have a safe onward journey.”
I returned a polite smile, slid the passports back into the inner pocket of my jacket, and guided Kaja through the gates. We kept going, down through baggage collection—which we ignored since the only bag we had was on my shoulder—and towards the exit.
In the arrivals’ hall, I recognised the tall stature and dark hair of my one remaining brother, Tam. Beside him was Marlon Wynter’s daughter, Hallie. They held hands, and I arched an eyebrow at the sight. I never thought Tam would settle down with a woman, but it seemed I had been proven wrong. Hallie was gazing up at Tam, smiling, and I experienced that familiar punch of jealousy. I remembered a time when Jodie had looked at me the same way. There was no way I was over Jodie’s death, and I wasn’t sure I ever would get over it.
Tam took in the sight of Kaja beside me and his lips thinned with disapproval. “You went through with it then?” he said as we approached.
“Of course.” I introduced them. “Kaja, this is my big brother, Tam, and his wife, Hallie.”
Kaja smiled shyly. “Hello.”
Tam frowned at her and then addressed me. “What the fuck is all this, Leo? You come here with Rasmus’s daughter? And it looks like she’s going along with all of this. Excuse me if I don’t fucking get it.”
“There’s nothing for you to get, Tam. Just mind your own business.”
“If it affects our family, it is my business. How do you think our dad is going to react?”
“Does he know yet?” I asked.
“No, but you’re going to have to tell him. He needs to be prepared if you’ve started a new war.”
I snorted. “There is nonewwar. The first one never ended.”
Hallie had been studying Kaja, and now she stepped forward and lifted the hair from Kaja’s neck. “I hope you didn’t put those marks on her, Leo.”
“That’s none of your fucking business, Hallie.”
“Did he hurt you?” Hallie asked Kaja.
Kaja’s gaze darted to me and away again. Without saying a word, it was clear she’d said yes.
“She’s Rasmus’s daughter,” I snapped. “What did you expect me to do?”
“I expected you to punish the father,” Tam said. “Not his daughter.”
I shrugged. “The opportunity arose.”
To my surprise, Kaja spoke up.