Allan as a trusted figure, and now that trust was shattered.
What we couldn’t work out was the connection between Allan and my mother. I kept thinking back to the box of letters and the photo of Christine as a child. What did it all mean? At the moment, we had no clue. There was clearly some connection between them, but Petr had specifically mentioned that Christine wasn’t related to the Strelichevos.
Still, we were finally building up a dossier of information that we could present to Arlo, once we’d filled in the missing pieces of the puzzle. Well, Weston was. Everything was online, stored securely under layers of encryption. Although I had to take West’s word for that, since all that computer stuff went way over my head.
My last thought before I went to sleep, was that I had to get Caiden out of his own head. I’d watched him brooding ever since he’d come back from following Christine, the storm clouds gathering in his eyes, the way he flexed his jaw, tension radiating from him. This whole thing with Allan was fucking with his head. I had to distract him.
Phone in hand, I went in search of him the next morning. Rubbing sleep out of my eyes, I padded down the stairs in a cami and shorts, my hair an attractive bird’s nest of tangles. Mornings were not my favourite time of day. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed the door to the basement gym was ajar, and immediately knew where he’d be.
They were all there.
It was too much to deal with this early in the morning. Bodies glistening with sweat, muscles for days as the four of them punched, pounded, lifted, grunting, the testosterone filling the room and making it hard to breathe. I enjoyed the sight, drinking it in, before I backed quietly away.
I took a quick picture before I left, though. The view was too good not to.
I made myself busy cracking eggs and preparing omelettes, ready for when they’d finished their workout. Eventually they entered the kitchen, one by one, while I was on my second coffee of the day, but still feeling half-asleep.
Cassius’ mouth broke into a huge grin when he saw what I was doing, and he sidled up to me. “How did you know I was in the mood for omelettes?”
I laughed. “When are you not in the mood for omelettes? Or some kind of food?”
He winked, grabbing one of the plates from the pile I’d placed on the island and scooping some out of the pan.
“Cass.” I glanced over at the others, who were discussing something to do with their workout, by the sound of it. Caiden’s face was still brooding, the light gone from his eyes. “Can you do me a favour?”
He tilted his head, his brow creasing in a frown when he took in my serious expression. “Course I can. What’s up?”
I lowered my voice. “I think the stress of everything is getting to Cade. He hasn’t been himself since he saw Allan with Christine, and I feel like it’s hit him harder than even he originally thought.”
“Yeah, I noticed the same. What do you need?”
“Can you maybe take him out somewhere with the boys? Do something to take his mind off everything? Something that he won’t associate with anything to do with this whole situation?”
Cassius leaned back against the island. He was silent for all of two seconds before he gave a decisive nod. “Strip club.” I gave him an unamused look, and he grinned. “Just kidding. Football.” Pulling his phone from his pocket, he raised his voice, waving the phone in the direction of the others. “Boys, I’m booking the uni football pitch. Who’s up for a friendly five-a-side match?”
I squeezed his arm in a silent thanks and picked up my own phone from the island, scrolling to my messaging app. I tapped out a quick message to Lena.
Me: Free today? Want to do something?
Her reply was instant.
Lena: Yes *grinning emoji* What? Want to come out on the boat again?
I glanced out of the window, noticing the grey skies and wind whipping through the trees.
Me: Looks a bit windy for that. I could come over if you want to just hang out and chill?
Lena: Wimp! Come over anytime, and bring snacks.
Me: I’ll text when I’m on my way. Yes to snacks!
While I’d been texting Lena, the boys had filled their plates with omelettes and were digging into the food, talking about football. All except