Fractured (Lucian & Lia #2)(50)
Our joined hands are rubbing my aching clit when an amused voice calls through the door. “Come on, kids; Luc needs to go to work now.” We both burst out laughing, feeling like teenagers caught making out. I give him a quick kiss and push him out the door before Sam can see my bedraggled appearance. I’m certain he knows what we were up to, though.
The desire to finish what we started is pounding through me, but I resist. An idea is forming as I walk back toward the kitchen to clean up our breakfast dishes. I have a few hours left to shower and call Debra to catch up before I head downtown to deliver a surprise lunch to Lucian: me.
Lucian
I’m frustrated as I finish my call with Peter Jacks. Peter told me Lee is out of town on business and should be back by the end of the week. I had asked the other man point-blank if his brother had security on Lia. The extra security I have in place at the apartment has noticed a couple of guys who appeared to be doing some type of surveillance. Peter hadn’t wanted to admit anything at first, but when I threatened to have the men arrested the next time, he admitted they were employed by his brother. Truthfully, I’m relieved. Even though I don’t think Jim Dawson could get past my security, I’m still glad to have a few extra sets of eyes on the building.
If not for Lia’s stepfather still being somewhere out there, I’d be happy not to hear from Lee Jacks for a while. He is a ticking time bomb, which I don’t have the time or the energy to deal with right now. Lia and I are in a good place despite the drama of last night. I think we are both at peace with our decision to leave any consequences that arise from our unprotected sex to fate. We will of course use condoms until we know for sure one way or the other, but there is nothing to do now but wait.
I had actually been shocked to discover that Lia felt as I did about not taking the morning-after pill. Even though it would have been hard, I would have supported any decision she made.
When Cassie had found out she was pregnant, she had been determined to have an abortion. I had been in no way ready to be a father, but after losing my parents in an accident, which I had had no control over, I just couldn’t stand the thought of voluntarily ending a life. I had promised Cassie the world if she would go through with the pregnancy.
Even with medication, her mental and emotional health had always been shaky at best. She would be on top of the world one minute and staring at the walls without speaking the next. As close as Aidan and I were to her, she had gone weeks at a time without speaking to us. Then suddenly, out of the blue, she would be back to normal as if nothing had happened. There was never any rhyme or reason to these drastic mood swings, at least that we were aware of. I suspected that much of her troubles centered on her home life, but she never actually came out and admitted that. For all of the years I was friends and then more with her, I find when I think back that I never really knew her.
Cassie was a girl and then a woman of secrets. I met her father on a few occasions through the years and he seemed perfectly normal, although Cassie always seemed almost afraid of him. Her mother had passed away when she was a baby, or at least that was Cassie’s version of the story. Her father was the manager at a local lumber mill and worked long hours. Cassie seemed to have the freedom to come and go as she pleased, which I used to envy when Aunt Fae was keeping tighter reins on me. I’ve often wondered in the last eight years if my feelings of unease about her father were totally off. Could it have been Cassie who was the problem all along, and her father just another victim of her sickness? Maybe he was as powerless as I was to help someone who continued to spiral out of control. He took off shortly after Cassie and I were engaged. I have no idea where he is now. I do know he was contacted when she was hospitalized, but he never showed up. Regardless of what she had done, the burden of caring for her ultimately fell on my shoulders, especially since I refused to press charges against her. What was the f*cking point? She was completely out of it and would have been institutionalized anyway, and again, the guilt I felt for my part in her ultimate undoing was also a big factor.
I jerk in surprise as my cell phone rings. I see Max’s name on the ID and brace myself to hear him raging over Lia’s friend, Rose. I have no idea what is going on there, and I don’t really want to know. I suspect from Max’s reaction to her that he has either f*cked her or is damn close. “Quinn,” I answer, resigned to hearing the tirade I know is coming.
“Luc…I need to see you today.” Just wonderful. Apparently, it’s bad enough that he wants some face time to rant. Maybe f*cking Rose is exactly what he needs; they both appear to be wound entirely too tight. Of course, she’s likely to sew his balls to his leg when it’s over, but everyone has problems.
“Max,” I sigh, as I twirl my pen between my fingers. “She’s Lia’s friend. I know she’s crazy, but just do this…”
“It’s not that,” he says in a tone, which sounds dead serious. “I’m probably going to be a couple more hours between getting Rose released and dropping off some papers at the courthouse. Are you going to be in the office all afternoon?”
He has my attention now. Max isn’t one to cry wolf without a reason. “Yeah, I’ll be in. Stop by when you arrive.” I’m uneasy when the call ends, wondering what’s going on. I ponder calling him back and demanding an explanation, but if he wants to meet in person, then there’s a reason. Instead of dwelling on it, I grab some workout clothes and decide to burn off some adrenaline before I have Cindy pick up my lunch.