Aidan (Blue Halo Book 5)

Today

Cassie Webber sipped her cold glass of sparkling apple juice. The liquid fizzled on her tongue as she cast her gaze around her living room.

Why were they all still here? It was almost ten o’clock, so yeah, not late for most, but for her it was definitely late. She was tired. She’d done her job. She’d hosted this week’s “family gathering”. It was time for them all to get out of her house.

She smiled absently at something Damien said to the group of people around them. He’d always been a great host. Able to plaster a smile on his face when needed. Say all the right things and nod at appropriate moments. Cassie had gotten better. But tonight? She’d stopped listening several laughs and five sips of juice ago.

How long had she been on her feet? Two hours? Three? Whatever it was, it was too long. She needed to lie down and rest before her legs gave out on her. She’d sat down periodically, but it wasn’t enough. And it wasn’t just being on her feet that was causing her to feel lightheaded. No. It was the stress.

Damien’s arm was around her waist, just as it had been for the last half hour. He knew she couldn’t stand for long periods of time. Not without repercussions. Everyone did. So why were they still here?

She rubbed a finger along her forehead as her gaze caught on Mia across the room. Her sister was in a group with three other people, laughing. One of those people was Sampson. He and Mia were growing closer. Her sister was already head over heels in love with the guy. Had been for years. Mia had admitted to sharing a few kisses with him recently, but they weren’t officially dating yet.

When their gazes connected, Cassie tried for a smile. She hated seeing her sister standing so comfortably among all these people. Among Elijah and his brothers.

At the thought of Elijah, her gaze almost drifted over to him. Almost. It took everything in her not to look. Because then she’d have to use the last scrap of strength she had to not reveal her absolute disgust in the awful person she saw. Awful was actually too kind a word for him. The man was pure evil, and he deserved a special place in hell.

She took another sip of juice and tried to concentrate on the conversation, but when Olive Hollow excused herself from Mia’s group and headed toward the bathroom, Cassie straightened. She’d been waiting for a chance to talk to the woman alone all night.

Cassie leaned into Damien and whispered in his ear, “I’m just going to the bathroom.”

Worry flickered through his light brown eyes. “Are you okay?”

She gave him her most polished smile. One she’d perfected over the years. “Of course.”

With a light press of a kiss on his cheek, she stepped away and moved through the crowd. Her heels clicked against the marble tiles, and the sparkling apple juice rolled in her belly. When she reached the guest bathroom, she washed her hands at the double sink, watching the closed toilet door from below her lashes.

The second it opened, Olive paused. Only for a second. Then she moved forward and washed her hands beside Cassie.

“You’re still okay for this Wednesday?” Cassie asked under her breath.

There was a stutter in Olive’s breathing that was barely discernible. Her gaze rose to the exit, shooting around the room before returning to the water. “Isn’t there—”

“No. There are no cameras in the bathrooms.” Or her bedroom. It was the first thing she’d checked after moving into this house. Something she still checked periodically. She needed to know the safe spaces where there were no watching eyes or listening ears.

The woman hesitated. The pause had unease crawling into Cassie’s gut. This couldn’t fall through. The woman had to show up.

“Detective Shaw will be there,” Cassie whispered. “He’ll sit at a table beside us with a recording device. No one will know what he’s doing but us. You and your mother will be safe, I promise.” She needed Olive’s testimony and any evidence she had, but there was also no way she’d put the younger woman or her mother in danger.

Another moment of pause. Then, finally, Olive gave a small nod. “One o’clock at Vaserelli’s Diner.”

She almost sagged in relief. The Cassie of a few years ago would have sagged. But the new Cassie had gotten good at keeping her emotions in check. “See you then.”

Cassie turned off the water and headed toward the kitchen, internally grimacing with each step. Man, it really was getting hard to stay upright. She should have rested more before everyone had arrived tonight. But no, instead she’d been on her feet, too worked up about Elijah and his brothers being in her house to sit still. Now she was paying the price.

Damien had also been acting strangely all day. She’d pestered him about it, but he’d told her nothing.

She stepped into the kitchen. It was all white and open, in a very Hamptons style. Big and beautiful. Most people would kill for a kitchen like this. She hated it. It was a reminder that looks could be deceiving, and the most beautiful place might not be what it seemed.

All she wanted was out. Out of this house. This life. All of it. And she would be. Soon.

Mrs. Alder turned from where she loaded the dishwasher. The woman was ostensibly a housekeeper, gifted to her and Damien by the organization after their wedding. But she wasn’t really. No, she was less of a housekeeper and more like Cassie’s keeper. She had no doubt Mrs. Alder reported everything she saw and heard back to Elijah.

“Could you please start collecting empty cups?” Cassie spoke with the formal, impersonal voice she always used with this phony woman. “I think people are just about ready to leave.”

The older woman lifted a brow. A couple of years ago, that simple brow lift had terrified Cassie. Not anymore. Now it felt more like a challenge. A challenge Cassie would win.

“Don’t you think Elijah should be the one to end the party?”

Her skin crawled at the mention of the man’s name. She might have to remain around these people, but it didn’t mean she had to go out of her way to speak to their leader.

“This is my and Damien’s home, and we’re ready to go to bed. So please go around and collect the glasses.”

Mrs. Alder’s eyes narrowed. The older woman started to leave the room, but before she stepped out, Cassie added, “And Mrs. Alder—do not question me in my home again.”

There was a small huff of irritation from the woman, then she left.

Good. Ten minutes, and they’d better all be gone. Though realistically, she didn’t even know if she had ten more minutes left in her.

Cassie had suffered from neurally mediated hypotension since she was a kid. Sometimes known as the fainting reflex. It basically meant that if she stood for too long, her blood pressure dropped, and she fainted because of a miscommunication between the heart and brain.

But it wasn’t just standing too long that caused her to faint. Ha. If only her life was that easy. No. Her blood pressure also dropped if she was stressed, which was essentially her whole life for the last two years. Too much heat also affected her, so long hot showers had never been an option.

At the thought of heat, she tugged the high neckline of her dress, suddenly aware of how hot she was. Her gaze skittered to the back door. Then, not caring that Mrs. Alder would scold her later, she moved over to the trash and lifted out the half-full bag.

A normal person could just step outside their house and empty the trash without a second thought. Her life wasn’t normal. Hadn’t been normal for a while.

Before Mrs. Alder could return, Cassie slipped out the back door. The second the cool breeze hit her, she sucked in a long, deep gulp of air. God, she missed being outside and in nature. Once upon a time, she’d lived for morning walks. She’d take her dog, Felix, to the woods and they’d just get lost in nature.

Her heart hurt at the thought of Felix. He wasn’t the only loved one she’d lost in a short time frame.

Swallowing, she moved to the side of the house. She dumped the trash but didn’t go back inside right away. Instead, she stood there, looking up at the two-story house. By all appearances, it was a dream home. Right in the center of Salt Lake City, grand and beautiful. But to her, it was a prison.

Not for long, a voice whispered in her head. Wednesday was the beginning of the end.

Scrubbing her eyes, she headed toward the back door. She’d almost reached it when a prickling at her nape had her stopping. It felt almost like someone was watching her.

Frowning, she turned her head to scan the large yard. No one. No one that she could see, anyway.

She took a step toward the door, but the prickling became almost a burn.

God, what was that?

Suddenly, something came back to her. She’d gotten this same feeling not long ago. She’d been out to lunch with Damien, sitting at an outdoor table, and she’d felt it. But it hadn’t made her wary, like how she felt under the eyes of Elijah’s men. She’d almost wondered if—

No. She couldn’t think about him right now. Because every time she did, every time the man crawled into the crevices of her mind, she wanted out. She wanted to walk away from everyone and everything and return to him.

But she couldn’t. Not now. She was too close, and this was too important. She needed to finish this. Not just for Mia, but for everyone.

Her gaze flickered across the large yard one more time.

When she was feeling weak, she thought about him. And those memories tormented her thoughts.

He’d been her everything. Then he’d disappeared, and everything had fallen apart. It was the start of the end of the happy life she’d known. And every day after that, it had only gotten worse.

When a wave a dizziness rushed over her, her body tilted. She would have fallen if an arm hadn’t suddenly slipped around her waist. A familiar arm.

Damien looked down at her, his eyes yet again worried. “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”

“Just taking out the trash and getting some fresh air.”

If she’d said that to anyone else, she’d be met with disapproval. Maybe some suspicion. Damien knew she was at the end of her rope tonight. He knew that cold helped the hypotension.

“Come on, let’s get you inside,” he said quietly.

He led her to the door and was just opening it when his gaze lifted and skirted around the yard. Did he feel it too?

Five minutes later, people finally began to say their goodbyes and filter out. The hardest goodbye was always Mia. She hated seeing her sister go back to the compound. She hated her sister being anywhere near Elijah and his brothers.

Mia was only two years younger than her, but Cassie had always seen her as her responsibility. Especially after their mother had died when Cassie was only ten and Mia seven, and they’d gone into foster care. Hell, a lot of the time, Cassie had been the only person taking care of Mia.

Cassie pulled her into a hug. “Stay safe, little sister.”

Mia stepped back and smiled. “Always.”

She swallowed and watched her sister leave. She hadn’t told Mia anything because knowledge made you vulnerable. If Elijah ever found out what Cassie knew, what she was trying to do, she’d be dead by morning.

The last person to say goodbye was the man himself. Bile crawled up her throat when he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“This was a lovely evening, Cassie,” he said after straightening. “Thank you for having us over.”

Like she had a choice. Elijah had asked, and no one said no to the man. Members living outside the compound often hosted dinners at Elijah’s request. He made them seem like simple family gatherings, but she knew the truth. It was his way of watching those not living with them. Because the cameras and spy maids weren’t enough.

She forced another fake, polished smile to her lips. “Of course, Elijah. Thank you for coming.”

His gaze lingered on hers a beat too long. It always did. “This week is a special one. It’s your thirtieth birthday this Sunday.”

She didn’t need the reminder. Thirty. She was turning thirty, and she was nowhere near happy. She was hopeful, though. Hopeful that her thirties would be better than her late twenties. Hopeful that certain scumbags would be locked up for the rest of their days.

“It’s very exciting.”

“We’ll see you then for your ball?”

Ah, yes. Her big ball. “You will. I’m really looking forward to it.” Not.

“Good.”

Damien’s arm slipped around her waist. “Thank you for coming, Elijah.”

The men shook hands, and Damien turned and headed toward the stairs as Elijah stepped out, leaving Cassie to see him off. She frowned. That was odd. Damien was normally far too conscientious to leave her alone with the man.

No matter. He was heading down her porch steps with a final wave before she closed the door. Then she almost sagged. Not just because she couldn’t stand the man, but because he was a powerful enemy. He was the leader of the group. Their Holy Leader, as he often referred to himself. A man who considered himself as close as mortals could come to God.

He was the leader of their cult. And she was going to make sure he paid for his crimes.