Reaching over to grab his hand, I squeeze and smile falteringly. Baron squeezes back but is quick to grab the wheel again, and I rest my palm on his thigh.
“You’re right, Baron. I think a vacation to Costa Rica would be wonderful after the last year under this dreary, London sky,” I agree, and satisfaction eases the tension in Baron’s face. Turning out the window as the scenery begins to get more familiar, I sigh heavily. “I’m happy here, and I like London, but the weather ruins it every single time.”
“You’ve never been on a tropical beach, huh?” I shake my head at Baron’s question, and he inhales deeply through his nose. “You ever been to a beach at all?”
“Um, there are beaches in Ireland, but I’ve only been there once or twice. It wasn’t warm out either time, I don’t think.” I mumble.
The rest of the short ride back to the hotel is quiet, peaceful, and I enjoy it thoroughly. If life could be like this, Baron and I together and happy, I’m not going to let a moment waste. He pulls into the small car park butt up against the back of the hotel and carefully manuevors into his designated spot on the ground floor.
A perk of being the owner. Smiling to myself as he shuts off the car, I unbuckle and climb out of the passenger seat. “What’re you thinking of having for dinner?”
My voice echoes in the large, concrete structure as I round the front of the car towards the service entrance. Baron shrugs and nudges the door closed with his hip before walking over to me. I rub my scalp thoughtfully, ducking through the double doors meant for event vendors when he opens it for me.
“I don’t know, but I’ve been getting tired of the food from the kitchen. I know they’ve been trying out new recipes for when we reopen the rooms and get into full swing, but it’s just. . . so,” Baron trails off as his words fail him. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“No, I agree. No matter what it is, it tastes too much the same. Maybe, we can go to my flat? Pick up something for me to cook on the way. Part of me wants to go home, but I know it’s only because I’ve spent the past two weeks suffering in that suite. My flat came the way it is now,” I admit, and Baron glances at me before hanging his arm over my shoulders. An ugly, black blotch spreads across my chest. “I think that’s why I was so panicked, moving everything around.”
“Yeah. Come up to my office and join this meeting with Tom and Jennifer. We reopen the main hotel in two days, so now’s a good a time as any to try new things. You can show them that notebook you keep in your purse.” Baron says as we reach a service elevator at the end of the hall. I agree easily, adjusting my purse strap on my shoulder. That little pamphlet of a resort in Costa Rica sticks out of the side pocket, and I stare at it out of the corner of my eye.
“No matter what it means, I cannae think of anywhere else that’s more exotic than South America,” I say more to myself than Baron before the elevator doors slide open. I step inside, pulling the pamphlet out to scan the inside. “You were basically closed for the last two months because you wanted to do something that’s not done here in London.”
“Exactly.” He agrees. Browsing the amenities features in the inside flap, I rock back on my heels and cock my head. In the picture, a pretty cabana sits on a beach of white sand. A lot of the coasts in England and Ireland are rocky, and excitement trills faintly in my ears.
I glance up when the elevator jostles to a stop, and Baron presses his palm against the small of my back. His touch is warm and doesn’t leave me as I fold the brochure and stick it back in my purse. We reach his office, and I grab the door handle to shoulder my way inside before a sudden chill races down my spine.
Gasping, I look up as Liam, Eamon, and a woman I vaguely recognize pause their conversation around the glass coffee table. Baron sidesteps around me, holding out his arm protectively. I can’t stop my eyes from going to Liam’s hand, a morbid curiosity gripping me in a vice. But he’s wearing a mechanical prosthetic that whirrs slightly when he pushes on his knees to stand up with a grunt.
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Baron grinds out through his teeth; he knows Liam isn’t someone to get snarky with. “I wasn't informed you were waiting for me. I would’ve had someone bring you coffee.”
“We just got here,” As if to punctuate Liam’s declaration, Baron tenses and palms his phone outside his pocket. “Klaus Frey has surrendered to me.”
My breath hitches, my heart leaping into my throat as I clutch my purse tightly. What! I tear my eyes off Liam to look at the side pocket, the corner of the brochure sticking out. Klaus surrendered?
“I take it by your reaction that you didn’t know. That’s fine. I’m going to offer you the same thing I did him, Baron. Banishing your mother from your sight might be enough for you, but it falls far, far short for me,” My gaze flies to Liam as he holds up his hand, scowling darkly without giving Baron an inch. “Surrender, and I’ll let you live. You can keep this hotel considering the lengths you’ve gone to avoid being controlled by your mother. I’m tired of this waiting game, and I’m doing you a courtesy, here. Surrender. If you interfere with my hunt for your mother, I won’t give you the chance to regret it, Baron Frey.”
“That’s not–!” I start as anger sears through my veins, but Baron raises his arm sharply and casts me a warning look. My protest clogs my throat, and my face burns as I glare at Liam. He doesn’t look at me, ignoring me completely. Baron clears his throat, lowering his arm to tug down the hem of his shirt and run his hand stiffly through his hair.
“My name. . . is Baron Hollander,” Baron declares forcefully, conviction sharpening his tone. My heart stutters, my gaze flying to him to widen in surprise. “And you’re welcome to do whatever you want while Delaney and I are on vacation. We’ll be leaving a week from Thursday, two days from now. You’re free to rampage your way across Europe after we leave.”
“What? Where the Hell are you going?” Eamon blurts out, his face tinging red up to his ears. I know, and Baron knows, that Baron’s talking out of his arse, but he sounds confident enough. That’s 99% of the battle. “Delaney was just in the hospital two weeks ago!”
“I don’t remember telling you to speak,” Oof. Baron’s tone is cold as ice, and goosebumps blanket my body as Eamon’s head snaps back in alarm. “Sit down and shut up.” Authoritative. Intense. Almost menacing. Baron watches Eamon slowly sink to the sofa with the same look Petra Frey had given me two weeks ago. Like my brother was dirt.
She might be in her 60s now, but Petra Frey didn’t get to her position by being a micromanaging, narcissistic, mis-calculator that she proved to be now. I blink in alarm. I’d never considered that before. . . that there’s a part of Baron that he inherited from his mother.
“You’re free to spend the rest of your stay in London here,” Baron continues, and I shuffle backwards when he reaches for the door to swing it open. “Kelly, the receptionist, will find you accommodations. We should have a business suite or two available on the executive floor that hasn’t been reserved for our opening weekend.”
“Delaney.” Eamon says when he reaches me, and I turn my head away as the roaring fire in my chest sucks the blood from my cheeks.
“You didn’t stop Keeva from coming here, knowing how I felt about her,” I mumble dryly, my tongue ill fitting in my mouth. Eamon grimaces, opening his mouth, but I don’t let him get a word in. “Get out, Eamon. I don’t want to deal with your drama. . . and you get those words for free. Thankfully, being raped isn’t a prerequisite, or I’d be in a bind.”
Eamon’s eyelid twitches, his jaw ticking like he wants to protest, but he eventually stalks out into the hallway. Lilly goes next, not wasting a moment to escape the awkwardness. I watch her go, wondering why they’re both here. Eamon, I can understand, but Lilly is defacto head in Seattle. She and Eamon shouldn’t be gone at the same time. Looking back, I tense when Liam gingerly puts his large palm on my crown and ruffles my hair.
“It’s hard to remember that you’re only 23. It’s been five years already. . . and you’re all grown up,” Liam’s voice is light, thick with fondness, and he smiles crookedly down at me before lifting his hand off my head. My cheeks threaten to melt off my fucking face. What kind of shite is that! “Don’t hesitate to ask for anything, Delaney. I’m a call away. Oh, and before I forget, I want to give this to you.”
Liam reaches into the inner pocket of his suit jacket to hand me a plain, white envelope. I take it, my fingertips tingling wildly before he winks at me. He fucking winked at me? Is this him being nice? I don’t like it- it creeps me out!
“What the fuck. . . was that about?” Baron breathes hoarsely, and I bluster a massive gasp. At some point, I’d forgotten to breathe, and my heart beats furiously against my aching ribs. Fanning my face with the envelope as he shuts the door and locks it. “What’s that?”
