“He’s not going to be stupid enough to try something on his own doorstep.”
Dom’s response was cut off by Paulo answering the door. I was glad to see a familiar face who hadn’t looked at me with disgust when I lived here.
“Hi,” I greeted him brightly. “I was hoping to stop in on Chastity. Is she home?”
Paulo looked nervous to see me. “Ah... yes.”
I’d learned to capitalise on hesitation from Luc. If I ever left a gap in the conversation, the briefest pause to straighten my thoughts, he ploughed ahead with what he wanted. “Wonderful. I won’t be stopping long. I just wanted to check how she’s doing.”
“Sure.” Paulo wasn’t confident in his response and reached into his pocket. Dom tensed behind me, uncertain of Paulo’s motive. “I’ll tell Gabe you’re here.” He pulled out a phone and I released the breath I unconsciously held.
“He’s not home?” I asked, secretly relieved that I wouldn’t have to deal with him. There was serious doubt that he’d let me into his home after the way Luc had behaved.
Paulo moved aside to let us into the house. “No,” he answered. “He’s got a lot on his plate.”
“Of course,” I responded, hoping my joy wasn’t obvious.
We let Paulo guide us through the house until we reached the doors leading out onto the backyard. Nothing had changed from when I’d lived here. The walls were still bare and rooms pristine.
Chas was visible through the glass doors, sitting on a chair, wrapped in a large, knitted blanket and staring off into space. She looked fragile, like the smallest gust of wind might carry her away from all this. She jumped as Paulo opened the door, eyes flitting between the three of us.
“You have visitors,” he told her. “I can tell them to leave if you’d prefer.”
Her dark eyes caught mine and I offered her a smile. “It’s okay. They can stay,” Chas said to him. Paulo nodded and he faded into the background along with Dom and Michael as I took the seat next to her. “Mia, right?” Chas said. These days, I was used to my reputation preceding me. “Your holiday get-together was beautiful.” If the words had come from anyone else, I would be wary but from Chas, it sounded like a genuine compliment.
“Thank you. It’s a shame we didn’t get a chance to speak then.” I offered the bouquet out to her. “These are for you.” She reached out for them and took them from me, paper rustling in the exchange. “I’m sorry about what happened. Sounds like we ended up in the same situation.”
Chas’s gaze dropped to the brightly coloured snapdragons in her lap. “Luc paid a visit,” she said quietly, barely audible over the wind.
“I know. I should apologize on his behalf for the way he behaved. He shouldn’t have done that,” I said, making a note to leave this out of the recount when I got home. Luc rarely apologised to anyone and that meant I shouldn’t be doing it for him, but I was taking careful steps with Chas. As much as I loved and adored Luc, I wished he wouldn’t pick a fight straight out of the gates. It would’ve been more productive, in my opinion, to get the footage and review it before sticking a foot in it with Gabe and the rest.
“He was trying to protect you,” she said. Her eyes came back up to my face. “Has he found anything yet?”
“Not that I know of,” I told her. “But I’m sure he’ll let Gabe know if he finds anything out.” What I was sure of was that Luc would make Gabe beg for any scrap of information before he even considered handing it over.
Her shoulders relaxed at that assurance. “Gabe hasn’t said anything either. I’m under house arrest until he figures out what is going on.”
“Oh,” I said, but it sounded like a typical Gabe move. “I hope you’ll make it to the christening. Luc won’t leave any room for another incident.”
“You’d like us there? When?” Chas asked. From what I gathered from Rosalie and Katia, Chas didn’t have many friends in our crooked circle, thanks to her father. It was a shame since Chas seemed more grounded than half the people I’d met since stepping into Luc’s life.
“We haven’t set a date yet but sooner than we expected. We thought it would be best, given everything that’s happened. I’ll be sure to send the invites as soon as I know.” The original plan had been to hold the christening sometime after the wedding, possibly after Link’s birthday.
She nodded her head slowly, fingers pulling at one of the leaves in the bouquet. “I’ll clear it with Gabe.” Chas looked up at me sharply. “Will Luc be okay with you inviting us?”
I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from saying anything unkind. She shouldn’t need permission but that wasn’t how this worked. Gabe would be watching her like a hawk if she left the house in the same way Luc was watching every single one of my moves. The difference was that I wasn’t clear that Gabe’s motives came from a place of care rather than the Moretti trait of wanting overall control.
Chas’s uncertainty and need to seek male approval most likely came from her family history. I had no clue what her Mom had done to warrant her murder, but Chas was stepping cautiously not wanting to upset Gabriel.
“Leave Luc to me,” I told her. I didn’t share the same fears that Chas had. He wouldn’t be happy about it, but I’d find a way to talk him around. We couldn’t leave them off the list without people talking, and I wasn’t in the mood to put out little fires when we had a bigger goal in mind. “Let me know what Gabe says,” I said with a tight smile. “I won’t keep you any longer. I just wanted to drop in and make sure you were okay.” I pushed myself out of the chair and Chas followed me back inside, placing the bouquet on the counter.
“I appreciate you stopping by,” Chas told me as we reached the front door. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, protecting herself from invisible threats.
“Look after yourself.” My words weren’t just for now, for her near miss. They were for all the days she would spend with Gabe and the chaos she would eventually find herself in, thanks to my ambitions. Chas hadn’t asked to be drawn into all this but that was her fate.
“I will,” she said with a firmness that made me believe she knew all of my worries.
Chapter Five
