“Hey. I’m here with you.” Henry crouched beside me, pushing my suddenly sweaty hair back from my face. “Breathe with me, Catnip.”
I fixed my eyes on him, matching his long, calming breaths, and slowly, the queasiness and the hot, tight feeling in the back of my throat eased. Henry left the room and returned with my phone.
“I think you should ask this Dom fellow for more information.” He passed the phone to me. “Knowing will help you. I always find that when something is worrying me to this extent, being able to understand it helps me to alleviate my apprehension.”
I took my phone, staring down at the blank screen. He was probably right. Knowing more might help. But what if it was worse than I was imagining? And I could imagine some pretty awful scenarios.
“Will you do it for me?” My voice wobbled as I pressed my phone back into his hands. “I … I don’t think I can, right now.”
“Of course I will, Ri. Anything you need, I’m here.”
BREAKING NEWS: TICKLE BAD BOY’S BENDER BREAKDOWN
Atlas Prideaux, AKA one half of the baby billionaire duo behind the hugely successful adult app Tickle, was escorted from an upscale San Francisco strip club in the early hours of the morning after a huge night of carousing ended in a fiery altercation with Silicon Valley bigwigs.
The twenty-eight-year-old was seen trawling the bars of The Mission District with SynAPPsee CEO Dorian Watts, and CTO Julian Torres. Australia’s second-youngest billionaire, behind only his partner Henry Baxter, was imbibing at an alarming speed, and was seen disappearing into the lavatories frequently. Sources speculated that more than just alcohol was being consumed.
But it wasn’t until the trio moved on to Velvet Eros that things took a turn for the worse. Prideaux was seen—and heard—engaging in a heated quarrel with the two that culminated in Prideaux throwing a punch, which was deflected by Torres and threw Prideaux towards the stage where he knocked over a performer.
The drunk and disorderly Prideaux was promptly escorted from the venue, and despite much digging, our team was unable to uncover where he went from there.
This comes on the heels of both Tickle founders abandoning their posts at the business’s Sydney HQ. Baxter and his wife have not yet returned to Sydney following their departure on theGirl on Firealmost a fortnight ago.
Wherever in the South Pacific Henry Baxter might be sailing right now, he needs to get back to business sooner rather than later and get his wayward partner back into line.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Family is Forever
HENRY
“Ipromise the cats will be well looked after. Parker thinks they’re the bee’s knees,” Josie reassured me as I slung my laptop bag over my shoulder.
“I trust you,” I told her distractedly, all my attention on Ri’s pale face as she waited by the stairs. “We’ll be back within forty-eight hours. I’m sure Abernathy won’t pine for Ri too melodramatically.”
As if on cue, Abs let out a screeching wail and darted away under the lounge. But I couldn’t worry about my cats. I needed to get Ri to Sydney and back again without attracting the attention of the police or the media.
I’d never broken so many rules in my life as I had since I’d met her. What was another if it meant she could see her friend who needed all the support she could get?
We’d made several approaches to Dom before wearing him down enough to explain the circumstances of Kat’s attack. The details had been enough to make me sick to my stomach, and I wondered how he must be feeling, to know what had almost been done to his partner.
I’d had trouble sleeping that night, picturing myself finding Ri in that scenario … a broken cheekbone seemed far too light a punishment for the spineless weasel who had attacked Kat, had sexually assaulted her … had almost raped her. If Dom hadn’t found her in time …
But the thing that had frightened me the most had been the tormented expression on Ri’s face when she’d read Dom’s message. It had cemented in my mind that Ri needed to see her friend, if only to reassure herself that Kat was okay. That she would make it through this horrendous ordeal.
We climbed aboard the same helicopter that had ferried supplies to us two days ago. It took us to a small, private airport near Airlie Beach where my jet had been waiting, thanks to Liv’s superior organisational skills. The transfer from chopper to plane went off without a hitch—so seamless and swift that there was no chance anyone would have had time to notice us.
The plan was to fly under the radar back to Sydney, where Lucian was on call to whisk Ri off the plane directly to Frankwright Hospital for a visit with Kat and then return her to me. We’d decided that my presence beside Ri at the hospital would attract unwanted attention, so I was trusting Lucian to ensure her safety while I waited on the plane.
If I had to entrust her to anyone but myself, he was my man. No matter the argument we’d had before Ri and I departed Sydney, he was family—the only family I had. Until Ri.
My chest felt simultaneously too large, and too tight, at that thought. Family was forever, no matter how bumpy the road. And no matter what people said, youcouldchoose your family.
I choose Ri. Without question, and without pause. I’ll fight for her, lie for her, whatever it takes to keep her safe and happy, and free of the demons of her past.
We hit turbulence on the descent into Sydney, and Ri’s already pasty face turned green. Fear started a frantic drumming in my ribcage.
“Air sickness?” I asked, handing her a bag. “Or are you frightened about the state you’re going to find Kat in?”
