Ri breathed shakily, waving the bag away. “I’m just … I’m so horrified about what thatgaoazadid to her. But I have to be strong, for her. I don’t want her to feel like she has to reassure me that she’s okay …Ishould be the one reassuringher.”
“You don’t have to pretend, Ri. You can show people the vulnerable parts of yourself.”
“She’s at her lowest, so I can’t. That would be selfish,” she argued, wiping at her eyes. As much as seeing her cry tore at me, I reminded myself that it was an honour to know I was a safe haven for her to let her real emotions out. I got the unfiltered Irina, and I … loved all her jagged edges, as much as I did the smooth ones.
I wrapped her in my arms as best as I could, given the seatbelt light was on for our imminent landing. She pressed her lips to my skin, just above the collar of my T-shirt.
When the plane came to a stop, Ri extricated herself from me and took a long, deep breath, the mask falling into place over her face. The beautiful, fun, cheeky mask that was just one facet of Irina—the one she donned like armour.
“I’ll be here waiting when you get back,” I reminded her, unbuckled my seatbelt and stood, pulling her into my arms. “Go be with your friend.”
“Thank you, Henry.” She looked up, and for a second, I saw the mask slip, saw a tiny glimpse of that haunted expression before she smiled, and it disappeared once more.
Whatever was going on inside her head, it was about more than just her worry for her friend. But I wasn’t going to pry. She would tell me when she was ready. I’d made my peace with being patient for more of her.
The flight attendant unlocked the cabin door, and it swung open, Lucian stepping through. His expression was stern. “I’ll say it again, Bax. This is a terrible idea, and it’s not too late to change your mind and head straight back to the yacht.”
Ri tried to pull out of my arms, but I held her tight, glaring at my cousin over her head. “And I’ll say it again. This visit is non-negotiable. Friends show up in times of need, and Kat needs to see Ri.” I refrained from adding that Ri needed to see Kat just as much.
Lucian’s jaw twitched, but he nodded. “Well, you’d better be on your best behaviour, Irina,” he glowered. Ri rolled her eyes before getting up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to the tip of my nose.
“I promise I won’t do anything that will stop me from coming back to you,” she whispered against my cheek. I managed a quick stroke of my fingertips down her face before she was marching towards Lucian.
“Let’s go, Lumberjack,” she ordered, heading for the stairs. Lucian scowled after her.
“Lumberjack?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lucian ran a hand through his hair. “Kat called me that, the night Ri went out with her and her friends. Clearly Irina finds it amusing.”
I coughed to cover my chuckle—itwasamusing. “Go. We can’t have her being seen by anyone who might report it back to immigration.”
“Sure, a crowded hospital is going to be the best place for me to take her then.” Lucian grumbled as he headed for the door. Before he exited, he paused, glancing back at me. “Have you spoken to Atlas recently?”
I shook my head, guilt threading through my stomach. I’d let myself forget about the real world, about my business and my business partner, for days of bliss with Ri. I hadn’t even been checking TechRaker, who always loved to report on Atlas’s shenanigans when he was in California.
Lucian knocked a fist against the fuselage, brows furrowed. “I think you should get in touch with him, sooner rather than later.”
He ducked his head and was out the door before I could ask why. I watched out the window as he climbed into his SUV, the dark-tinted windows already concealing Ri from me. I told myself that was a good thing—if I couldn’t see her then other prying eyes couldn’t either.
“This is such a big risk,” I muttered, finally letting myself acknowledge the reality. With a shaky sigh, I sat down and opened my laptop, pulling up TechRaker to get myself up to speed with whatever Atlas had been up to in my absence.
My stomach dropped from the headline, and only got worse as I read on.
Doing drugs in club bathrooms? Throwing punches at industry colleagues? What on earth had he been arguing about with the SynAPPsee founders?
I tapped on his icon in my call favourites, putting the phone to my ear with a sigh. Why had I left him to his own devices for so long? This was a PR nightmare. I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder, pulling up our internal communication software on my laptop andtyping out a terse directive to Liv to engage a crisis management specialist immediately.
Olivia: Already on it! I’ve briefed a firm, and they’re putting together a formal statement for us to release as we speak. I’ll send it to you for approval.
Henry: Thank you! I don’t know what I’d do without you, Liv.
Olivia: I think I deserve a raise
Henry: Already on it.
“Well, hello! If you’re hearing this, it’s because I’m either busy or screening my calls. Leave a message, and you might hear back from me.”
The beep of Atlas’s voice message set my teeth on edge.
