“Thank you.” I lift the mug to my lips and take a careful sip. Within seconds, a soothing warmth spreads through my entire body and I hug the mug to my chest. “You’re the Jack, right?”
Cassian moves to lean against the back of the nearest couch and nods. “When I heard Ruslan told you everything, I wasn’t sure how well that would go.”
“Why?”
He shrugs. “Everything about this is unusual.”
“Because plane crashes are so normal?”
Cassian chuckles again. “No, but it’s not typically something we get involved with. As dangerous as it might sound, it’s still a minimal conflict between two families that doesn’t threaten the wider balance of things.”
I sip slowly as I listen. “Is that how you decide who to help? If it threatens to shake up the peace?”
“Mostly.” Cassian nods. “It’s hard, but it’s how the Suit has thrived for so many years. Something like this is… unusual.”
“Are you saying I don’t deserve Ruslan’s help?”
“No!” Cassian surges forward slightly. “I’m not saying that at all. What I mean is… he hasn’t been the Ace for that long, and typically, there are teething issues when someone new joins, but Ruslan is a whole different ballgame. Who knows?” Cassian’s smile relaxes. “Maybe it’s good to shake things up if he sees something we don’t.”
“Maybe it’ll pay off to help the little guy.”
“It might,” Cassian agrees. “But working out where to draw the line is where it gets tricky. How do you decide which little guy isn’t worth helping?”
He makes a good point. As fantastical as this group sounds in all its glory and power, the responsibility must be crushing. Ruslan spoke of a fragile peace, and one wrong move could surely break their world.
“Enough about that, though,” Cassian says after a moment of silence. “Is there anything you need? Anything I can get for you?”
I gulp my tea and focus on the warmth sweeping down my throat, then shake my head. “All I really want to do is be with my mom, but I know that isn’t doable.” What little hope I have of that is crushed as Cassian nods.
“No can do, I’m afraid.”
“Can you find out what happened to my dad?”
Cassian’s head tilts slightly, a question warming his eyes.
“They told me my dad was murdered. But no one told me how or where he is or anything like that and I…” I fight the welling tears as I try to get my words out. “I’d like to know.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Cassian says softly. “I’m sorry, Ivy. This must be so hard for you.”
“I’m okay. Except I’m not. And I keep crying and it makes me feel weak, but what else am I supposed to do?”
“Crying isn’t weak.” Cassian presses his lips together. “You’re a tiny fish thrown into one hell of a murky pond. I think a few tears are expected.”
“Do you think…” I turn from the window and place my good foot back on the ground. “Do you think you could take me home, to my parents’ place? A lot of my stuff is there because even though I have my own place, I was always too busy with work to move stuff properly. My clothes are there and maybe… maybe a memento.”
Cassian seems to debate with himself for a few minutes and then he nods. “You know what? I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”
As I drain the rest of my tea, my thoughts turn back to that night with Ruslan, but not to the sex. I focus on the picture Ruslan showed me of my father and that Russian Pakhan.
Such an image feels impossible, but if I can get home, then I can maybe find out the truth.
If my father was up to something and hiding it, then I know exactly where to look.
12
RUSLAN
