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With a heavy sigh, I leaned back in my chair and looked at the security feed again. Sutton’s bedroom door was closed, but it had been closed since she returned to it after we had dinner together. The hallway outside it remained empty, the lights dimmed to their overnight setting. There was nothing to see because everything was quiet, just how I preferred it to be.

That did not stop me from looking, however.

It also didn’t stop me from feeling foolish about it either.

Foolishness was something I usually didn’t tolerate in myself. When you were in that state of mind, you tended to make mistakes. In other men, it was useful. It made them loud, predictable, vulnerable to flattery and pressure. It made them spend money they didn’t have, betray people they needed, talk when silence would have saved them. Foolishness was one of the oldest currencies in power, and I had built entire negotiations around letting another man believe he was being brave when he was merely being stupid.

For me, it was unacceptable.

I shook my head and closed the security feed. My behavior also emphasized how much my actions surrounding Sutton couldn’t get out and that I needed to get a fucking grip.

Within seconds, my phone vibrated against the desk, stopping me from opening the security feed again. The screen lit with Declan’s name and it was a message, not a call, which I thought was strange. Usually he had no issue calling me, so this behavior was out of the norm.

Declan

Need to speak with you about the channel Vincent mentioned. As soon as possible.

I read the message twice. Not because the sentence was complicated, but because the timing was bad enough to be interesting. Declan did not use “as soon as possible” unless there was something amiss.

I was already reaching for the phone when the screen suddenly changed, causing me to lift an eyebrow. This wasn’t to say that sometimes my personal phone wasn’t very busy; however, something was off about this. Then it all clicked when I saw who was calling.

Delphine.

I stared at her name for one second as I tried to make sense of it. Delphine did not call without reason and it had been years since she’d even bothered. Once we were done, I rarely showed up to her club and our communication became almost nonexistent. I knew she wouldn’t call me or call me this late if she didn’t have some type of news. I picked up the call before it could go to voicemail.

“Delphine.”

“Cain,” she said.

I didn’t respond to her right away. I leaned back in my chair and let my gaze move to the dark window across from my desk. My reflection stared back at me, with my loosened tie and shirt sleeves rolled once at the wrists. I looked every bit relaxed, but the level at which my heart was pounding in my chest gave me away. Not that she could hear it, anyway.

“This is late,” I said.

“For you? I doubt that.”

“For a social call.”

“Who said it was social?” she asked.

Fair question, I had to give her that. “No one who knows you would think that.”

She laughed softly, but I interrupted her before she could have a chance to speak. “What do you want?” I asked.

“Still so warm,” she said. “It’s astonishing anyone ever accuses you of being difficult.”

“If this is about the room, send the invoice.”

“The room has already been cleaned. Blood is less dramatic than people think when one pays the right staff. No, this isn’t about my upholstery, although I will be sending you a bill.”

“Then speak.”

A brief silence followed before she let out a small sigh and began. “I heard something interesting tonight,” she said.

“That covers a wide range of sins in your establishment.”

“True. But this one wore your name.”

That made me still, but I made sure not to give it away in my voice. The last thing I wanted her to think was that I was actively concerned about anything. “My name gets used often,” I said.