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It was so obvious how much Cameron meant to Ash. When I’d told her that O’Bannon was dead, she didn’t even flinch. In fact, she’d told me good riddance. When my cousin had broken her heart, she’d fled.
He’d manipulated her, convinced her to love him, to plan a future with him—all while knowing he didn’t give a shit about her. That was bound to create such trust issues that I wasn’t sure she’d ever recover from, and it killed me.
Aislynn O’Bannon had only ever wanted three things in life: her business, her freedom, and the love of a good man. Knowing she’d had that last one under false pretenses was going to cause shock waves I wasn’t sure we could help her through. I didn’t want to lose her to the darkness of his treachery.
Shara sat forward, pulling my attention back. “It’ll take time, but she’s strong enough. She’ll make it through, and we’ll help her. But right now, she needs to be alone.”
The only thing Ash was asking for after everything was space, and as the person who’d put her on this path to heartbreak, I had to give it to her. I didn’t have to like it, though.
“How are you?” I had to change the subject before I lost my mind. “How’s the safehouse?”
“It’s good.” Shara smiled. “I’m actually enjoying myself.”
“Enjoying yourself…or enjoying Adrien?” There was no need to be coy with Shara. We both knew what I was asking, and as expected, she laughed.
“Both.”
“You like him?”
“I’ve liked him since the moment I set eyes on him,” she admitted.
“And Christian?”
She squirmed a little, and I laughed, enjoying how uncomfortable she looked. “Is it weird?”
“What, that you’re attracted to him?”
“He’s your cousin, Mari. He’s Antoni’s cousin.”
Understanding softened me. “He wouldn’t be upset with you. Antoni would have wanted you to follow your heart, wherever that led. He wasn’t the type to hold you back just because something wasn’t normal.” When she didn’t respond, I asked, “Is it a problem for Christian?”
“I haven’t asked,” she admitted.
I heard a world of unspoken things in her words. “Are you scared too?”
Shara had lost the love of her life, and she was watching her best friend lose hers too. It wouldn’t be out of bounds to assume the idea of diving into something new would terrify her.
“He’s just so…infuriating.” She growled in frustration, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing again. “Seriously, he’s so hot and cold all the time. Sometimes he stares at me and I think he’s mentally undressing me. Other times, I’m pretty sure he’s skinning me alive.”
“Are you being annoying?” One thing that people didn’t know about Shara was she lived to irritate her men. She used to drive Antoni crazy, poking at him, doing everything she shouldn’t, until he finally snapped.
He’d grab her by the neck, haul her over his shoulder, and disappear out of the room. We wouldn’t see them for at least two days, and no one went into their wing of the house for fear of needing to bleach their eyes.
“Of course not. I’m a lady.” She huffed, and I rolled my eyes. Like I’d ever believe she was prim and proper.
“Maybe he’s just not used to sharing,” I suggested.
That made her tap her long nails on the counter in front of her. “That’s what Adrien said, but I’m not sure I believe it.”
“You think they’ve shared before you?”
“Better not have,” she snapped before taking a calming breath. It was the first hint of jealousy I’d noticed her show in a while, and it was nice to see her care enough about someone to bring that out again. “I don’t see why sharing would be an issue. If you really want someone, you do what it takes to get them. Even if it means sharing with your bestie.”
True, but… “The men in our world would not do well with sharing. They want what they want, and they’ll take out anyone in their way. You know this.”
“Yeah, I do. It still sucks, though. I wish he wanted me enough to try.”
The conversation was hitting closer to home than I expected. Cameron thought of me as an obstacle in his path to greatness, and all I wanted was for him to love me enough to try to be on my side again.
