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Chapter 80
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His Wicked Games series Chapter 81
- LILY -I don't know whether to be pissed at or worried about Calder.Not because he needs to be here, but let's be honest - he was the one who insisted on taking the whole week off, and he is the one who tells me time and again that he refuses to let his work come before his family. Yet there he goes, rushing back to the office after only a day. And then staying much later than he said he would. It's a little infuriating.When it comes down to it, though my worry wins out over my annoyance. Both Calder and I are trying hard to balance careers we love with our home life, but Calder takes it a step further. I've seen it in his eyes - the fear, the determination. He's afraid that this - me, his sister, his family - could slip away from him again at any moment, and I know he'd quit his job before he allowed anything to jeopardize it. If he had to race back to work, it was because something serious happened, and I don't want him dealing with that sort of stress this week. I want him to
His Wicked Games series Chapter 82
- CALDER -I deserved that.I deserved it, and yet if I could go back, I still wouldn't reveal a thing to her. There's no reason Lily needs to worry about some stranger claiming to be my half-brother, not during our wedding week. And not until I confirm that he is, in fact, my father's son.Which, at this point, I still highly doubt.I spent the entire car ride from my office to the estate revisiting what the man told me.I'm Taran Harker, he'd said. My mother was Patricia Harker.First of all, what the hell kind of name is Taran? Secondly, he'd said Patricia Harker like I was supposed to know who that was, like I should have been aware of every woman with whom my father had some casual acquaintance.If my father had been acquainted with Patricia Harker at all, which is still in question.According to Mr. Harker, Patricia Harker met Wentworth Cunningham while he was in London. He was there to acquire some pieces for one of his many collections, and she was working as the repres
His Wicked Games series Chapter 83
- CALDER -I wasn't lying when I said I had work to do. But though I initially locked myself in my room with every intention of losing myself in my accounts, I should have known it would be a lost cause. No matter what I do, I can't get this whole Taran Harker business out of my mind.I tell myself that I'll have more information in a couple of days, once Joe Osborne has had the time to do his research. But I'm not sure I can wait that long. And I'm not content to just sit around doing nothing.Which is why, not half an hour after Lily and Louisa leave to get the dress, I borrow my sister's car and take off on my own errand. I'm now at the public storage locker where I left boxes and boxes of my father's effects in the months directly following his death - those things I couldn't sell and didn't want to deal with. I spent months going through his financial statements after he died, but I largely ignored his other papers and keepsakes. I didn't want to dive too deeply into his memori
His Wicked Games series Chapter 84
- LILY -I don't look back. I stride down the steps and out the door without even a glance over my shoulder to see if he follows.He doesn't.Only when I'm outside do I break into a run. My feet crunch over the gravel paths through the gardens. The cool night air whips at my face. I'm sure there are garden lamps out here somewhere, but no one bothered to turn them on tonight. My only light is that of the moon, but it's enough to get me across the grounds to the hedge maze.I pause next to the dark, high walls of the maze. The hedges rustle in the breeze, but otherwise there's no sound. No footsteps behind me. No one calling my name, asking me to come back to the house and talk things out like two rational adults.I'm not sure when I started crying, but there are tears on my cheeks. Am I overreacting? Completely misreading Calder? I remind myself of Lou's words: People deal with that stress in different ways. But it's not wedding stress that's bothering Calder. I know it isn't. Wha
His Wicked Games series Chapter 85
- CALDER -I wake to a headache that threatens to rip my entire damn skull apart.I groan and sit up. My arm hits something - a bottle. It slides away from me - across the table? Desk? Where the hell am I? - and falls to the floor. I curse at my clumsiness, but as the grogginess leaves me, I'm relieved to find that the bottle is empty. I bend over and grab it up off the rug, then rub my face as I sit up again.I'm at a desk in what was once my old office. I'm sure this room was used as a bedroom during the house's brief stint as Huntington Manor, but it looks as if Louisa has started to put things right again. This desk really should be on the other side of the room, though. And they need some curtains on those blasted windows. The paint on the walls is a little too light for my tastes, but I know my opinions about this room don't matter much anymore.Still, this room serves its purpose. It's a place to think.For all the long hours at my job, it's been a while since I fell asleep
His Wicked Games series Chapter 86
- LILY -Lou turns bright red when I finally meet her downstairs."I'm so sorry," she says. "I knocked, I swear. I thought maybe you'd overslept or something.""It's all right," I assure her."Not if I scarred Calder for life."I smile at her astute analysis of her brother. He might not be opposed to feeling me up under a boat with reporters all around or playing a sexy game in the bathroom of a roadside sex shop, but he's still trying to figure out this whole family thing, and having his sister catch him in the act doesn't make that any easier.Lou, at least, for all her blushing, seems to see the humor in it."I saved you some bacon, if you're hungry," she says with a little laugh. "I imagine you are.""I'll be fine. We're already late." I smile and indicate the door, and we head outside together.Now that Lou knows I'm not angry, and that things aren't going to be awkward between us, she's right back to her usual self."In my defense," she says as we walk around the house
His Wicked Games series Chapter 87
- CALDER -Joe Osborne is useless.For as much as he charges for his investigations, I expected better. So far he has only managed to confirm things anyone might have discovered with a thorough internet search: that Patricia Harker is a real person and that she has a son named Taran of about my age. Or at least she did. Apparently she died two months ago.Taran Harker, he tells me, lives up in Cincinnati, and he worked as an insurance broker up until last fall, when he was fired for unspecified reasons. He's done nothing remarkable since then. As far as Joe has been able to trace, Taran has been down here for a week, and up until two nights ago, he had a room at a large chain hotel near my office. That fact isn't particularly surprising to me, but it's still unsettling. What worries me more, though, is that Joe can't seem to discover where Mr. Harker is currently staying. He learned of Mr. Harker's stay at the hotel after the man had already checked out; he had no chance to follow h
His Wicked Games series Chapter 88
- LILY -"I'll do the dishes," I say when dinner is over.Lou starts to protest, but I cut her off."You cooked," I tell her. "That means you're off duty for the rest of the night.""No way. This is your wedding weekend. You have enough to deal with without having to worry about dishes.""Ladies," Ward says, rising. "Both of you can relax. I've got the dishes."But Calder rises just a moment after him. "And you two have done enough for us already, letting us have our wedding here. Lily and I can manage to clean up."There's something about his tone - polite and generous though it seems on the surface - that ends the conversation immediately. I'm glad to win the argument, but I'm worried by the edge in Calder's voice. I didn't miss the words he used - that subtle reference to the fact that they're letting us have our wedding here. It's the first time I've heard even a hint of bitterness from Calder about the situation, but he's been acting strange for most of the evening. Ever si
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