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“That you are home. Back in New Orleans as head of your family where you belong. Also, a toast to your father. May he rest in peace. To Raphael.” Louis bowed his head. I had to acknowledge the gesture as much as it made my stomach turn. “And to our grandchild.” He grinned broadly at Seraphina. “The seasons of life continue to bring us blessings. We are anxious for that baby to arrive.”
“That’s a beautiful toast,” Margaret echoed. I wondered how Seraphina sat through these dinners. No wonder she wanted me to tag along.
“Don’t be too anxious,” Seraphina bit her lip. “I still have three months to go.” Her hand moved to the
swell of her belly. I didn’t know how to get her away from the family and back with Crew. Everything was riding on the birth of this child and it wasn’t even a Castille.
“Oh, I remember how sick I was when I was pregnant with Brandon,” Margaret chimed in. “You’ve been lucky.”
“You have no idea what I have to deal with,” Brandon grumbled.
I shot my brother-in-law a warning stare. I was in their domain, but I wasn’t going to tolerate his disrespect. Brandon’s eyes cut to his plate and the last bites of steak he had to eat. The bastard was in over his head in every aspect of his life. He just didn’t know it.
The longer the meal continued, the more the family prattled on about the upcoming baby shower, what Margaret thought they should do to the nursery, and Louis’s list of baby names.
My stomach clenched. There was nothing here. Not a twitch. Not a hair out of place. The only ones struggling to get through the evening were Seraphina and me. Brandon seemed bored and uninterested. He hadn’t bothered to acknowledge the toast. The Castilles did not seem likely suspects to have pulled off a major kidnapping today. Louis wouldn’t be able to hide the thrill of such a coup. This was a family dinner. Dull, plain, and as ordinary as any mafia dinner I’d attended.
I had to get out of this dining room and back to Kennedy at the cabin.
I leaned over to whisper to Seraphina. “I think you’ve got this. I need to get going. More important calls to follow up on.”
She nodded. “Will you call me?”
I didn’t think it was a good idea. “If I hear anything.”
Her eyes began to mist. I didn’t want her to fall apart now. She couldn’t. She had done her best for Crew tonight. “No matter what time it is,” she urged.
I squeezed her fingers and kissed her on the forehead. “No matter what time.” I stood to face the Castilles. “Louis and Margaret, thank you for letting me drop in like this. Unfortunately, I have some business to attend to tonight.” I dropped the linen napkin on the table.
“But Knight, it’s early. We’ll open another bottle of wine,” Margaret pleaded. “Stay. You should try the cheesecake. It’s the best in New Orleans, dear.”
“Thank you.” I took her hand, kissing the top of it. “I will come back another time. Maybe bring Mother. I know she misses seeing everyone.”
“That would be nice. She needs her family now more than ever. It must be so, so hard.I’d love to see her and talk. We are about to be grandmothers together.” I wondered how often Margaret lied to people. She was part of the old family regime. She had grown up watching her mother do the same thing. Tell the same stories.
I shook Louis’s hand and patted Brandon on the back. “Get some sleep, man,” I suggested. “I hear that gets harder with a baby.”
“Don’t scare him,” Seraphina teased. She had immediately snapped back to her beguiling self. Brandon perked up.
“Good night, all.” I made my way out of the private room and through the main dining room. The valet brought my car around and I checked my phone for messages. It was unnecessary, but I listened for voicemails just in case one of them didn’t pop up as a notice on my phone.
Of course, there was nothing from Kennedy. I sent a text to her just in case it would go through, but it seemed as pointless as the entire dinner. I’d left her alone, and for what?
My dinner with the Castilles had eaten up precious time. An errand to garner information about Crew had become more about family politics than the kidnapping. It was an error I wouldn’t repeat. I couldn’t afford to waste that kind of time again. I wouldn’t. Not when she needed me.
9
Kennedy
I woke up with a pounding headache and a shooting pain in my hand. I immediately looked for Crew. He was hurt too. I thought he had a broken rib. Then my stomach sank, and I remembered it was a dream. He wasn’t here in the cabin with me. Shit. It had felt real. I pushed up with good hand and moved my feet to the floor slowly. I couldn’t get my bearings. I couldn’t shake the conversation I had with Crew in the dream. I shook my wrist and wiggled my fingers, trying to get sensation back.
I took a deep breath of hot air. The damn radiator had started hissing again. I had no idea what time it was. I wanted to see Knight’s eyes. His grin. Hear his sexy voice say he was back with tons of food. My stomach rumbled at the suggestion of eating anything. I’d pay a hundred dollars for a croissant right now.
I closed my eyes reliving bits and pieces of the dream. I couldn’t put all the parts together. It was blurry and fading from my consciousness like a wafting fog drifting through the cabin. God, he had looked terrible in the dream. His five o’clock shadow was starting to show. The dark circles under his eyes made it seem like he hadn’t slept at all.
“Where are we? Who put us here?” I asked him, feeling the hysteria in my chest. I didn’t want Crew to see it or recognize it, but it was harder to push it down. We had been in the cabin for over a day at that point. “Why? Why the hell are we still here?” I ran my fingers through my hair. I was still wearing the silk suit from the office meeting with Knight. I felt dirty. Exhausted. It looked as if someone had dragged me through the mud. Even my knees were caked in dirt.
“Do you have any idea where we are or how long we’ve been here?” I pressed Crew. I wanted answers.
