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A frowning Eagle drives me back to the estate. “I should come inside with you.”
“To what end? Will you join us for dinner? Battle against Larry? If you come with me, what do you expect to happen?”
“I was planning to bully you into packing up and coming home with me.”
Despite my bad mood, his honesty makes me smile. Eagle seems so blank at times. I sometimes mistake that stoic exterior for indifference. Meanwhile, on the inside, he’s always plotting to get his way.
At the front gate, I’m once again torn between the life I want with Eagle and the responsibility I feel to Fiona. Jimbo is gone, yet the danger here lingers.
“If anyone so much as looks at you wrong, you text me and I’ll come for you,” Eagle says when I’m forced to leave his side.
“Even if everything’s okay, I’ll message. I need to remember there’s a beautiful town outside this cold estate.”
Eagle wears a snarly expression when I exit. The security guard at the gate has me take a LSV to the mansion. He seems as irritated as Eagle. The doom in this place infects me until I’m terrified as I search for Fiona.
Inside the mansion, the maid only shrugs when I ask her for help. Todd’s new male assistant appears and waves me down a long hall toward Todd’s study where a piano plays. Inside the barely lit room, I discover Todd seated at the window with a blanket across his legs and a frown on his face. Olive knits in a corner loveseat. At the baby grand piano, Fiona sits with Gatsby at her feet.
I’m relieved to find Larry, Jimbo, and Ashley absent. The assistant stands nearby on his phone. I noticed a hired gun just outside the door.
Fiona flinches when I’m suddenly next to her. “Are you okay?”
“Father was telling me stories earlier. Did you know he ran with the bulls in Pamplona? Can you imagine such a thing?” she asks, laughing. “I’m afraid to leave my house, while my father fearlessly ran alongside those giant animals. I really do take after Zaja.”
I frown at her amusement before turning my gaze to Todd. The old man watches me with a dark glare. I can’t imagine Fiona enjoying his company. It probably helps that she can’t see the horrid pictures on his walls. Yet, he smokes his pipe, and I know the smell must disgust her. However, Fiona beams at me.
“I’m playing Sinatra,” Fiona explains. “Father enjoys those songs. Did you know he met Dean Martin once?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Fiona nods and starts playing her favorite song “My Way.” “He has many stories. It’s like listening to a TV show.”
When Todd glares at me, I’m unsure if he’s reacting to Fiona’s words or my presence.
I ignore his scowl and slide Fiona’s hair from her shoulders. She seems calm today. I think she assumes she’s safe from Larry as long as her father is nearby.
As Fiona’s delicate fingers fly across the keys, I admire the smile warming her face. I can’t believe this is the young woman I found hiding in the closet years ago. Moving to McMurdo Valley has been a blessing for us both.
Settling next to her, I try to imagine our future. Eagle wants to build a house in the woods like his club brothers did when they settled down. He swears he has the money for whatever we want. The house will have space for Fiona and Gatsby. He makes everything sound so simple.
Except Fiona’s never been good at adjusting to change. When we arrived in McMurdo Valley, she wouldn’t leave her suite. The bedroom was the smallest in the house but located on the main floor.
In Fiona’s mind, she would live in there. We ate meals in the tiny space. She dragged her cello in there, even if she kept tripping over it whenever she used the tiny adjoining bathroom. She simply refused to learn the rest of the floorplan.
Todd Rogers arrived at the house to find her eating dinner in bed. He was livid at her low-class choices. I explained how she was afraid to leave the suite. He called me an idiot and her a cripple. Fiona hadn’t cried. She was used to hearing worse from Zaja.
The next day, Todd sent an interior decorator and an architect to the guesthouse. They worked up plans, and he paid to redo the downstairs. For weeks, Fiona hid upstairs while the work was done. She became even more insistent on never leaving her space.
“I don’t need a whole house,” she explained in a panic. “I just need a bed and a toilet.”
Fiona can get so stubborn when she’s afraid. Yet, today, she plays the piano as if she’s known this home all her life. She’s well aware of her father’s reputation. However, she remains calm through several more songs before we endure an awkward dinner.
I had planned to spend my evening with Eagle. He wanted to get name ideas from his friends. I couldn’t wait to hear what they came up with for our baby girl.
Instead of a relaxing night with Eagle, I’m eating a meal with Fiona, Olive, and these terrible people. When a giddy Ashley throws a biscuit at Fiona, I nearly come out of my chair. Next to me, the tiny blonde keeps flinching like something will hit her again.
Before Ashley becomes too smug or I can react, Todd slams the head of his cane on the table.
“Enough,” he snarls like a rabid dog, sending spittle everywhere.
