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“Fine. I’ll bring her, Pops, but not one word about who her father is. Especially since Louie will be there.”
“What if she brings it up?” Francois asked.
“She won’t. Period. Now, is there anything else we need to discuss?” I asked, getting to my feet.
“You didn’t answer the question, brother. When will you be exchanging vows?”
“I’m not certain. Soon. Perhaps sooner than I originally planned.”
“Be mindful of Edmee. She deserves our full attention for her special event. I will not allow Thomas to ruin it for her,” Pops warned.
Thank God, she’d been a small child when the shit had gone down, although Edmee remembered him fondly. It was a conversation not allowed to be had in my father’s house, which is why she continued to grill me on what happened from time to time.
“Don’t worry, dear Father. I’ll attempt to keep from distressing our beautiful sister during her time of celebration.” I headed for the door, still furious that Francois hadn’t confided in me.
“Does your bride to be know who we are?” Francois asked almost too casually.
“She’s done her homework.”
“Has she agreed to this?”
“It’s not up to her.”
“So this isn’t about love.”
I laughed in his face. “This is about a deal made and nothing more, a business arrangement.”
“You say that now. Be careful, brother. Women have a way of taking control, refusing to let go. But I recommend you don’t fall in love with her. She will use that against you.”
He’d once found the love of his life much like I had, only he’d been burned by betrayal instead of death. It had been a hard lesson, turning him into a darker version of myself.
If that was possible. “Warning noted, brother.” He was right to warn me because he’d fallen deep and hard for the daughter of someone who’d not only come close to crushing a solid portion of our empire but had ripped out his heart with ease.
That wasn’t going to happen to me. In fact, once I had Raven in my possession, it would be much easier to shut down my feelings.
“Your brother is right, Arman. Be careful. We’re being watched. Falling in love with this woman isn’t in our best interest.” Father’s words rang loud and clear.
Tacenda.
It was a word I’d heard once from an old friend and former professor of mine, a man schooled in several disciplines including Latin. He’d heard the word in response to the agony I’d experienced after Sophia’s death. It was only later he’d explained that the kind of love I’d felt for her, the expression of love that had come easily should be silenced, best left unsaid.
That’s what I intended to do with Raven.
After all, she was nothing but a business arrangement.
* * *
The knock was more hesitant than I was used to, when I even knocked at all. However, I’d learned with my hardheaded daughter that she valued her privacy as much as I did mine, perhaps even more so. So I honored her wishes, respecting her closed door.
There was a single rule. No boys in the house.
Not that she would dare bring them home at this point. She’d already figured out I’d grill them after Maddox had gotten through with the poor kid, who by then would have regretted being eager to date my daughter at all.
Her music was loud as usual, but she was so much like her mother, a sixth sense about my presence. When she opened the door, I immediately noticed the small suitcase. It had taken me years for me to allow her to live like a normal kid, going to parties and having friends over. She’d begged me to go to a regular school, as she’d called it, instead of the private schools both here and abroad that I’d found that would suit her musical talent. That had provided her with the kind of friends that made me a nervous daddy constantly.
I’d been surprised that the parents of her friends had allowed them to come over, although at first I was certain it was out of curiosity, grilling the poor kids once they’d returned. Through my years of protectiveness, requiring either Maddox or another soldier to remain with her pretty much at all times, she’d turned out a normal kid.
How that happened, I’d never know, but it was my greatest achievement to date.
