Page 76 of Caged in Desire
After taking a moment to change into something appropriate for a hike, Sasha and I split away from our father and Henry.Our plan of action is for the two of us to explore the area where Tommy was found dead while they look into figuring out who was working with Ivan to find the loophole in our contract.
By the time I make it downstairs, mybrotheris already waiting for me with my gloves and scarf in his hands. “Henry threatened my balls if I let you get cold,” he says, handing over my cold-weather gear. “So if you don’t mind, please make sure you stay nice and toasty.”
An awkward silence hangs in the air for the first half mile of our hike, which is unusual for Sasha and me. It’s normally hard to get either of us to shut up when we’re together, but I don’t know what to say at this moment, and I’m sure he’s feeling the same.
“This is killing me, KitKat,” Sasha says, finally breaking the quiet. “I’m really so sorry I didn’t tell you, but I swear I’ve only known for a few weeks. Dad made meswearnot to say anything, and it was hardly something to talk about on the phone.”
“It’s fine. I’m not mad at you, Sasha. It’s actually pretty cool. You’ve always felt more like my brother anyway. Now I don’t have to pretend,” I say, throwing my arm around his waist. Smiling down at me, he wraps his arm around my shoulders as we walk farther into the woods. “It’s me who should be apologizing, though. I really am sorry for what happened to Tommy. Were you close?”
He shakes his head with a sigh. “No, not particularly. He worked for our family, but answered to me. I feel responsible for any of my men’s deaths.”
I freeze suddenly, making us both stop in our tracks, and whip my body around to face Sasha. “Your men? Since when do you havemen?”
His eyes scrunch together in confusion, and I can practically see him recounting his words in his mind. “Kat, what do you think our family does for a living?”
“Imports and exports? I don’t know everything we trade! Why should I even bother trying to keep up with all of that?”
He shakes his head slightly, fighting a grin, before throwing his arm around my shoulders. “That’s all you need to know, KitKat.”
Rolling my eyes, I let it go, allowing him to guide us farther down our path. With our conversation running smoothly again, the next half of the journey goes by much faster. Before we know it, we’re coming up on the area still taped off from when they found Tommy’s body.
There isn’t anything suspicious at first glance, nothing that would indicate a fight or violence. In fact, everything is peaceful with the songs of the winter birds combined with the sound of wind weaving through the pine trees, causing the wooden door on the greenhouse to open and shut with every gust.
“No sign of blood,” Sasha says, finishing his scan of the area. “No personal effects lying around that might tell us anything either, but maybe he left something in there.”
Sasha takes off for the greenhouse, and I follow. “Why is this even here?” he asks, looking around at the tropical plants thriving in the hothouse, safe from the wintery weather outside.
He’s looking at something that seems as if it came from an alien planet when I walk up beside him, elbowing him jokingly in the side. “There’s no reasoning behind the purchases of rich old men.”
After a good chuckle, we walk side by side through the space, looking for any signs Tommy could have left behind, to no avail. We’re about to leave when Sasha reaches for a fruit hanging from a tree in the corner.
“Stop!” I yell, swatting his hand away, “Aleksandr Taranov, youknowbetter than to touch any fruit you don’t know! Honestly, did the wholedon’t eat the berriesspeech not stick with you? That’s anextremelypoisonous plant. It’s calledCerbera odollam, but it’s often referred to as the suicide tree because the fruit…oh my God, that's it!”
I take off running back toward the house, desperate to tell Henry that I know which book was taken from my room. That particular volume of the estate's history focused on the vegetation planted around the property over the years. I first pulled it out when Henry and I were looking at the different maps over the land dispute because it listed the year the peach orchard was annexed.
Sasha chases me, eventually giving up on asking questions as I make the mile trek as quickly as I can. Thankfully, I’m in decent shape from years of endurance training and am able to reach the house in no time.
Both Henry and Ivan startle as I burst through the doors into the study. “I remember the book!”
“You couldn’t have told me that before we sprinted all the way here?” Sasha says, panting behind me.
Henry stands from his chair behind his desk and walks over to me, pulling me into a warm embrace. “You did such a good job, Kitten,” he whispers, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ears before raising his voice for the room to hear. “Can you tell us about this book?”
“Like I told you before, I knew it was from the archives pertaining to the history of this estate. I just didn’t know which volume it was.” I pause a minute as Henry leads me over to his desk chair and pulls me to sit on his lap. “As you know, Sasha and I were surveying the area for any clues from where Tommy’s body was found. There weren’t any, by the way. But during that search, we took a walk through the tropical greenhouse nearby. We didn’t find anything pertaining to Tommy, but Sasha did almost pick a very poisonous fruit from a tree in said greenhouse. I realized then that I had learned about it from abook about the history of the vegetation on the property. Our missing book!”
“Wait a minute,” Sasha says, sitting in front of the desk with his head propped in his hands. “You called it a suicide tree. What ifthat’swhat killed Tommy. We didn’t even look to see if there was any half-eaten fruit lying on the ground anywhere.”
“There’s no time like the present. We can all go back and look,” Henry says, helping me to my feet before standing himself and placing a kiss on the top of my head. “I’ll carry you if you want, Kitten.”
“I am quite capable of walking by myself, thank you.”
“Ugh, can you carry me?” Sasha says, slumped back in his chair.
Henry huffs a laugh, and I forget about the seriousness of the moment, imagining a future of happy family gatherings with Sasha trying to make my husband laugh. Before I can think any more about their potential for hijinks, Henry gently tugs me toward the door.Right.We still have a mystery to solve.
“Here,” Sasha says, leading everyone to the tree. “Although I don’t see anything left on the ground. That pretty much confirms he didn’t eat it by mistake.”
“You know, I can’t say I’ve ever actually been in here,” Henry says, walking up to get a closer look at the green fruits hanging from the branches. He reaches to pluck one, stopping before he touches it. “Katarina? Is it toxic to the touch or just ingested?”
