Page 30 of Deadly Passion

My decision has nothing to do with knowing what Torean almost did to her on our watch, right?

“Fine,” she huffs, returning to sit next to Bram. “I guess you’re stuck with me.”

And we are. For now, at least…

CHAPTER 19

SEB

Watching Ivy and Freddie’s altercation was like having a front-row seat at a high-speed tennis match with insults hurling back and forth. Neither of them are winners at the end of the rally, but I’m pleased she isn’t returning underground. Like Freddie, I’m furious at Torean for hurting her, and Callen for keeping more secrets. When will he learn that we’re a team who works together?

My phone rings, cutting through the frosty silence that hangs in the air. All eyes in the room swivel to face me.

“Well?” Callen asks after the third ring. “Are you going to get that?”

I check the screen and send my brother straight to voicemail. “Ralph can wait.”

My phone rings again instantly. Can’t he take a fucking hint? Now’s not a good time for an invitation to afternoon tea or to go Rolex shopping. I reject the call.

“It could be important,” Callen says. “Maybe the country needs you.”

“Shut up,” I snap. “Unless you want another fight.”

Next, my mother rings.

Freddie’s eyebrows lower in frustration. “Take it,” he orders.

Ivy watches with bemusement from Bram’s bedside.

I answer it, “I can’t talk now. I’m—”

My mother’s shrill cry explodes down the line, and I hold the phone at arm’s length. It’s no wonder my father has a hearing aid. Although, on second thoughts, being able to take it out could be a blessing in disguise.

“We’ve been trying to get hold of you, Sebastian!” she exclaims. “This is an emergency!”

I take her words with a pinch of salt. The last emergency she called me about was a missing flower delivery, and the one before that involved a delivery mix-up with her book club’s catering order. She acts like any minor inconvenience is the impending apocalypse.

“I’m in a meeting,” I murmur under my breath. “I’ll call you back later.”

“Call the meeting off!” she declares. “Where are you? I’ll get Ralph to send a car to fetch you immediately.”

“Actually, I’m in…” Where the hell are we? I settle on the least suspicious answer. “Edinburgh.”

“Edinburgh?” Her screech rattles through me. “What are you doing there at a time like this?”

“London isn’t the only city I do business in,” I say, hoping I don’t set her off on a long-winded rant. Mum thinks she’s good at many things, but her biggest talent is pretending she’s the best at everything.

“Fine!” She sighs dramatically, like an actor from a Shakespearean play in a scene where everyone dies. “I didn’t want you to hear the news over the phone, but I have to tell you before you hear it from someone else. The papers are running the story tomorrow.”

“What scandal is it this time?” I ask. “Have they caught the prince with another hooker?”

“She was a high-class escort,” she corrects, jumping to his defence like always. Thanks to a sizable pay-out, the media never published any of the incriminating shots. God save the future King, right? “But this… this is a tragedy!”

I hear Ralph speaking in the background. Whenever there’s a crisis, he runs home like a doting lapdog.

“Are you going to tell me what it is, or not?”

“Oh, Sebastian! It’s simply awful,” she says. “Maybe it’s best you are out of town right now.” She sniffs loudly. “I’ll let your brother break the news.”

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