Sutton

I still can't believe that tomorrow, I'm moving to Jason's for an unspecified amount of time while my dad "takes care of business" in Sicily. Is this real life? I'm still pissed off at Jason, still weirded out by the kiss, haven't talked to Nicolai again since the other day and I'm not sure I ever will again. Not that he'd want to after what I said to him on the way out the door. I'm still kicking myself for bringing up what happened with Jason as if it were enjoyable for me.

There's a knock at my door and I turn to see my dad right outside in the hallway.

"Hey Dad, come on in. I'm just packing up some stuff."

"Need any help?"

He looks so helpless, so regretful about everything, that I quickly think up something for him to do even though I've got it handled.

"Yeah, you could pack up that stack of books for me. There's a box there in the floor."

"No problem, Sutton. It's the least I can do for making you pack up and leave at the last minute like this."

We're working in silence for a few minutes when I finally speak. "Is everything okay? With the business, I mean."

He tilts his head back and forth and raises his eyebrows. "In this business, things can turn on a dime, Sutton. You know that. As of this moment, everything is okay. But if I didn't go to Sicily to take care of this, things could take a turn that we really don't want."

I can tell by the look he gives me that the business is in major trouble. And I bet it has something to do with that money in the offshore bank accounts. Because that's the only money I couldn't account for.

My heart seizes in my chest as I finally give voice to the worry I've been so scared to express. "Dad? Is this my fault?"

My dad's head snaps up immediately and he moves to my side, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "No, Sutton. No. This has nothing to do with you. The books you've kept for the club are immaculate." He grips my chin and turns my face to his. "Do you hear me?"

I nod. "Yes, I hear you. But you're not going to tell me what is wrong, are you?"

He shakes his head. "It's better if I don't. But what you can do to help me, and help the Ring, is to be safe while I'm gone. And I almost lost you again the other day. You can't blame me for wanting to be better safe than sorry, can you?"

I look down at my lap and fiddle with the strings on my pajama pants. "No. I can't."

"Okay then." He leans forward and kisses my forehead. "Now, Dominique will come over to Jason's every day just like she does here. But she's going to go home every night, since I promised her when she took this job that I'd never take her away from her family. I want to keep that promise."

Shit. I hadn't even thought of that. Nights alone with Jason in the house? Oh my God, how much more awkward can you get?

But before I can say anything, my dad keeps talking. "And I have to take Henry with me, so you won't have a driver. Jason will hold everything down at the club, and unless you want to go with him every single day—" I wrinkle my nose in disgust, and he nods. "I thought you might feel that way. So I had Dominique hire a driver for you. They'll serve as extra security as well when Dominique is at her home for the night."

"Wait, they'll be live-in security? Is Jason okay with that?"

Dad shrugs. "He doesn't really have much of a choice. It's what's best for you, and we owe you at least a driver to take you where you want to go and round-the-clock security. There are nights when Jason doesn't get home until really late, especially with me being gone."

"Why did you let Dominique do the hiring?"

"I figured she'd pick someone you'd at least get along with. I'd probably end up hiring some old guy who just stands outside the front door with a pistol all day and night and drives you to your appointments in silence. Not to mention, she'll be their boss, not me. Well, I'll be paying them, but they'll report to her."

"Oh, that's pretty cool. You gave her a raise for the extra responsibility, right?" My dad looks at me like I just asked the dumbest question. I take that to mean yes and file that away to ask Dom later. "Well, who did she hire?"

"I don't know, we'll meet them tomorrow. I trust her to make the right decision. She's never steered us wrong before."

If my dad has ever said anything right, it's that. Dominique has always done the right thing by me, no matter what. So I'm sure whoever she found to be her new employee will be a good fit for the job.

And not someone who will get on every one of my already fraying nerves.

The screeching of the tape gun startles me, and I jump, making my dad laugh. "Sorry, Sutton. But I'm finished with the box. Anything else you need?"

I shake my head. "No, I think that was it. I'll be ready to leave tomorrow."

We both stand and he pulls me into a hug. "I'll miss you," he says, kissing my forehead and squeezing me tightly.

"Me too, Dad. Call me whenever you can, and I'll do the same."

"Of course. And listen, Jason is probably going to be overprotective, but he's just—"

"Looking out for me, I know. I can deal with Jason."

I think.

"I know you can. And if you hate whoever the new driver ends up being, just talk to Dom like you always do. You two will figure it out."

Now that I know is true.

***

The next morning, I wake with the intention of getting ready for the day in true Sutton Banks fashion, complete with curls and makeup, but it doesn't happen. I just lay in bed staring at the ceiling for over an hour, wondering where my life took such wild turns. But I don't know why I'm surprised.

Before my mom left, she said some pretty nasty things. Mostly to my dad, but to me too. But there was one statement she made that for some reason, I just knew, deep down in my bones, that she was right about.

That as long as I stayed in this world, I'd never be able to truly make my own choices. That everything I do will be at the mercy of the Ring. Even if they let me think I have agency, I don't. Not really.

The way I feel about my mom is complicated. I hate her for leaving me here, for abandoning me and going off to live some other life somewhere and never speaking to me again.

But at the same time, I don't think I would have wanted to go with her. When I was in school, it seemed like all my friends had connections with their moms. They came to open house, show and tell day in kindergarten, went on field trips, watched cartoons with them on the couch...any number of things just to be with them.

My mom never did any of that. It was a chore just to come to a parent/teacher conference or take me shopping for school clothes. Either my nanny or my dad always did those things. Yeah, there were times my nanny went to my parent/teacher conferences because my dad was working and my mother couldn't be bothered to stand in for him. That's the kind of parent she was. Fucking embarrassing.

So while I hate that she left me, I wouldn't have wanted to live with anyone but my dad.

I guess when it comes down to it, I just wanted her to be better. I wanted a mother who was proud of me. Who loved me.

But as far as her feelings on the Ring?

Yeah. She was pretty fucking spot on.

"Sutton, are you up?"

Shit. "Yeah, Dad, hang on," I call, grabbing the closest articles of clothing I see and pulling them on. Moving to my new temporary home in running shorts and a hoodie was not what I had planned, but here we are.

I swing open the door while shoving my feet into my sneakers. "Hey, sorry, I overslept, but I'm all packed and ready," I say, gesturing at the boxes stacked neatly next to where he stands.

He nods. "All right, Henry and I will drive you over to Jason's on our way to the airport. Dominique is meeting us over there with the new guy she hired. She says you'll like him. Seemed pretty confident."

Him. God, I hope he isn't a dickhead. I can't handle another one of those in my life. "Oh yeah?" I wiggle my eyebrows at my dad as we make our way down the stairs, each with two boxes in hand and my backpack thrown over his shoulder. "I hope he's cute."

He shoots me a glare. "Don't even think about it, Sutton Marie. I don't want to come back to New York a grandpa."

I nearly choke on my own tongue. "Christ's sake, Dad! First of all, you didn't need to take it all the way there, and second of all, how long are you going to be gone?!"

He shakes his head, and his expression sobers. "Honestly, babygirl, I don't know. I hope not that long, but you just can't predict these kinds of things. I'm going to try to be back as soon as I can, okay?"

I nod, swallowing over the lump in my throat. "I know."

He hits the button for the elevator and we're quiet on the way down. Henry helps us load everything into the trunk and the twenty-minute ride to Jason's is peaceful, only the music coming from the radio to fill the silence. The traffic on the way to the other side of Manhattan is quiet for once, and I close my eyes and take deep breaths, reminding myself that it's just Jason. Even if he did kiss me and then royally piss me off...it's just Jason.

"We're here," Henry announces, and I wait for him to open my door, only because I know he'll fuss if I don't.

When I hop out of the car, I pull him into a hug. "Take care of my dad, please. Don't let him talk his way into some shit."

Henry chuckles. "You know I won't let him get into any major trouble." He squeezes me once and releases me. Nodding to my dad he says, "I'll be up with her things in a moment, just go on inside."

"All right, Hen," Dad replies, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Let's go, Sutton; I want to see this man Dominique has so much faith in."

"Me too," I say honestly as we enter Jason's building and Dad shows his credentials to enter the lobby. We step onto the elevator and press the button that reads penthouse.

With every floor, my heart rate speeds until I'm sure the organ is going to fly right out of my chest and onto the bustling street below. Moving in with Jason is nerve-wracking enough. Now I have to see who this new guy is.

My nerves are shot.

The elevator dings and when the doors slide open, it takes my brain far longer than it should to process what I'm looking at as my dad inhales sharply from beside me.

Jason, leaning against the wall in his living room looking absolutely livid, Dominique with her hands on her hips looking smug as fuck, and the man I thought I'd never see again after the other day, and I'm not so sure I wanted to.

Nicolai is standing in the middle of Jason's foyer, looking awfully comfortable.

Looking right at home.

"Hey, Sutton," he says, his voice melting over me like hot caramel.