Chapter 44 Playing A Game Of Cat And Mouse

Should I feel bad because I asked, okay, perhaps ask is too subtle for what I did, but the question is, should I feel regret that I chased her out of a home that should be hers. Well, ask me that in the morning, perhaps I will, perhaps I won't. I am fairly leaning towards won t at this stage. One thing that Christian Caine does well, is hold a grudge, and I hold it for long. Yes, she is the woman that I love, but in the same breath, she is the woman that lied to me.
We have had, at the beginning of our relationship, kept our secrets from one another, but I can, in all honesty, say that this does not even compare to any of those. It would have sat far better with me if she told me then; I could have been mad but grateful. Now, now I am angry and furious. Now, as for my mom, yes, I am somewhat upset with her too, but I do understand that running away from my father is what she felt she should do. I just wish that she never involved Cassandra.
And it is my mom that is standing in front of me right now with concern written clearly over a face that has had way too many tears rolling from it tonight.
"Christian, please phone Cassandra and tell her you overreacted."
"Mom, that is the thing, I don t think that I did. It was wrong of you to ask her to lie, and it is even worse for her to have kept it from me. If I distinctly remember, we promised one another never to lie to the other again. And she went exactly against that."
"You know she meant well; I put her in a position that I should not have, for I know one of these boys would have come to tell you. She did it for me, please just talk to her. Where is she even going to go?"
"Mom, she has friends that will take her in, so do not worry about that. What we need to worry about now is arranging dad s funeral."
With the mention of the very thing, it comes crashing hard against my chest again. I have lost a father, and it was by the hand of the father of the woman that has just lied to me so easily. Is this a thing that goes in the Cummings family? They simply just do not care for anyone other than themselves. Well, perhaps truly not Cassandra; she does not really find herself of the same character as her father.
And talking about characters is Mason, that is now very casually hanging around my sister as if he takes it is fine with me. But as I want to head towards him, my mother pulls me back.
"Leave them. Lucy deserves to be happy, and if it is Mason that makes her happy, then so be it. If you are not going to take my advice with Cassandra, you damn well will take my advice with them."
"But mom, you guys lied to me there as well. What is it with lying to Christian? Can I not be trusted with information that affects me just as much?"
"We know you will overreact like you are doing now. Your first act, and then you ask questions. You always blow up before you understand."
"You know what mom, I need to get out of here before I blow up again."
I look over to Mason, that is now standing with his goddamn arm around Lucy; I do not care for what my mom said. I walk up to him and drag him by the collar.
"Come, we are going to the club."
"Which club?"
"Well, I don t know, which club do I own?"
He only but gives me a nervous laugh as he pulls away from Lucy. We grab Jax and Damian on the way out. I have not been at the club since we were looking for my, god just doesn t say it, when we were looking for Cassandra. I have since then bought it for Cassandra like I said I would, but we have been so busy with this war that I have not had the minute to sit her down. Well, guess what, I own a strip club now.
And it is this very club that we are head; for now, I fully intend not to be able to walk out there tonight. I have practically lost all interest right now to behave as a Mafia boss should, and technically I have a broken heart for losing my father and Cassandra. Well, not completely because I threw her out, which by the way, I am still not regretting yet.
So it takes us about less than half an hour to make the drive there, yes the boys refuse to drive with me when I am crazy mad, but they pretty much do not have a choice.
As we finally find ourselves stopping in front of the club, there is a slight sting in my heart. Memories are just a bitch. But guess what, so is karma. And with this in mind, we descend the stairs into the club. There is a very somewhat nervous Mike that is standing in his spot at the door.
"Mike, what s up? You look a bit stressed. Has there been any trouble at the club?"
"No, boss, just a bit busy. And the girls are a bit tight under pressure. Tammy has left, so we are one girl down."
"Then get a new girl; I will come to see her before she starts."
"We have," he swallows his words and rather moves uncomfortably around. "Yes, boss, I will."
Then as we find our regular table, there is that damn sting again as I see the shower on the stage. There is a flood of emotions that run back; that is where I fell in love with Cassandra. But guess what, as I look at it now, that is where I am falling out of love with her.
Just as I am about to speak to Damian, the lights dim. The very familiar music starts blaring through the speakers. For just one second, my heart comes to a jerk, and everything is standing still.
…Cassandra POV…
Mike has just come into the dressing room to tell me that Christian has just walked in. Now I seriously thought that he would never come here. This only means that he is still furious at me, so the hope that he will forgive me soon has just gone out of the door.
Now the very problem is, I can hide in the dressing room until he is gone, which I do not think is going to be any time soon. The thing is, I have to be on stage in less than five minutes; now, that is just not going to happen.
So we told the guy that is in charge of the girls now that I have serious pain; well, he immediately thought that it has to be a woman thing, and he is now shoving Jessie on the stage. Now, if I thought I was lucky and could stay clear of the floor, he has a big surprise for me,
"It does not stop you from talking to the guys, so once Jess is done, you better get your ass out there."
"But Josh."
"No buts Cassie, if Christian sees we are slacking, then there is hell to pay. Lucky for you, he does not come here."
"Mmm, that is kind of not true; I heard he just walked into the club."
With that, Josh goes in a flat spin and leaves out the door, but before he does, he turns back to me again, "You better be out there when Jessie is done."
And then he is gone; I start scratching around in another girl s locker that I know wears a wig when she goes out on the floor. Much to my relief and utter disgust, for I do not like being a blonde, I find one that I am trying to put on with the utmost perfect precision.
Now I sit and wait.
Next, I see Jessie come through the back door and look oddly at me.
"Is that you, Cassie?"
"Yes, is it working?"
"Well, what are you trying to do?"
"Josh does not want me to stay in here; there is no way that I am letting that asshole see that I am here."
"You do know that Josh is going to make you do a show; you are the best girl."
"Well, hopefully, he will be so drunk by then that he does not even notice."
She only but laughs at me and tries to pull the damn thing that I have made sure is pretty much secure from my head.
"Well, do you know what, Cassie?"
"No, please do tell me?"
"The boys are going to notice you. What are you going to do? Ask them to lie?"
"Stop being so clever and give me some of your clothes to wear. He is going to know it is me when I wear this."
She tosses a dress that is so bright that it could possibly blind me; there is no way that he would think that I would wear something like this. Now the trick is not to let his table call me.
…Christian POV…
For a brief second, I thought that it was going to be Cassandra that is coming onto the stage. I don t know if I was relieved or disappointed when I saw it was Jessie. Guess these whiskeys are going down far too quickly, and my judgment is become disturbed.
So I pull Mason closer, still very much pissed off at him, I very loudly order him, "Do not let me touch my phone if I get too pissed. If I take my phone tomorrow morning and I see that I phone Cassandra, then you are even more dead than you were before."
With only but a nod, he takes my phone away from me and puts it in his pocket, knowing full well that if I want it, I will take it with force.
Just as my mind wanders off to Cassandra again, I see the girls are starting to come out of the dressing room. There is a brief hint of vanilla and jasmine coming through the air. As I look up, I can see a rather attractive blonde who is clearly wearing the same perfume as Cassandra. Just as the boys are about to call her over, I stop them.
"No, don t even think of it; her dress is so damn bright, it hurts my eyes."
But they are practically begging, yes the girl has a goddamn body on her, but do I really want a woman that smells like Cassandra so close to me?
Before I know what can possibly come over me, I lift my hand and call her closer with only but one finger.