Page 83 of Connor's Claim
Riordan stared. “Is that…?”
“This is the cam girls’ floor. She’s going solo by the sounds of it. Ye get used to the noises.”
He dropped his head back, pink on his cheeks under his dark stubble. “You sleep surrounded by people having sex, Cassandra?”
I made an off noise. “Guess again.”
“Cass… I’ve got nothing.”
“Cassiopeia.”
“Surname?” he asked.
“Archer.”
“Well, Cassiopeia Archer, isn’t that weird?”
I liked too much how my name sounded on his lips. “The sex everywhere? I thought most of the men in the city came here for that.”
He curled his lip. “Not me. I’m here because of chasing after you, but also I needed to talk to my sister. It’s been a shitty day.”
“Hence the comment about people throwing ye under a bus. What happened?”
He chuffed. “A trauma dump wasn’t my plan for the evening.”
“I’m a good listener. Or we can trade tales, if that’ll make ye feel better?”
His forehead lined as if he couldn’t see how I had anything comparable to share. Boy didn’t know what was coming.
I counted a few fun points off on my fingers. “I was in foster care until the age of six then kidnapped. I don’t know my actual birthday and never will as my mother concealed the birth and then died without me being able to find her to ask.” I cocked my head. “Food for stories, as ye called it, or a straight-up swap.”
“Jesus. Is that true?”
“I don’t lie.” Well, I did, but I wasn’t right now.
“Fine, then apparently I owe you. I got fired this afternoon, right before I walked out and saw you on the street. The boss is hard-line anti-gang, and rumours reached him about me. I’ve had that job since I was eighteen and used it to pay our bills and save up for Gen to go to university. Then our father stole the money—” He stopped. “Her father, I mean. Which brings me onto the second part of why today can just do one.”
“Did ye have a run-in with him?”
“Putting it lightly. But I don’t want this to get back to Gen.”
I put my hand to my heart. “I’ll take it to the grave.”
Riordan’s gaze lingered on me, then he dragged it away. “Why should I trust you?”
“You’re here and already talking. Might as well get it out.”
He stalled.
Desperation built in me. I spoke in a rush. “My father was a tyrant. He funded a trafficking ring. Whatever your non-father did, it can’t be worse than that.”
“A trafficking ring? Christ.” He breathed out incredulity. “No, it isn’t as bad as that, but he was drunk and throwing his weight around. He’s fucking delighted with Gen scoring a rich boyfriend, as he framed it, and said to me that I was a waste of space. After supporting him for years. I lost it and told him I knew he wasn’t my father. Want to guess what he did?”
I wanted to hug him. I’d cleared the bed of the food trays and packed it all back into the bag, and the wooden board was slid away. It would be nothing to reach out my arms.
Except I was already obsessed with this man and had no off switch for handling it. I couldn’t be sure what I’d do next.
“Did he hurt ye?”