Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot) Read Online Free Page A

looked harder, meaner, and far less trustworthy – or perhaps I had inherited some of my father’s prejudices toward the man. After all, while I had been friends with Evan for a long time, and determined in my insistence that my father couldn’t blame the son for his father’s sins, the man himself could definitely be blamed for his own sins.
    I had never spoken to Victor, though I had seen him with Evan at plenty of school functions. The man had never looked at me or acknowledged me before, which had always suited me just fine. And now, suddenly, he was in my face. Well, in David’s face. He still didn’t look at me or speak to me directly, but his posturing was clearly on my behalf.
    What, if anything, had Evan told him? And if Evan had mentioned something about the life debt or what he wanted from me, shouldn’t Victor have felt outraged at the thought of his son with a Scot? I took several nervous steps backwards, trying to force the world right side up again.
    David, for his part, didn’t seem to think challenging Victor was a good idea. As he left – without his coffee – he muttered something under his breath about, “Scots trying to have it both ways.”
    I’m not sure how long I stood there, frozen, but by the time I came back to myself, customers at six tables needed me. I spent the next few minutes running from one task to the next, barely able to catch my breath.
    When I did, I found Victor seated at one of my tables, patiently waiting for me to take his order. Nicolas sat across from him, shooting daggers at his father’s oldest rival. Victor looked entirely unperturbed, despite the fact that the glass of water in front of him was boiling and steaming.
    Questions flew through my mind for both Victor and Nicolas, but all I managed was a choked, “Hi,” without meeting Victor’s eyes.
    I turned to Nicolas. “Don’t you have to get to training?”
“Yes.”
    “Go on,” I said.
    He looked up at me, shaking his head as if coming out of a trance. “I still need to pay for the coffee.”
    “Fine.” I held out my hand, and Nicolas pulled the money-laden envelope out of his pocket.
    “Keep the change,” Nicolas said, pressing the envelope into my palm.
    I withdrew my hand, and the envelope fell to the table. “Coffee’s on the house. Just go.”
    “Cassie–”
    “Go!”
    Throwing one last, angry look at Victor, Nicolas left, grabbing the envelope on his way out.
    I didn’t feel the tension ease at all after my brother left. In fact, as I looked at my father’s arch-nemesis, I found myself wondering what he might do to keep me away from his son.
    “What can I get for you, Mr. Blackwood?”
    “What’s good?” he asked. “I’ve never eaten here before.”
    I hesitated for only a moment. “The blueberry pancakes. The blueberries are fresh this time of year.”
    “That sounds great.” He folded his menu and placed it behind the napkin holder. “I’d also like to talk to you.”
    Yeah, to tell me to stay away from his son. Although, a rational part of me said, that didn’t explain why he’d frightened off David McClellan on my behalf. Whatever it was, did I even want to know?
    “Hey, Miss,” one of my customers called from another table.
    “I don’t have the time,” I said. “We’re really busy.”
    It didn’t take much to prove how busy I was for the next half hour, but around nine thirty, the crowd began to thin, and at nine forty, Mrs. Meyers insisted I take a break.
    “I still have three tables,” I said.
    “Kaitlin can handle them.” Mrs. Meyers looked uneasy. “Besides, I’ve been told in no uncertain terms to let you have a few minutes to speak to Mr. Blackwood.”
    I bit my lip and turned to look at Victor, whose dark brown eyes were fixed unwaveringly on me. Quickly, I weighed my options. Victor wasn’t the sort of person you said no to, unless you had something to back it up. Once upon a time, that something had been my parents. Now, though I hated to think