She’d once thought herself fairly adept at languages. She had nothing on an Irin scribe.
“Do I need to remind you that I don’t work for you?” Luis was starting to get pissy. “I work for your father. And his interests—”
“Are your only interests. I get it. I’m not asking for much. I just want to know where he is because I need to ask him a question.”
“Is it something I can help you with?”
She clenched her fist so hard her fingernails dug into her palm. “Is there a reason why you’re blocking me from him?”
“I’m not blocking you. Who said I was blocking you? Don’t you have his mobile number?”
“He’s not answering it.”
“What about e-mail?”
“Not answering those, either.”
Luis was silent. Her father’s manager wasn’t usually this big an asshole. He was an ass—he worked in the music industry, after all—but it wasn’t usually this bad. Which meant something was going on with her dad.
She still had a hard time thinking of Jasper that way, but when she learned the news as a teenager, she hadn’t been all that shocked, either. He’d been a part of her life since she was a kid. She just didn’t realize he was her father. Jasper and her mother had remained close, despite their past relationship. In fact, Ava had always suspected that Jasper still held a torch for Lena. She was one of the few constants in his life.
The other was Luis.
“Luis…” She rubbed her eyes. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing is going on. Your dad is in the middle of a tour, and you know how stressed he gets about that.”
“Bullshit. He loves performing. The bigger the venue, the better.”
“It’s tiring, Ava. I imagine he’s exhausted.”
“You imagine nothing with him,” she bit out, her patience at an end. “You are in his business every single day. That’s why you have very nice houses in LA and Maui. So you know where he is. You know why he’s avoiding me. And you know what he’s been doing.”
Luis said nothing, because there was nothing to say. Ava had paced over close to Malachi, and he put out a hand, absently hooking a finger in her waistband and running his thumb across her skin. The small contact soothed her, and she took a deep breath.
“Ava—”
“Is he using again, Luis?”
“You know he—”
“Dumb question. He’s always using. Is he crashing?”
Luis was silent again. Ava took another deep breath and sat down on the couch. Malachi reached out and took her hand. She clutched it and could think again.
“Okay, I’m taking that silence as a yes. Where is he?”
“I can’t tell you that, honey.”
Luis only called her honey when he’d taken off his manager hat. Just like her and Jasper, she and Luis were still figuring out the boundaries of their relationship. He was her father’s right hand, but according to Lena, Luis had been the one to discourage Jasper from having a relationship with Ava when she was a child. For her sake or for Jasper’s? It could be argued either way.
The man had no life outside her father’s career. And Jasper would say he’d be useless without Luis herding him. He respected Ava. Respected her role in Jasper’s life. But her father was still the man’s first priority, and nothing she said would budge that.
“Has he hurt anyone?” Her voice was rough. She wished she didn’t care so much, but she did. She’d always loved him. Even before she knew he was her dad. It was like her mother always said—There was just something about Jasper.
“Has he hurt himself?”
“No. Nothing like that. Just… a little worse than normal. He’ll be fine.”
“I need to talk to him.”
“Not the best thing right now, Ava.”
“It’s important. It’s about…” She racked her brain. “It’s a health thing. I have some questions about family stuff on that side.”
Luis paused. “He’s not going to be able to give you much. You know that, Ava. Besides, your father’s healthy as a horse.”
“Other than the drugs?”
“Despite them.” Luis’s voice dropped. “Listen, I don’t know what deal he made with what devil, but the man has never been sick a day in his life, other than the shit he ingests himself. I’ve seen guys do… a tenth of the shit he’s done and ruin their bodies. What’s going on with your health? Lena said you were staying in Turkey with friends the last time I talked to her. Are you sick?”
Malachi must have heard the question. She kept forgetting that his talesm gave him enhanced senses when he activated them. No doubt he’d been listening the whole time.
He frowned and shook his head.
Luis hadn’t earned their trust.
Ava decided to go with attitude because being reasonable wasn’t working. “Like I’m going to tell you what’s going on with my health when you’re not even willing to tell me where my own father is.”
“Don’t be like this, Ava. If he hears that you’re sick—”
“He’ll be pissed. We both know it. So why are you keeping me from him?”
More silence.
“He’s going to hear one way or another, Luis. And I don’t think you want to be the one standing between him and his only kid. Do I need to call my mom?”