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“Because I met her mother before. I sat next to her at a dinner.”
“At a dinner? That sounds hoity-toity.”
“We sat at a table and food was served,” I replied. “It was a fucking dinner. Because of that, now Aspen thinks I used her for access to her mother.”
“That’s bullshit.”
I stared at the ceiling, frustrated I had to explain all this to him. “I know that. You know that. Not Aspen.”
He sighed. “Her mother is shady, Luke. We have the evidence we need to arrest her. It’ll happen in the next few days.”
I was too angry to think clearly. The senator was being arrested. Great.
But I couldn’t focus on that. I felt tricked by Mark even though he’d been the one who was supposed to talk with Aspen at the bar, not me.
I’d pushed him away. Told him to fuck off. He’d given me the shot to get the info from her he wanted. As soon as he left, I forgot all about him and his stupid line of questioning until he texted me on the hike.
“Aspen has no part in whatever shady shit her mother’s up to.”
“She met her parents!”
“Because she went with me to an industry party, and they were there.”
I felt like Godzilla, ready to rip the city apart. I needed to tell Aspen the truth because what she was thinking was wrong. It didn’t matter though. I hurt her. After seeing how her parents treated her, I understood why she’d cut everything off with them. They weren’t fit to be parents. Who pointed out a ten year old mistake like a condom breaking in a conversation? Sure, it had led to a pregnancy, but what kind of reunion chit chat was that? And the fact that neither parent knew how cool Sierra was? Their fucking loss.
They didn’t like Aspen. In fact, they seemed downright disappointed in her. No wonder she had self-esteem issues. No wonder she looked like I crushed her. She trusted me and I fucked her over.
“Planned, you think?”
“What did I just tell you? We were there for me, and Aspen thinks it was planned. So them meeting up being planned? Fuck, no. She wouldn’t even be in California if not for me,” I replied, remembering how she reacted when she saw them. And how they responded to her, each in a different way. “It was totally random. If the producer wasn’t there, we’d have stayed in bed. Trust me, it would have been a lot more fun.”
“I don’t want to hear about all the sex you’re having. What about the Bergstroms?”
“They’re a piece of work. Worst parents ever. I’m talking total assholes. They don’t even know their granddaughter’s name.”
“They could be acting.”
I huffed. Why couldn’t he leave Aspen the fuck alone? “Not a chance. They pretty much took her off the family tree when she got pregnant by mistake. You can’t fake not knowing your nine-year old grandchild.”
“Duncan Pounder has reached out to Aspen multiple times recently.”
What the hell? “That loser? She dumped his ass two years ago.”
“He’s got an illegal arrangement with her mother that will put them both away for ten years, but I need to know if the daughter’s complicit.”
“Are you serious? Aspen told me he was with her for access to her mother and she dumped his ass. Trust me, she hates the guy. Now she hates me for the exact same reason.”
“Hate or not, they’re talking again.”
I scratched my head. “Who’s talking? Him or her?”
“Phone records say he’s contacted her.”
“Jesus Christ, Mark, it’s not because she’s working with them, it’s because he wants the engagement ring back. Or the financial equivalent.”
He was quiet for a moment. “She still has his ring? Huh. He’s desperate for any cash he can get his hands on. Anything he gets from Aspen will be dirty money. He uses it for the scheme he’s got going with Senator Bergstrom, Aspen’s guilty right along with them. There’ll be a financial trail linking her to it all.”
I froze. “WHAT?”
