AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We turned left into the city centre, and Mia indicated up the coast, speaking to me. “They own several properties here—the head office of the place I used to work, and a big Victorian home in West End which is that way. Vanissa’s house is beautiful, but we lived in an annexe in their garden. It was always cold as it had night storage heaters. I wish we’d moved a long time ago.”
I took her hand, not missing Ben noticing from the front passenger seat.
At a big, modern hotel, we pulled over. Mia took a shaky breath, and all of us climbed out of the car.
A man lurked in the hotel’s entryway. Tall, though not as tall as me, and with sandy hair, he took us in, focusing on Mia who had her back to him while she helped Tobi down. Then he tossed a cigarette and stormed away around the rear of the building.
Greg. Mr Shiny Orange Truck. Had to be. His nasty expression gave him away. If he’d expected them to come alone, he was as stupid as he was ugly. I linked gazes with my brother and indicated the direction Greg had gone. He inclined his head, clearly having noticed, too, then spoke in Jackson’s ear. Jax peeled away from the group as Mia faced forward.
“Ten minutes. In and out. We can do this,” she said under her breath. To her daughter, she said, “Ready to go say hi?”
Tobi produced a smile, but it was a small one. Together, we entered the hotel. The receptionist led us into a lift and to the second floor.
Through the glass doors of a conference room, I spied Scarlet plus a man and a woman one side of a wide polished table, and a group of people on the other. We reached the door, and I scoped out the strangers. A polished woman in her late forties had to be the mother, Vanissa Winchester. A twenty-something lookalike lad was her son, Simon, then, which confirmed it was Greg who’d haunted the place outside. I wondered if he’d show his face or if my and the team’s presence had scuppered his plans. Jax would report in when he found him.
I moved on, summing up the group. A team of four in suits were lawyers. I sneered at the clear intimidation attempt and placed a hand subtly on Mia’s back. “You’ve got this. We’re all here, and in a few minutes, we’ll be gone.”
She gazed straight forward, nodded, and entered the lion’s den.
At the door swinging open, all eyes trained on us filtering in.
Mrs Winchester stood, her focus shifting to the girl she’d called her stepdaughter. “At last. We’ve been waiting so long. October. I’ve missed you. Come here for a hug.”
Tobi hid behind her ma.
The Winchester woman’s forehead lined. “Don’t you remember me? It’s Vani. How about you give Simon a hug? Didn’t you miss your brother?”
Mia took a seat, and Tobi curled on her lap, ignoring the woman’s demands. I concealed a smile and leaned on the wall, watching the mother, who started talking about the shock of finding Mia and Tobi gone one day, then switching to eyeball the younger son. Dumb fucker had his attention squarely on Mia. Hedidn’t sneer like his older sibling but he needed to stop fucking staring.
I cleared my throat quietly. Simon stared at me. With a pinning glower, I raised a reproving eyebrow. I knew how I appeared. My size, how I probably weighed twice what he did.
Dude dropped his gaze to his lap. Yeah, like I thought.
Vanissa huffed at Mia. “Well, are you going to offer any explanation for your behaviour or just sit there?”
Scarlet’s male lawyer raised a hand. “This meeting will be short and with the solitary purpose of enabling the attending parties to see October in good health. As you can see, the child is hale and hearty.”
“The sole purpose? Am I not owed answers?” the mother snipped.
“I’m afraid that isn’t necessary to the proceedings,” the lawyer answered.
“I put her up. Fed and clothed her. She hasn’t said a word.” Vanissa twisted to her team, all leaning in to listen to her whisper.
In my earpiece, Jackson spoke. “Found our lurker. He’s waiting at his car, engine on.”
I scowled. Ben’s eyebrows drew in, too. He went to gesture to Raphael, but I held up a hand, pausing him.
“Excuse us for a moment.” Vanissa exited the room into a chamber to the side, her son and her lawyers going with her.
If for some reason she was stalling, I’d take the opportunity for an investigation.
Kneeling beside Mia, I whispered in her ear, “The other brother’s outside. Jax is monitoring him, but I want to check him out. All right if I step away for a minute? You’re both safe here.”
Her throat bobbed, but she inclined her head.
Badly, I wanted to hold her to me for a moment, to still her trembling, but I was here to do a job. I trusted Ben and Raphaelto watch over her, plus with Scarlet and all the legal folk, I knew she’d be okay.
The bigger threat was outside.
