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“Yes, you’re very lucky,” Bones said with a wink, causing my mother to laugh.
She pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, that felt good.”
“You should laugh more often,” Bones said gently.
Stanton entered the sitting room and stated, “There’s a phone call for you, Mrs. Spencer. A reporter from the Waco Sun is on the line. Should I tell them you’re unavailable?”
“No, Stanton.” Mom rose and lifted her chin. “I’ll handle it.”
Chapter 55
I sat up suddenly, my eyes flipping open in the darkness.
“Duchess?” came Bones’ sleepy voice. “You okay? You have a bad dream?”
I fumbled with the lamp on the nightstand until the light came on.
“Jesus, warn a guy,” Bones grumbled as he threw an arm over his eyes.
I jostled his shoulder until he was forced to look at me.
“What?”
“I don’t think Arnold’s death was a suicide,” I blurted out. When Bones didn’t say anything, I rushed on. “He was incommunicado for days. No one saw him or heard from him. And then suddenly, he’s found dead in a seedy motel room with a suicide note? My stepfather is rich. He would’ve licked his wounds at a five-star hotel. You only go to a motel off the highway if you don’t want to be found.”
Bones still hadn’t reacted.
“You think I’m crazy,” I accused. “You think I’m overreacting.”
His hand crept over to my leg and he gripped my thigh. “I don’t think you’re crazy or overreacting.”
“Then why aren’t you—Oh my God, you already had the same idea, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t going to give you something more to worry about. I’m looking into it.”
“What do you mean you’re looking into it?”
“I mean, the club has some connections we’re using to find out the whole picture. Because I agree. Your stepfather’s disappearance was because he was afraid. He said something to you in the board room, remember? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? They’re going to come after—And then I cut him off. I think whoever they were caught up with him.”
“Is my life still in danger?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, Duchess. But I’m taking all the precautions necessary. Why do you think I have my boys guarding your house? Why do you think I refuse to let you go anywhere without me?”
“My own private security,” I murmured. “What the hell did my stepfather get into?”
“I’m not sure yet. But we’ll find out.”
I let him pull me into his arms and I buried my head against his chest. A dark sense of foreboding settled in my body. I eventually fell back asleep, but my dreams were murky and unsettling.
The news of my stepfather’s death hit the tabloids. And while I was having breakfast with Bones, Oliver called to tell me the stock price of the company had plummeted. I had made a call to Spencer Pharmaceuticals’ general counsel a few days prior and had confirmed that I could legally buy back as many shares as I wanted. We’d expected the shares would tank. So upon hearing the news from Oliver, I picked up my phone and immediately contacted my private attorney, James, and instructed him to purchase all the shares that hit the market.
I set my phone aside and picked up my fork and dug into my omelet. When I was halfway finished, I looked up to find Bones watching me.
“What?”
