She sucks in a sharp breath, but before she can retaliate, Christopher’s shoving her out of the way. “Lynley, please. You don’t want to do this. We can’t just throw away ten years over a few mistakes.”
“Fucking my sister was a mistake?”
“Yes, of course. I…” He lets his eyes fall shut, looking tortured. “I made a mistake once, and after that, she kept threatening me.”
“Held a gun to your head, hm?” An amused smile tugs at my mouth.
He shakes his head. “She was blackmailing me.”
Not one to let anyone throw her under the bus, Caroline scoffs. “He wasn’t just fucking me.” She gives me a victorious smile. “Geoff was demoted over a year ago. Your husband has been footing the bill since, haven’t you, baby?” Christopher’s face is filled with guilt, even as he sends her a glare.
“Oh.” I tut my tongue, aiming for a sympathetic sound. “I guess losing your job is going to impact that.”
He loses what little color he has in his cheeks. “You know about that? How?”
“It just shows how much you aren’t thinking, Lynley,”Caroline asserts. “If you divorce him, how are you going to support yourself and kids? You might actually have to get a job.”
“I’m okay with that, considering it was never really my call to stay at home.” Christopher flinches, but I’m still looking at Caroline. “You might need to get a job, too, hm? Without my husband to fund your lifestyle.”
“His family will help. Won’t they, Christopher?” she asks sharply. “Once we tell them the truth about our relationship.” She presses her fingers to his arm, but he flinches and yanks it away from her.
I cock my head to the side, staring at him. “Yeah, baby. Your family will help you, won’t they?”
His lips flatten into a thin line, a shadow crossing his eyes, both of us fully aware of something that Caroline isn’t privy to. He has no access to the family money. Not with his mother guarding it with more ferocity than a fire-breathing dragon. If there’s one thing Francine won’t risk, it’s wealth and the status it gives her.
Christopher learned a lot from her, and he’s been trying to stash away whatever he can. Money from his income and the remains of his trust, siphoning it into offshore accounts. My PI, along with Grafton’s tech guy, ferreted out every little detail. They handed over a fully itemized account to Ian in the divorce petition.
“Don’t do this, Lynley.” His voice is stern, but he can’t hide the edge of a plea in there. “Don’t destroy our lives because I made a mistake.”
“Mistake,” I repeat, furrowing my brow. “There’s that word again. Is it just one mistake, though, when you do it over and over again? I know you’re not going to tell me that the woman from your office fell over and her mouth just happened to land on your dick, right? I mean…I guess that would explain how her makeup ended up next to your zipper when you showed up at the hospital for Ginny.” He doesn’t say anything, his eyes flaring with panic. “What about all the money you spent on hotels so you could meet your ‘friend’?” I finger-quote the word. “Or the cameras you very intentionally installed in your office, giving us all a documented account of just how many times you made thismistake.”
“Cameras,” he says stiffly. “You know…”
I let out a bitter laugh, the anger finally leaking all the way through. “I saw everything,” I hiss, before promising, “And now, you’re gonna wish you never married me.”
I give them both one last disgusted look before turning and striding from the room.
Chapter 16
Grafton
Something hot and urgent crawls through my chest as I get off the phone with Lynley, urging me to turn the car around. I want to protect her, shield her from the fallout caused by every one of her shitty husband’s choices, but I respect her enough to know my interference isn’t what she wants or needs.
Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.
The leather of the steering wheel creaks as my grip tightens around it, a feeling of helplessness coursing through me—an emotion I’ve never handled well, especially knowing there’s absolutely nothing I can do to fix or manage the situation.
I flick a dark glance at my silent phone, aware that not enough time has passed for her to be calling me back, but unable to stop the constant surge of worry. She is walking into an unknown situation with a man who lost his entire life earlier today.
Christopher might be unpredictable, but Lynley is strong, and she deserves this chance to show her weak-ass husband that.
Ex-husband.
The rest of the drive passes quickly, but the disquiet hasn’t eased by the time I nose my car into my designated space in the underground parking lot of the luxury condominium.
I step into the elevator, pressing the button for the penthouse. When the doors slide open on my floor, I’m greeted with the sight of my brother leaning against the wall, his dark glare already pinned on me. His suit is rumpled, several days of stubble covering his jaw, and as I get closer, it’s easy to see the redness coating the whites of his eyes.
“Thatcher,” I greet, palming my keys and unlocking the door. He follows me inside, watching as I loosen my tie, undoing the first three buttons of my shirt, sighing in relief when it no longer feels like the fabric is choking me.
