"Stop trying to run away from me, Parker. You're my wife. You owe me some consideration."
I didn't owe him anything, but I was wise enough to keep my mouth shut. Something occurred to me. He'd said consideration. Maybe he didn't mean emotional consideration. Maybe he meant the legal kind.
"How much?" I asked, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. I knew well enough, Tyler Kingsley did not like mouthy women.
"You don't have enough to buy me off." He sidled closer.
"Try me," I countered. He was right. I didn't have enough to pay my own car insurance, much less buy off a man used to flying in private jets, but it was worth asking.
Tyler's smug grin spread across his face. "It's too late for that. You think this is about money? If I wanted money, I could have charged Nash for access to that sweet pussy of yours and saved myself a lot of trouble."
"You're disgusting," I spat out, unable to hold back my revulsion. How had I been married to this man for six years?
"You want to know what I want?" Tyler waited for my sharp nod. "I want you to come home with me and convince Claudia that all is forgiven. Then, after everything is back to normal, I think we should have a baby."
"What?" I couldn't help it. My jaw hung open in shock. "Are you insane?"
Tyler didn't react, just cocked his head to the side and watched me with a predator's eyes. He was playing with me. He knew this had all gone too far for that. He knew I wasn't going to lie to Claudia or allow him to touch me, much less get me pregnant.
Was he waiting for me to make a mistake? Maybe he was recording this, trying to get evidence he could use against me. I wouldn't put it past him. I wouldn't put anything past him. That was the problem.
Fighting the urge to glance between my phone and the door, I tried to figure out what to do next. Nash and Griffen had been right. I should never have come to the cottage today. A flick of my eyes at the still deserted lawn and path to the Manor. There was no rescue in sight. If I was going to get away from Tyler without making everything worse, I'd have to handle it myself.
Making the decision and acting in the same breath, I lunged for the door, my fingers closing on the lock. It turned, the decisive click of the deadbolt music to my ears. A hand slapped on the solid wood above my head, holding the door closed.
"I'm not done with you," Tyler murmured in my ear. "You can go when I say you can go."
ChapterThirty
NASH
"Let me know if you need any input on that cost analysis," Royal said as I packed up my laptop. We'd spent the morning working with Griffen and Hope on ideas for the new office space. It was almost lunchtime and the three Sawyers had their own business to focus on for the rest of the day. I had other plans. Parker related plans.
She'd be hungry, and wouldn't want to change for lunch in the formal dining room. I had an idea for that. On my way out the door, Griffen stopped me. "You going to check on Parker?"
"I thought I'd see if Savannah will pack us a lunch. Parker was scraping paint off a mantel and surround. She's probably a mess." I grinned at the idea. I loved seeing her wrapped up in her work, loved that she didn't mind getting dirty if it got the job done.
Griffen grinned back at me. "She's doing an amazing job with the cottage. I didn't know she had it in her."
"I don't think she did either." I stopped. I didn't want to gang up on Parker with her brother, but I had to say, "I know we can't get him out of the house, but I don't think she should be alone."
Hope, scrolling through emails on her laptop, looked between us, then spared a glance at Royal. "Normally, I'd protest that Parker is a grown woman and can make her own choices, but I don't like it either. There's something off about him coming here. I can't figure out what he thinks this will accomplish."
"He can't think she's going to take him back," Griffen said.
I shook my head. "It's possible," I admitted. "But it doesn't make sense to me either."
"Could it be as simple as needing a roof over his head?" Royal asked. "If your mother kicked him out, and he had nowhere to go, maybe he's just buying time until he has a better plan."
I tried to imagine it. Was free room and board worth the humiliation of moving into his estranged wife's home? Knowing no one wanted him there and, in fact, pretty much everyone at Heartstone actively hated him? "It could be. His ego is massive enough to convince him he has a right to be here."
"Thanks to my asshole of a father, he does have a right to be here," Griffen muttered. I knew it was killing him to let Tyler stay, never mind that he didn't have a choice.
"Maybe Bryce will keep him busy and they'll leave us alone," Hope said. The rest of us just stared at her. "But that seems unlikely," she finished.
"I'm going to go see Savannah about bringing Parker some lunch. Okay if I leave my laptop here? I'd rather it was somewhere secure, and Parker has the key to her suite."
Griffen scowled. "That's fine. Smart. I hate that we have to lock the doors in the first place." Hope stroked a soothing hand down his arm.
