Enough was enough. It was time to rally the troops. I wasn’t about to let anyone take the beautiful life we were building and tarnish it. No one was gonna fuck with my family. No one was gonna put doubt in my kid’s mind that she is wanted. Lou would never doubt us, and I was ready to go into battle to prove it.
As much as I thought I was hiding my emotions, Sophie could tell something was off as soon as she got home. She came in, kissing Lou on the top of her head before pausing. Looking between Lou and me, a questioning expression crossed Sophie’s face. I tried to shake my head subtly, the tic in her jaw telling me she understood.
Dinner was fine—a bit tense, but Lou seemed far more relaxed than earlier. When it was time for bed, I left Sophie to it, wanting her girl to have one-on-one time with her as much as possible. I could only imagine how big of an adjustment it must be on her, having me take up her mom’s time and attention. I didn’t blame her for having doubts or fears. I just wanted to know how I could best ease her worries.
Sometime later, once dishes were done and leftovers were put away, Sophie made her way back downstairs. Pouring her a glass of wine, I made my way over to the living room to join her on the couch.
“So, what did I miss?” she asked, one eyebrow raised in what she thought was an intimidating look as she gently took theglass from my hand.
“Well, I don’t really know what to call it? Lou got home from school and was acting weird,” I told her. She took a sip of her wine before waving her hand in my face.
“Weird how? Go on…” She urged, and I had to stifle a laugh at her ferocity.
“She didn’t say hi, didn’t stop in the kitchen for snack time. Just stormed upstairs.” Sophie’s eyes widened at that before looking at me. I hurried to continue before she could scold me.
“I finished making her snack and went upstairs. She was clearly upset at that point, and basically…Well—”
“Linc! Spit it out. I’m growing old over here.” She gasped, exasperated.
“She said I should ‘stop pretending to like her.’ That I was just doing it so I could marry you, and once we had a baby of our own, we wouldn’t want her.” Sophie blanched, and I hated that I even had to tell her about this.
“‘Just like Daddy and Nat,’ she said. I don’t know who told her this. I wanted to ask, but I was just happy she was talking to me, at that point,” I told Sophie honestly. She reached out, cupping my cheek until I looked her in the eye.
“It sounds like you handled it perfectly. When she’s ready, she’ll tell us what brought this on. What matters is that you were here, and you didn’t leave when she tried to push you away.” A knock at the door broke up the conversation, and I cursed.
“Mason said he had to talk to us. I forgot to tell you he was gonna swing by.” Sophie waved a hand as if brushing it away before getting up after me. As I made my way to the front door, she went to the kitchen to refill our glasses. Mason’s silhouette cut an impressive form in the windowpanes of my front door.
Letting him in, he wiped his boots off before looking up. His expression was stoic. Not unusual for Mason, but still a bit unsettling.
“Hey, Mase. Thanks for coming by,” I told him. He nodded in agreement before walking slowly down the hall.
“Hi, Mason. You want something to drink? I have the beeryou like?” Sophie offered from the kitchen. As if frozen on stage, Mason looked between the two of us before taking a deep breath.
“Why don’t we go into the living room… You guys are gonna want to sit down for this.”
What now?
I’d just had that heart-to-heart with Lou and gotten those questions settled.Do I not get a minute to deal with that? What fresh hell is on the horizon for us next?
Chapter 24
Lincoln
Walking into the large ball room of the event hall, a low whistle sounded from beside me. The space was the definition of opulence, with high ceilings and sleek floors. Expensive centerpieces adorned each table, and linens in creams and whites covered every surface, not a wrinkle or crease in sight. A large chandelier hung in the middle, a mammoth creation that was four tiers and had well over a thousand crystals covering it.
Typically, I avoided events like that, as did most of my family. At least once a year, though, we attended one, as both my mother and father had been given awards in the past. This time was different. I was on high alert, as was the rest of my family. My parents were already seated at the table, Mom waving Mason and me over.
“So what’s your plan?” my brother asked, looking equally as uncomfortable as I felt in the tuxedo.
“Watch my girls. Divide and conquer. Want one of you guys within earshot of Lou the whole night. I don’t want to give Max, Nat, or Helen a chance to talk to Lou alone and upset her. And keep your eyes open for any familiar faces who shouldn’t be here.” Lindsey was a wild card. Though Max had already paid her, so why would she stay around?
Whatever she was brought there to do didn’t work, and thankfully, she had been laying low since the station visit. But I was still wary because regardless, she was a risk. Just anotheropportunistic fuck trying to mess with my family for her own benefit. A leech and a social climber, Lindsey had never been one to look back at the people she stepped on to get where she wanted to go.
“Look how handsome you two look! So dapper. Wait until Sophie sees you,” Mom cooed as she kissed our cheeks.
“Have you seen them yet?” I asked as I searched the ballroom for my girls. Sophie knew I was coming, but we decided not to tell Lou, not wanting her to mention it to Max or Helen and give them an opportunity to cause trouble. There was no way I was going to let my girls go through something like that without me anymore. In the future, subtlety wouldn’t be needed. Max and his family weren’t the only ones with secrets.
We were on high alert; everything Mason’s PI had dug up was concrete proof of the connections and corruption in the Townsend family’s personal and business lives. What had started with looking into Lindsey quickly showed that she was only one small part of bigger issues. Expanding the search to include Max, Nat, and Helen had revealed far more than any of us had anticipated.
