“My stepfather owned a diner. I had no idea he used to wash money for some dealers.”
“Dealers?” She turns her head to look at me with her mouth hanging open in shock. “Drug dealers?” she asks in awe.
“Yeah, Pandora. Drug dealers. He was a bit of a tech wizard, so he set up their accounts. Neal was one of the many small businesses they used. I didn’t find out until he died.”
“How old were you when he died?”
“Twenty-two. It was my last year of college. He had MS, so he was sick for a while, but his death was sudden. I had just been home for spring break, and he was fine, but he got pneumonia and died. Mom was a mess. Josie was barely five at the time. Mom had me when she was sixteen, and she met Neal when he hired her to work at the diner. I was seven, and from the moment he met me, he was my dad in every way. I graduated a few months after he died, and I thought I could make the diner a success.”
“When did you find out about your dad’s activities?”
“It didn’t take long until one of them came in. I thought he was a patron. He ordered food and left. He was waiting for me in the parking lot hours later. He said he’d been watching me and thought we could continue to do business together.”
What I don’t tell Cori is that I didn’t believe Steele Titan when he told me what my father had been up to. I couldn’tbring myself to tell Mom, but three weeks later, Neal’s lawyer found me and gave me a manila envelope. In it, Neal had an audio recording detailing everything. Until that moment, I thought he was only keeping the diner afloat, but we were flush with money that Dad had put into a secret account.
Titan came back the next day. By then, I had a good grasp of what Neal had done, and I decided to continue the business.
After talking to Mom, we agreed to use some of the money Neal left us to buy two car washes. We offered to use that to help the Titans, too. We worked together for years.
“When did you meet Ripley?” Of course, she would ask that. Everyone in Shadow Cove immediately became obsessed with him, just like I knew they would. Every woman wanted him, and all the men wanted to be him. While they were focused on him, I got to live in plain sight, and no one suspected a thing. Not until my nosy little wife got an inkling and decided to use her investigative skills to follow me.
“About three years later. I hired King as a short-order cook at the diner.” It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. He fit all the parameters. He had nothing. He had no one. He was big and didn’t take any shit from anyone. He was also loyal, which is the main thing that I look for, and the hardest to find.
“Are all your businesses used for that?”
“No, Bella. You don’t have to worry about that. Yours will be legit and belong to you. I’m just here to help and to provide the funding. You can let me in.”
“You’ve been in.” She giggles uncontrollably when she says it. I like this side of her. The only time she’s never guarded is when she’s with Selene and Eden.
“I’m serious.”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to that.” She tries to climb out of the tub, but I easily keep her in place.
“I’m your husband. You’re supposed to lean on me.” I nip her ear to keep it playful, but the room suddenly goes from light to heavy. “You’ve never had someone on your side before?”
“Selene and Eden always have my back.”
“But they’re not your husband. I am. And they can still have your back, but I can do more than that.”
She doesn’t answer, but she puts a wet hand to my cheek.
“I have to learn to trust you first.”
“Why can’t you trust me now?”
“Really?” she asks.
“Yeah, really. Our marriage wasn’t conventional. So, what? There’s no guidebook for a relationship. We’re together now. You said you would make the marriage work, and I swear to you, Cori, I will never hurt you. Did you ever think that you were following me because you wanted me?”
She remains quiet, and I wonder if she’s warring with herself.
“Even if I did, it doesn’t give you the right to—”
“Maybe I wanted you, and this was the only way I could have you.” I tighten my arms around her waist.
“I’m not a possession. I’m a person with feelings, wants, and needs.”
“And I’ll give you everything you want and need. I’ll make you feel good, too.”
