Page 75 of Contentious

“What do you think brought that on?”

“The new contract with D&G. It’s the biggest deal of my career, and when it got a lot of publicity, he came around, looking for his piece of the pie.”

“Damn. That takes some nerve.”

“I gave him money a few years ago when he was in danger of getting evicted and then again when his truck was about to get repossessed. I told him then that I was done bailing him out, so I couldn’t believe he was outright asking me for money again after barely contributing a dime to Ty’s upbringing for seven years. I told him to fuck off and leave me alone, and that’s when he started making noise about suing for joint custody, which I know he doesn’t even want.”

“It’s blackmail, Cres. Plain and simple.”

“I realized that right away and reached out to Julian after he did such a great job with Marlene’s divorce. She sang his praises. Of course, once I had a lawyer on the case, Marlon made himself scarce, except for showing up outside the house and at Ty’s school, which he knew would freak me out even as he didn’t respond to Julian’s messages about trying to mediate our dispute. I shouldn’t have punched him that day, but I was just so freaking mad. I hate that Ty saw me lose it with him. That never should’ve happened.”

“Ty probably understands the situation better than you think.”

“He does. Even though I’ve never come right out and said it, he knows his father isn’t a good person and that’s why we don’t see much of him.”

“He’s the most delightful kid I’ve ever met.”

She raised a brow, her expression skeptical. “How many kids have you actually met?”

“A few. Don’t forget, I have much younger siblings.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“There’re eleven years between me and Roman. He was a pretty cool kid, too, but there’s something special about Ty. He’s like an old soul or something.”

“I’ve been saying that about him from the beginning. He has this baked-in wisdom that surprises me every day.”

“Yes, that’s it exactly. He gets it.”

“How something so perfect could’ve come from Marlon Beckett is a constant source of amazement to me.”

“Did you hear from Kaidan today?”

“Yes, we’re hoping to meet tomorrow after she has a chance to review the files Julian sent over.”

“Ask her to come here. I’d rather you guys stay close to home until the LAPD finds Marlon.”

“Ugh, I hate that it’s come to that.”

“You’re safest right here with the system armed, although…” He glanced toward the big windows in the back that looked out on a dazzling view of the Hollywood Hills during the day.

“What?”

“Those windows stress me out.”

“Why?”

“A number of reasons that I don’t need to share with you and add to your concerns.”

“Do you have the gun on you?”

“It’s in my bag.”

“I really don’t want guns in my house or anywhere near Ty.”

“He’ll never know I have it unless I need it to save his life or yours.”

She shuddered. “God forbid it comes to that.”