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“Oh, I doubt that, munchkin. Your daddy was strong, but so is your mom. I know first-hand that she could certainly take him down.”
And she had, figurativelyandmetaphorically. She’d tamed the man who’d once said he’d never, ever—even if someone put a gun to his head—get married. How ironic was it that a gun toherhead was the reason Preston couldn’t have a life with his family?
“But that said,” Emma continued, forcing laughter into her voice, “if it would have made your mom happy, I bet your daddy would have let her win. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to make her happy, and I know that, if it were up to him, he’d do whatever he could to make you happy, too. Did I ever tell you he used to talk to you all the time when you were still in your mom’s tummy?”
“He did?”
“Oh yeah, all the time.” It was a white lie. Preston hadn’t even known of Andi’s pregnancy when he’d been shot, but if it lifted PJ’s spirits, what did it hurt?
By the time Andi came on the line, PJ was laughing again. So mission accomplished.
“Hey, Ems. One more sec, okay,” Andi said before her voice turned muffled, as if she were covering the receiver. “Upstairs, Kid. Your suitcase isn’t going to pack itself.”
“Will you pack it for me, Mom?”
“Fat chance.”
“Pleeeeease, Mom.”
“Save the pleading for someone who loves you, Kid.”
“Butyoulove me,” PJ said defiantly, laughter in his voice.
“Whoever told you that lied.”
“Youtold me that.”
“What can I say? I lied.”
“Did not!”
“Get over here and say that to my face, Kid.”
He must have “gotten over there” because the next thing Emma heard was a vicious round of laughter erupting over the line. Listening to them was as peaceful as it was painful. Fate had dealt them such a tragic hand, but they still had so much love to share. They still had a family. They had what Emma and Preston’s father had denied them after their mother’s death.
“Hey, again, Ems. Sorry about that. Needed to torture the kid a bit. I mean, I really had no choice. I had to put him in his place.”
“Yeah, all that laughter sounded just terrible.” If Emma ever had kids, she hoped she would be one-tenth as good a mother as Andi. “Given the fact that you usually only send the munchkin to sleepovers on school nights for work-related reasons, I assume you’ve already got a busy night ahead of you.”
“I do, but I’m never too busy for family. What’s up?”
“I was just hoping to pick your brain for a minute.”
“Well, if you want to pick my brain for info that revolves around the asshat who torched your house, just know I’m already on it. Noah’s already called. He wants me to put out some feelers and see if I can’t figure out what the cops are sniffing around about.”
Of course, Noah would go to Andi, too. Emma should have realized that, but she’d been too mad to think straight.
“And,” her sister-in-law continued, “he also wants me to complete your security detail ASAP.”
“My security detail?” Alarm had her sitting straighter on the bench and glancing over her shoulder as if someone might suddenly materialized there. “Why? Are the police releasing Bishop from custody or something?”
“No. At least, not that I’m aware of. Think of this more as a safety measure. When someone dates a man in Noah’s position, precautions need to be taken, because unfortunately, it’s not unheard of for crime organizations to pluck up unsuspecting family members of the wealthy elites and then offer them safely back for a hefty ransom.”
“Oh.” Emma placed a hand over her heart. She’d never considered that. So much about dating a man of Noah’s wealth and prestige was out of her wheelhouse.
“Yeah. Some people are the worst, and Noah wants to make sure you stay safe, especially after learning the police suspected Bishop had been in your house before torching it.”
Emma’s heart slammed against her sternum and then raced into an all-out sprint as if someone had fired the starting pistol for a one-hundred-meter dash. Bishop had been in her place?
