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“Considering what?”
“That you’ll leave, and I already know you’ll take a part of my heart with you. It’s been a month and you and Grace have molded into our lives seamlessly, like you were always meant to be there. You both add so much to our lives. I am worried about Shade,” he said, voice rough. “Worried he might not recover from you. But that doesn’t make me want to stop.” Those hazel eyes scanned my face. “Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could.”
Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his. This wasn’t the devouring kiss I had earlier with Shade. This was sweet and intimate.
Trap’s hand slid up my jean-clad thigh and squeezed. Pulling back, he smiled. “I think we got off course a little with my emotional breakdown.”
I huffed. “That was not an emotional breakdown.”
“It was for me,” he said and blew out a breath. “I derailed you. You were going to tell me what Max wanted.”
All the heat from the kiss vanished, leaving me chilled to the bone. When I backed away, his hand on my hip tightened, keeping me secured against him. “You’re staying right here.”
When I started worrying at the corner of my lip, his fingers reached up and yanked it free from between my teeth. With him keeping me hostage—one hundred percent not against my will—I relaxed back against his chest, my head tucked beneath his chin.
“One night he had a couple of our board members over for drinks, and that was the night I decided their boys’ club was done. That I was the CIO, the creator of almost everything, made our company profitable. He was the CEO of our company, and all the board members were men. So even though I was the CIO, he would always push me out of their meetings, telling me I wasn’t needed for that one. That night I grew lady balls. I overheard them talking, and what was suggested—” I swallowed down the bile creeping up my throat. Trap dipped two fingers beneath my sweater, drawing small reassuring circles along my skin. “Basically, one of the board members asked if he could have Gracie for a night, and in return, he’d stop the FBI from investigating Barrett and the company—which I had no clue was even happening. Barrett laughed and said maybe when she was thirteen.”
Hot tears leaked down my cheeks.
“Her own father was joking about a man older than him raping our daughter. I… I freaked out and spent that entire night digging through his laptop, putting trackers in place to see where he was moving money and who he was emailing. It only took a couple days for me to have all the information I needed on his embezzlement, sharing upcoming releases to our competitors, and so on. And the worst of it, the part that keeps me up at night, were the pictures of him with young girls. Some looking almost Gracie’s age.”
I couldn’t hold it in anymore. A sob broke free, my shoulders trembling as I fought to catch my breath around my tears.
Trap’s strong, lean arms wrapped around me, squeezing me tighter against his chest. His nose brushed in my hair and along my ear as he let me cry against him.
And I did. Let those saltwater drops cleanse me from the inside out of the guilt and pain.
It burned, but little by little, clarity broke through. Barrett made his own mistakes, his own decisions. Those were not on me. None of what he did was my fault. When I found out what he’d done, I jumped into action. There was nothing for me to feel tied to Barrett and the path he took.
“He never deserved you.” Trap’s words set off a round of fresh tears. “Never deserved your trust or your loyalty.”
“I was so fucking blind,” I blubbered. “All I did was bury my head in the sand, avoiding the fact that my marriage was essentially over. I never stopped to investigate why, or what he was really doing when he was gone.”
“We all cope in different ways, sweetheart, to get through tough times in our lives. Yours was devoting yourself to work and your daughter. How is that terrible? That bastard is the guilty one. He hid his true self from you, manipulated you.” The muscle along his jaw popped as he worked it back and forth. “If we would’ve been around, he wouldn’t have survived the night if you told us what he suggested about Grace.”
The violence in his tone and the harsh look on his face should’ve scared me, but it just made me feel protected, supported.
“He wants to meet with me,” I whispered, staring at my hands as they twisted.
“That’s utter bullshit. Why can’t they torture it out of him?”
The corner of my lips quirked. “Pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“Like I give a fuck. He’s a pathetic excuse for a man if he’s hiding behind knowledge that could put other bastards in jail. Why does he want to talk to you? What is there to say?” The fury bled into concern, his eyes now tight with worry.
“No clue. They haven’t said, but either way, I think I have to go,” I said with a heavy sigh and rubbed at my forehead. “Max said the FBI thinks Barrett’s information can help take down a human trafficking ring. How can I say no? How can I put my emotions above the lives of others? I don’t want to see him, but if it’ll save even a single life from that torture, then I’ll do it.”
“You’re not going alone.” I snapped my head up. “What?” Trap scoffed as he pulled out his phone. “You think we’d let you face this bastard without support?”
“I need you two here for Gracie,” I pleaded. “I’m not taking her. It would be too much for her. I’ll be okay—”
His brows furrowed at his phone screen before swiping a thumb across the glass and tapping one of the many missed calls before pressing it to his ear. “Hey, it’s me. What’s with all the missed calls and texts? My phone was on silent. No, I haven’t read them because Georgia…. Yeah, she’s here. She didn’t?” Trap raised a single questioning brow and angled the phone away from his lips. “You were supposed to text Shade when you got here. He’s freaking out.”
I leaned forward, putting my lips near Trap’s. “I’m sorry, Shade. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Damnit, I felt bad. It slipped my mind with the whole knife fight that almost went down and then Max’s revelation about Barrett. Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I winced at the numerous missed calls and texts from Shade.Mother of the year right here.I had someone watching my child and forgot to turn my ringer on in case of emergencies.
Trap stole a quick kiss before continuing. “Her ex is being a manipulating dick, demanding to meet with Georgia before he talks to the feds.” He nodded while listening to Shade on the other end of the line, the fingers grazing my skin never faltering. “Agreed. She’s not going alone. Who will it be, you or me? When? I’m not sure. Max didn’t tell her or me dates. What?” His brows inched up his forehead as he listened to whatever Shade said. “You’re taking Grace to school on Monday? Well, how is that fair? I want to do something for her too.” His hazel eyes met mine. “Fine. If you get to take her to school to scare all those shitheads, then I’ll take her to buy a first-day outfit that will help her feel confident.”
“Guys,” I said on a fake groan. They knew I loved the attention they gave Gracie. It was more than she ever got from her actual father. Barrett gave more attention to Gracie than he did me at the end, but even that wasn’t much. Not like Trap and Shade were giving her, listening to stories, watching shows she liked with her, and now making sure she was comfortable at her new school.
