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“Nothing, I’m just pissed off,” I gripe.
“I know that, but what are you going to do about it.”
My belt comes to mind first, but I think better of that after a moment. “I don’t know yet.”
“Try talking to the girl, Carter.”
“Why? So, she can tell me it’s nothing? She will talk this Rich Donahue thing away without trouble, and I know that. But it’s not even about that now. I mean, it kind of is. She shouldn’t be meeting with him in coffee shops behind my back, but she can’t see this news article, Ernesto. She’s already so…”
He pulls the SUV down our dead-end street. “So?”
“Fragile.”
He parks in silence, and I jump out of the car with the envelope in hand. Anita’s car is parked in my driveway, so I head for our house first, finding company already lingering in my kitchen when I do so. Lorenzo looks elsewhere, shirtless, while his shoulders spot a well-used towel. His pants are soaked, though, and I’m happy he’s decided to keep them on.
Tristan comes forward in the same drenched state. I shove the envelope into his chest, and he takes it at once, opening it and thumbing through the photos quickly before tossing everything in the kitchen trashcan nearby.
“Fuck those photos,” Tristan says.
“They were on my desk today. Right before the article went live.”
“Not just live. It’s going fucking viral now, boss,” Lorenzo chimes in.
Tristan nods solemnly. “Around thirty thousand people have viewed it in the last thirty minutes since it came up, Carter. They know you’re still reeling after the election, and punishing this just feeds the sharks wanting to see you fall.”
“Well, it’s not me they’re attacking now. They’re calling Isabella the worst kinds of names in the comments. The article was just as scathing, too, and I didn’t need to look at the writer’s name to know who is doing this.”
Tristan gives me a knowing nod. “She’s gunning for you both.”
“Where is Isabella?”
He looks up the stairs and then shakes his head. “She’s been terrified all day.”
My brows crease. “About what?”
“You, Carter. She didn’t want you to find out about what happened, but Lorenzo and I got there and escalated things. Then Lilian came by and took those damn photos. I don’t think she’s seen them yet. Her phone and computer are down here, both ruined from the rain and the scuffle. She left them with me and hurried upstairs. Won’t talk to anyone, not even Anita.”
I hate to ask, but I do, anyway. “Has Sam come by?”
He looks uncomfortable with that question. Sam is her best friend, and while it wasn’t anything I could have seen coming, she’s now very close to my cousin. They’ve been together so much lately that I haven’t been bugging him about some stuff having to do with the family. I sent him to the docks on easy work that could have been done later rather than to the meeting with everyone else that lasted all damn night.
I haven’t talked with him since I asked him to check out the dock project, so I guess it went well.
But now isn’t the time to bring it up.
“Sam was supposed to meet Isabella for coffee this morning, but she didn’t go. I texted Sam, but she said she didn’t want to see Isabella right now. I’ll talk to her tonight. I just didn’t want to leave Isabella here alone. Not with the article coming out so damn fast.”
I don’t even mention the scathing article again, trying to block it from my mind before I go to Isabella. I will deal with Lilian personally and swiftly, but I need to check on my dove first. I don’t need her to be afraid of me. She loves me, and I love her. I can handle this without rage.
I can handle this without rage.
I can…Bullshit.
I hope that I can handle this without rage.
Chapter Sixteen
Isabella
