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Shaking my head, I back away, needing to get away from her, but she grabs my arms and my blood chills at her touch. At the determined, almost maniacal way she stares at me. As if I have only one option.
Not a chance.
“Lacy, we don’t got much time. Travis could come with us if you want. Think of the baby.”
Vehemently, I pull from her grasp but stay close, no longer in flight mode but more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this. I don’t want her to bolt when I start pressing.
“Arlene, what is this really about?”
Has Otis or Arlene seen Ridge coming and going from my place? Or Oz’s? That’s all it would take, especially with the news of me expecting, for them to put two and two together.
Do they know Ridge is the father and by leaving town with me, they could hold the baby for ransom in a sick, perverted kind of way?
“I can’t. Otis told me not to tell you. Not yet.” She thrashes in front of me as if trying to internally beat herself up.
I’m on the right track—her actions say as much—and I gently grab hold of her shoulders to steady her. It takes several beats before she stops moving. Shit, Otis should be here, and I can’t believe I’m even wishing that.
He’s a bastard, but I could pressure him without worrying about him falling apart. And that’s why he sent Arlene alone.
As if in a trance, she says, “I’m not gonna tell ya. You’ll… You’ll mess it all up.”
She’s prone to paranoia and can easily lose her grip on things. While I’ve no love for this woman, I don’t want to send her over the edge, but I need a confirmation.
“Arlene, why do you want to leave town?” She cocks her head to one side, waiting for me to say more. “All your customers are here. You’re established.” My calm tone, and the way I talk about their drug-dealing business like it’s something to be proud of makes me sick, but I’m appealing to my mother’s not so practical side.
Waving her arms in the air, hands in fists, her whole frame rattles, and features tense and pucker. “Just fucking leave with us.”
She repeats this over and over like a mantra, face getting redder by the second, body more unstable, and eventually, I let her go. She flees the office but not before spitting a final decree. “We’ll be back. This isn’t over. You’re leaving with us.”
My phone buzzes on the desk and my heart sinks.
Ridge: Meet me here.
Next comes an address right in the heart of Prospect—a nice little neighborhood where the homes are all way above my pay grade. Another place for us to look at and suddenly, I can’t breathe.
Should I let his text go unanswered, cut ties with him here and now? My parents will be a problem, more so when it comes out that I’m bound to the Kincaides by this baby.
And here’s Ridge, itching to throw cash around and get us a home for the future when the vultures are circling.
My phone pings again, pulling me from my troublesome thoughts.
Ridge: Lace, quit stalling. I know you’ve read the text. Meet me now.
Involuntarily, the corners of my lips tug upward at this demanding man, and I tamp down any fluttering feelings of hope. Like always, Arlene and Otis will ruin everything.
I’ll deal with Ridge now, and eventually I’ll have to deal with my parents. I snatch up my phone and respond.
Me: Try again
Three bubbles dance and this time, when his response pops onto the screen, there’s no containing the smile that springs to my face despite how my parents can sour things.
I have to hand it to him, he knows how to satisfy me in and out of bed, and the thought of this causes my breaths to shallow and panties to dampen.Shit, this man.
Ridge: Please.
13
RIDGE
