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“For now,” Lauren answered. “Until we send this witch away on her broomstick.”
“Extra eyes,” I told Heather, trying to explain something I hadn’t taken the time to before. “The room right next to Collins’ has been prepared for you. Thanks again for coming on such short notice. I know you’re busy.”
“Not too busy to kick your ex’s ass,” my sister said. “Sorry, Heather, but Josie has it coming. We didn’t know what she was like when she first festered up in this family, but now we’re going to be prepared.”
Heather just laughed and shook her head. “We’re glad to have you.”
“These are the eyes and ears,” I explained. “The people I need to keep everyone safe.”
“I understand,” Heather promised. “Do whatever you think you need to to help everyone.”
It was not a difficult order to follow. I doubled security, made new hires who had only been vetted by existing entities in my staff, and followed my intuition when it really mattered. If I had everything I really wanted, it would’ve included tall concrete walls, barbed wire, landmines, and booby traps.
I couldn’t lose my daughter. I didn’t care if my reaction to all of this was extreme. In my line of work, I had seen all too often what happened if a parent didn’t get their way in a custody dispute. I wasn't willing to take a single chance, not when it came to Collins.
I didn’t hate Josie. That wasn’t the issue. I only hated how she made me feel—insecurity about maintaining my kingdom. And that area included Heather, the woman I loved, and Collins.
There was no mystery among any of the parties about the reason Josie wanted custody over Collins. She thought Collins would be the key to unlocking my money.
All I hoped was that Heather would be able to stick through it all. I hadn’t asked her here for that, and she hadn’t come here for that, either. But I didn’t discount the strength she gave to the mission: Never let Josie take Collins away from me.
My best friend, Jason, was the next guest to arrive. I took quiet, careful notice of the way he and Lauren walked around and watched each other.
This kind of bullshit was the last thing I needed when I was calling everyone to arms. There couldn’t be any distractions, least of all the obvious attraction between my best friend and my baby sister. I didn’t care if they made a handsome pair—Lauren with her green eyes, and Jason with his dark, mysterious presence. It was something I knew he prided himself in the courtroom—how many heads he was able to turn, male or female.
“Heather, this is Jason,” I said, nodding in his direction. “He’s a lawyer.”
“Good resource to have,” Heather said, smiling at him. “Thanks for coming.”
“Graham’s my best friend,” Jason said, stepping a little too closely to Heather. “I don’t want anything dragging him down. Or hurting him.”
“Two paces back, asshole,” I informed him. “Heather’s our best weapon.”
She stuttered at that. “Do I want what’s best for Collins? Always. Do I think her staying with her father is best? Absolutely. But I’m not a weapon. If that’s what you’re looking for, I’m not it.” She stared at me, betrayed, and I backed down. No one person was a weapon, and I needed to recognize that, as much as it killed me to do so.
“Forget this idiot,” Jason said, hooking his arm around Heather and making her stumble a bit. I stepped forward. “I know who you are, and I’m glad you’re on the team.”
“Did you just try to give me a shovel talk?” Heather asked Jason, peering at him.
“And if I did?”
“Then you’re a good friend.” She smiled at him. “Thanks for coming.”
Jason wasn’t a family lawyer, but he was a good enough lawyer who had the connections I needed to supply my arsenal against Josie’s attacks. Plus, he was willing to put in the time and effort to research the things I needed to know in order to keep Collins with me.
He was the inside man we needed—the one I wanted.
The next thing Jason did was to advise me not to attend the initial mediation hearing.
“Why the fuck not?” I demanded. “This is important to me. If I don’t show up, how do you think everyone would consider my claim to Collins?”
“Everyone would realize that if you don’t think this is a viable threat to your daughter, you’re not going to give it a second glance.” Jason gripped my shoulder. “You need to leave this to the professionals, G. I have the best family lawyers I could find for you. That bitch isn’t going to stand a chance, and I can’t risk you getting dragged into the fray. Not when you’re the primary guardian.”
I knew what Jason actually meant was he couldn’t risk me beating the shit out of some idiots who thought I didn’t deserve to be my daughter’s father, but it didn’t change the fact that I was fucking pissed.
“Josie has her lawyer,” he continued. “And she’s average. You could obviously afford better, and they’re going to be arguing things that, if you’re there to hear, might make you lose your shit.”
“That I’m a bad father, then.”
