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My youngest has a brilliant mind, and for a moment, I worry he may be too smart.
Then he huffs out a sharp exhale and strides toward the kitchen.
Cabinet doors slam. Ice clinks. Is he making a drink?
Out of the corner of my eye, he removes a jar of Amarena cherries from the pantry.
My boy is making her a drink.
She sucks in a shaky breath and shifts her gaze to mine. Her eyes are glassy but dry. Hard and transparent. Beneath the surface is more of the same. An unsettling void. A deadness that will forever change her.
“Did he…?” Her voice breaks in every direction. “Did he look for me?”
“I don’t know. There are no search parties. No missing person reward.” I look pointedly at the TV. “Seems he moved on.”
I won’t tell her I find perverse joy in his misunderstanding of the situation. He believes Frankie willingly left him.
No one walks away from Monty Novak, and oh, how it must have crushed his uncrushable ego.
Leo turns away, cursing under his breath and gripping his nape.
My passionate son. He runs hot and cold, that one. Scalding or icy. Never in between.
Never indifferent like Kody. Who, much to my surprise, seems affected by this. His dark eyes narrow accusingly as if I’m the one who cheated.
Fascinating.
He doesn’t want to care about her but can’t seem to help himself.
A spark of victory zips down my spine.
Something must’ve happened between her and them while I was gone. Are they bonding?
They’re not fucking yet. I would’ve detected that change instantly. But they’re definitely catching feelings. Sympathy wafts from all three boys.
“Are there more?” she says, monotone. “More videos?”
“Yes.” I bridge the short distance between us and crouch before her rigid position on the couch. “I watched him for two years.”
“Yeah, I know. But why are you still?”
“I’m not. Not anymore. I removed the last camera in his office two days ago.”
“Oh.” She looks away, her expression blank.
“It’s time to move on.”
“That’s the plan, isn’t it? Now that I have nothing and no one to return to, you expect me to settle in here? To make Hoss my home?”
“I’m trying to make this easier for you. I know you don’t believe that—”
“Her name is Aubrey. He hired her this past summer. I’ve met her a few times. Nice girl. Hard worker. Single. No kids.” Her voice turns several degrees colder. “None of that makes this easier.”
She stares over my shoulder, her eyes dark, giving away nothing. Not even the usual glint of anger.
It worries me.
“When did the affair start?” She returns her dead gaze to me.
“With Aubrey? It began after you left. He’s been spending a lot of time in the office—”
“He always works long hours.” A swallow slides down her graceful throat. “So do his office managers.”
He goes through a lot of office managers. They’re all young and beautiful like Aubrey, fresh out of college, and eager to ride Monty Novak’s billionaire cock.
If Frankie is humiliated by this, she doesn’t show it. Any other woman would cry, scream, and run from the room.
Instead, she turns and faces me like an adult. “You said…with Aubrey? Like it was a question of who. Have there been others? Other office managers? Employees? Was he fucking around before you took me? Is he bringing women to our—” Her lips thin. “Has he brought them to our house? Our bed?”
“Frankie…” Slowly, I reach out and cup her cheek.
She doesn’t flinch—a testament to her state of numbness. “Answer me.”
“Don’t make this harder.” I close my eyes briefly then stare at her with resolve. “I won’t lie to you.”
“Then tell me.” She swats my touch away. “Or show me. I want to see the videos of him with other women. Start with the ones from before you kidnapped me.”
“It won’t help—”
“I don’t want help. I want information. Knowledge. I want to see it with my own fucking eyes.”
She won’t like my answer, but before it slips out, I’m saved by Wolf.
He presses an old-fashioned into her hand, garnished with two black cherries. They bounce along the bottom of the glass as she tips it back and drains it in one gulp.
Without breaking eye contact with me, she holds out the empty glass to Wolf.
He already has the bottle with him and quickly pours her another.
“Play the other videos,” she says woodenly.
Wolf leans into my space and whispers, “I could kill you for hurting her like this.”
Then he sits beside her on the couch, giving her his full attention.
I couldn’t be prouder of him. Finally sticking up for someone other than himself.
But his anger is misplaced. I’m not the one who cheated.
Across the room, Leo paces like a restless lion, and Kody’s doing his silent broody thing, both of them regarding her with unwavering glares.
The air feels heavy, the heat from the fireplace burning too hot. I’m playing a dangerous game.
