Undone: The Untangled Series, Book Two

by Layne, Ivy

  Every single thing in the room you could sit on was covered in clear plastic slipcovers. Afternoon sunlight angled through the window, glaring off all that plastic, giving the room a glow that left me wanting to close my eyes for relief.

  “You boys haven't found Maxwell yet?” LeAnne asked, snagging a crystal glass from the bar cart in the corner and filling it with a generous slosh of vodka. She didn't offer either of us a drink, not that I wanted one.

  I hadn't missed the mockery in her voice and pressed myself to Knox's side in comfort. The situation with his father was bad enough. She didn't have to laugh at him over it.

  I remembered what Cooper said. Poison. I was beginning to see what he meant.

  Pulling a pack of cigarettes from somewhere—there was no way those bicycle shorts had pockets—she brought it to her mouth and flicked the lighter that appeared in her hand.

  I squinted at her outfit, trying to imagine where in the cleavage-baring crop top and tiny bicycle shorts she'd managed to stash a cigarette lighter. I didn't think I wanted to know.

  I watched her light up and exhale a puff of smoke in our direction. So, her youthful appearance didn't owe itself to healthy living. She sat in one of the chairs, the plastic crinkling, probably sticking to her bare legs.

  Knox ignored her taunt. “We're not here about my father. Exactly.”

  “I should have known. You have the widow so you must be here about Trey. He was a good fuck. Kinky. We had fun, but there wasn't much between us. You know, since he was married and all.”

  LeAnne Gates made no effort to hide her venom. My mouth opened before I thought better of it. “You and Trey? Aren't you a little… Old for him?”

  Knox's hand tightened on mine in warning.

  I know, I know I said I'd keep my mouth shut, but really? She was going to start by bragging about sleeping with my husband?

  Oddly, I felt no sting at the confirmation he'd been cheating on me. He'd thrown my heart away so early in our marriage—what he'd done with his body hardly seemed important.

  “Oh, you know Trey,” she said, crossing her legs in a way that might have been suggestive if I wasn't so grossed out. “All those issues with his parents. He had a real mommy complex. We weren't working together long before things got… personal. You know what I mean.”

  I knew exactly what she meant, but this time I kept my mouth shut as promised. I had to or I would have thrown up all over her.

  As it was, bile rose in my throat, the acid burning deep. I saw it as soon as the words left her mouth. She was like a trashy version of Trey's mom. Mrs. Spencer had blue eyes instead of lavender, and a haughty New England accent versus LeAnne's Southern, but otherwise…oh, gross. Just ick. The platinum hair, their height, even the curvy build. All the same.

  I swallowed hard, fighting back the need to vomit at the thought that Trey had been fucking this woman because she reminded him of his mother. My heart squeezed, feeling sorry for him for a split second before it swerved back to…ugh, gross.

  LeAnne soaked up every drop of emotion in my face, mistaking my disgust for the pain of betrayal, savoring her defeat of me with a smile. She bounced her crossed leg, her hot pink toenails flashing in the light.

  “If Maxwell had had a piece like Trey working with him when we started, the job would've been a lot more fun. He sure as hell livened up the last few years. Especially when he came back wanting a kid of his own.”

  No, I was wrong. This did hurt.

  I couldn't stop the flinch as those words hit my brain. Came back wanting a kid of his own. As if I didn't even factor in the equation.

  Knox studied LeAnne for a long moment before coming to a decision. His hand on my lower back, he urged me to the couch, and we sat as if this were a friendly meeting. Nothing more than a chat over drinks. Except LeAnne was the only one with a drink. She tossed back a slug of vodka and waited.

  “You brokered the deal for Trey's son?” Knox prompted.

  “You don't know?” Her eyes landed on me, speculative. “Isn't that interesting.” Then her face went hard. “You know how this works. Since you're Maxwell's boy I might be willing to talk, but I don't do shit for free.”

  “I know how it works,” Knox agreed. “How much?”

  “Depends on what you want,” she said, exhaling a stream of smoke aimed straight at my face. I resisted the urge to fan it away, keeping my eyes on her and my mouth closed.

  Even if I wanted to talk, I wasn't sure what I'd say. At this point, I was better off letting Knox lead.

  “Everything,” Knox said. “Specifically, the circumstances of the child's birth, and copies of any paperwork pertaining to the exchange. For a start.”

  “Paperwork?” Her eyes narrowed on me. “Trey brought all that home with him. He didn't leave it for you? Puts you in a sticky situation.”

  “Don't get cocky,” Knox warned. “Were you aware the FBI is involved with my father's business as it pertains to Andrei Tsepov?”

  LeAnne took another swig of her drink, her eyes cutting to the side. I guessed she did know, and she wasn't happy about it.

  Knox went on, “We have some excellent hackers on staff. Between Trey's laptop, his files, and everything my father left behind, we've got plenty that implicates one LeAnne Gates of Huntsville, Alabama. Jerk me around and the next knock at your door will be from the FBI. Do we understand each other?”

  LeAnne Gates lifted her chin in defiance and exhaled another noxious stream of smoke, but when her lungs were empty, she gave a jerky nod. “I still want the money.”

  Damn, this woman had balls.

  “We'll pay what's fair,” Knox said. “Tell me what happened with Trey and the baby.”

  I was glad Knox didn't use Adam's name. I didn't want to hear it spoken in this room, with this woman. I didn't care that she'd had her hands on my husband, but I didn't want to know that she had anything to do with my beautiful little boy.

  Adam was innocence. This woman was anything but.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Lily

  Where do you want me to start?” she drawled, her eyes heavy on me, something inside them hungry and vicious. “That one couldn't stay pregnant. Lost a couple, and Trey was getting frustrated. We'd been fucking for a while, and obviously, he knew what my businesses was since he took point for Maxwell after he came on board.”

  Turning her face to angle me out of the conversation, she looked at Knox and said in a low voice, “He was having second thoughts. He didn't want to divorce her. She was convenient.”

  I bit my bottom lip to keep my mouth shut. It's not like I couldn't hear her. I was sitting right next to Knox.

  “I realized that when I went through his files,” Knox said.

  It took everything I had to stay silent. What did that mean? Why was I convenient? Because I was cheaper than a housekeeper? Knox's next words were a slap to my face.

  “He had everything in her name. If Trey ever ran into trouble, the authorities would have looked at Lily as the ring leader, not Trey.”

  “Bingo.” LeAnne stabbed her cigarette in the air at Knox, a smirk on her pink lips. “That, and like most men, he didn't know how to admit he'd made a mistake. But he didn't want his boy—”

  A meaningful glance in my direction before she shifted her eyes back to Knox, “Tainted. You know what I mean. He wanted his kids to look like him. He didn't want a mutt.”

  Tainted? That bitch. A wave of vicious fury hit me, leaving my heart racing and my gut twisted. Tainted?

  I beat back the roil of emotions as Knox jerked forward, his body vibrating with rage. My hand tightened on his, holding him in place, his anger somehow dulling my own.

  Trey had been an asshole. This woman was worse. But Knox would regret losing his temper. We needed LeAnne Gates if I wanted to find out what had happened with Adam.

  I leaned into K
nox's side and whispered, “Don't. It's okay, don't.”

  He sat back, his anger leashed but not weakened. His tone deadly, eyes black with fury, he said to LeAnne, “Watch. Your. Mouth.”

  LeAnne gave a negligent shrug of her shoulder and ground out her cigarette, lighting another. “You wanted to know. You want to be mad at somebody, be mad at her dead husband. His words. Anyway, they had some incompatibility or something. I don't remember.”

  My head spun. “Rh incompatibility,” I murmured.

  LeAnne snapped her fingers. “That's it.”

  “Rh incompatibility is treatable,” I protested. “My doctor should have checked. They could have fixed it.”

  LeAnne shrugged, unbothered by the idea that she'd just turned my life upside down. “Trey decided not to tell you, make it seem like you just couldn't stay pregnant. But then he had the idea to get a baby the old-fashioned way.” She cackled, the sound grating every nerve. “You know, our old-fashioned way.”

  Knox let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around me, the heat of his body anchoring me.

  “I know you're not the mother,” he said to LeAnne, “so where'd you get the girl? Where is she?”

  LeAnne's odd lavender eyes went dark. “You won't find the girl. I can promise you that.”

  “If you were sleeping with Trey,” I croaked, “what did you—how did you—”

  LeAnne's laugh dripped with pity. “I can see why he went looking elsewhere. When I was done working for Maxwell in a direct capacity, I started organizing things for him. Finding girls, matching them with the right guy, all that. I had a girl, not that reliable, but she made pretty babies. Blonde and blue-eyed like Trey. She was adventurous, didn't care what I asked her to do as long as there was money or a fix at the end of it.”

  “She was a junkie?” Knox asked sharply.

  “I kept her clean when she was pregnant. When Trey was in town, I'd have her here, and the three of us would fuck. It didn't take long for her to get knocked up. I usually kept an eye on her when she was working for me, but as a favor to Trey, I had her here. The whole time. Fuck, that girl was a pain in my ass. But Trey cut me in on extra, on top of my usual, and she gave him a healthy baby boy. He got his blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid, and a way to keep her from asking for a divorce.”

  Her words sank in slowly, working their way through layers of shock. Trey and LeAnne. His lies about my fertility. The distracting thought of LeAnne, Trey, and an unknown girl in a threesome. Yuck.

  Finally, it registered. “Trey wanted a baby to keep me from leaving?”

  “Mostly, yeah. All men want a son, I guess. If our business is any clue, all men want a son.” She rolled her eyes. “But he knew you were going to walk. He didn't give a shit, except he couldn't have lawyers poking around in his finances.”

  Trey had known I was thinking about a divorce. He'd had Adam to stop me from leaving, knowing the only thing that would keep me at his side was a child, the child I thought I couldn't have myself.

  All those months grieving the child I'd never carry, and it was a lie. How had I been so naïve? I guess I should count myself lucky he kept me with him by giving me Adam. He could have gone to the Russian mob and asked Tsepov to take care of his problem.

  A faithful wife at home made for good cover, I guess, especially if you put everything in her name. I'd been so wrapped up in Adam I never paid attention to the rest. I was an idiot.

  Knox asked the only question left. The only one I cared about. “And the girl? The girl Trey got pregnant?”

  LeAnne Gates took a long drag on her cigarette and ground out what was left in the crystal ashtray in front of her. Huffing out the smoke she said flatly, “Dead. Almost two years ago. Got another payday out of her, but she couldn't stay clean after that. OD'd.”

  My chest hurt at the disinterest in her voice. She'd worked with this girl, had sex with her, delivered her to my husband to impregnate, taken her child for money, yet she spoke of her death as if it was little more than an inconvenience.

  Cooper was wrong. Poison was too gentle a word for LeAnne Gates.

  “Where's the contract?” Knox asked.

  “What do you need the contract for? Everything is legal. The birth certificate on file has her name on it with Trey as the father.”

  “Just in case,” Knox answered in a deceptively easy tone. “Just in case the girl isn't dead. Just in case you're full of shit and she comes knocking on our door. Just in case, and none of your fucking business. How much do you want for it?”

  Knox leaned forward, ready to play hardball. My stomach clenched, my head spun, too much stress and all that cigarette smoke pushing me to the edge of nausea again. I jerked to my feet, legs shaky. I needed sugar and bubbles. And to get the hell out of this house.

  “Do you have a ginger ale or a soda or something?”

  An annoyed look from those lavender eyes. LeAnne gestured behind me at the bar cart in the corner. I lurched in that direction, giving LeAnne and Knox my back. Looking again, I saw a mini-fridge built into the bottom of the cart. I opened it and pulled out an ice-cold ginger ale.

  She and Knox were negotiating in low voices, Knox in a glacial tone I'd never heard from him before. She demanded a million dollars. I caught Knox's disbelieving laugh.

  If we got a copy of that contract, if I could leave this house knowing that Adam was really and truly mine, I'd pay every last penny I had. Anything. I took a long sip of the ginger ale, lingering on the far end of the room where the smoke was less concentrated. Where I didn't have to see LeAnne's sneering smile.

  My eyes trailed around the room, taking in a bookshelf, a plastic plant on a fake marble stand, and a curio cabinet with a mirrored back, its frame made of glaringly shiny brass. I wandered closer, curious to see what kind of things a woman like LeAnne Gates collected.

  My eyes caught on a familiar sight and I froze.

  It couldn't be, could it? How—?

  I didn't have to ask.

  Trey.

  My goddamned lying bastard of a husband.

  Sitting on the top shelf of the curio cabinet, beneath a bright accent light, was a small blue snuff box, diamonds glittering on the lid.

  Holy crap.

  I turned to get Knox's attention, then thought better of it and started across the room to take my seat beside him. There was a reason Cooper had told me to keep my mouth shut. Intrigue is not my specialty.

  Throw me a five-year-old and I'm a pro. Negotiating with a procuress for an illegal contract for a child that was a result of the threesome she'd had with my husband and a drug addict? I could leave that in Knox's lap.

  I was crossing the room when Knox's phone rang. He glanced at it and silenced the call. Two seconds later, it rang again. Giving it a long, measuring look, he stood and left the room to answer. A second later his body locked tight.

  That couldn't be good.

  Chapter Forty

  Knox

  The voice in my ear was terrifyingly familiar. I'd missed the second call, but he left a message that sent my world tilting sideways, tipping me out of reality and into a nightmare.

  Knox Sinclair. I know you have the numbers. I have your house surrounded. Charges are planted. Send your men in and I'll blow it up. Fail to give me my money and I'll blow it up. Try to get the woman and the boy out and…you get the picture. I look forward to hearing from you.

  For far too long, I stood there, unable to move, unable to breathe, the thud of my heart deafening in my ears. Adam. Alice. How?

  As if he could read my mind, a text came through. A picture of my house, exactly as I'd left it, except for the small, white block beside the front door, black wires protruding in a tangle. A second picture, another white block, this one at the corner of the house. Another by the garage.

  I called Alice. Voicemail. We already knew Tsepov had access to tech. He pr
obably had the signals blocked at the house. I'd have to think of a way to warn Alice.

  First, the accounts. They were empty. I couldn't let Tsepov learn the money was gone while he still had Adam and Alice.

  “Knox?” Lily hovered on the edge of the living room, worry heavy in her eyes. Fuck. I held up a finger. She stayed silent, but she didn't leave. Fuck.

  Normally my first call would be to Cooper. I thought of Alice, trapped in my house, surrounded by bombs. Not Cooper. Not yet.

  I needed to talk to Tsepov, and I absolutely couldn't call him. Not with Lily standing right there. I thought about telling her to get into the car. She trusted me, but she also knew me. She knew something was wrong. Chances of getting her out of here? Zero.

  I texted in response to the message.

  Get rid of the explosives and I'll give you the numbers.

  An answer shot back in seconds.

  I see what's in the accounts, then I let them go.

  Fuck. That was exactly what I couldn't let happen. I had to buy time.

  I'm not in Atlanta. I need time.

  Get me the money or I'll blow the house.

  You blow the house, you'll get nothing.

  You have two hours.

  I had to hope that would hold him. The clock was ticking. Way too many things could go wrong, with two lives in the balance. Cooper might call Alice, Alice might notice the wireless and mobile signals were down. Adam might want to play outside. Anything could happen.

  We were done here.

  A tug on my sleeve. I looked down to see Lily at my side. So quiet her voice was almost inaudible, she asked, “What's wrong? What happened?”

  I thought about lying, almost managed to convince myself it was the right thing to do. I didn't need Lily to lose it. Not now. I thought about it, and I knew I couldn't do it.

  Aware LeAnne was listening, I matched Lily's almost silent tone. “I need you to be strong for me, Lily—”

  I didn't have to finish. Her skin turned to ash beneath her normal tawny glow. “Adam,” she breathed.