by AJ Adams
“Where’s the father?” DT asked.
“We haven’t talked yet,” I told him. “It was too late when we got back.” Lacy had been as bushed as Mia, so I’d just tucked them both into bed.
“I guess it doesn’t matter,” Flash mused. “If he’s not in the picture, he doesn’t concern us.”
“The kid’s okay now, right?” Crush asked me.
“Yes. Mia took to the rose suite instantly seeing it has a Stubbs on the wall. And right now she and Lacy are shaking hooves with the donkeys and checking out the stables.”
“They’re safe on your land, but I’d be cautious about venturing off it,” Crush said seriously. “The village is buzzing with the news that the war is Lacy’s fault.”
I knew it was true. As Brianne had told us, Barrows had put it about that the Disciples-Horde fight had started because Lacy had run off with his savings, bankrupting him.
“Pig is telling everyone that if Lacy goes back to Barrows, hostilities will cease,” Crush said.
“That man is a total and utter shit,” Kraken snarled viciously.
“And very clever,” Crush pointed out. “Yesterday the village were rock solid behind us, but now some will be saying this whole situation is our fault and that we have the power to fix it.”
“Nobody is going to hand over a girl to those fuckers,” Zero said. “No way.”
“A girl, no,” Crush said. “But a thief?”
There was dead silence as the executive thought it through.
“Hell,” Kraken sighed. “Yes, there are some who’ll say she’s got it coming.”
“They’d better not fucking try saying it to me,” I snapped.
“Cool down,” Crush said instantly. “We’ve got enough problems without arguing among ourselves.”
“And anyway,” Flash said peaceably, “we’re not doing it. And what’s more, even when we thought she was a blackmailing little tart, we weren’t going to give her to Pig, remember?”
“Sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m an arse.”
“Everyone who thinks Rex is an arse, say aye!” Crush said instantly.
While the chorus of agreement on that one still echoed around the kitchen, my phone rang.
“Rex, I’m in London with the board,” David, and by the sound of his clipped, serious voice, he was on speakerphone. “We aren’t pleased with the developments in Bonnington. Media coverage has been awful.”
I braced myself. “Everything is fine. You shouldn’t listen to the gutter press, David.”
“Arson attacks and destruction of property are bad enough but to have our investment partner get into fistfights is intolerable.”
That bloody YouTube video of me taking on the Horde vandals in the Feathers car park. “You’d rather work with a man who stands aside as thugs do as they please?”
“We’d rather you weren’t involved in any way!” David said exasperatedly.
“I shall consider myself scolded.” I acted cold because I was sure there was no way the board would pull out of the contract. A dustup simply wasn’t worth losing money over. “Anything else?”
“We hear the whole thing started because you’re having an affair with a married woman,” David continued.
“Nonsense.”
“It’s here in black and white, a letter from Jason Barrows asking us to intervene. He says that his wife, Lacy Barrows, née Redwood, left him after a disagreement. He says she’s holed up at Perdition and you won’t let him talk to her. Barrows says that in addition to wanting his wife back, she took all their savings. He’s appealing to us to help him. Kennard is concerned.”
All the breath left my body. This wasn’t Barrows’ idea; this was clever, conniving Pig. He was aiming at me and trying to kill my marina project. A public scandal that involved adultery was the one thing that would make the super saintly Kennard Wilton break a contract.
“David, there isn’t a word of truth in that.”
“But I saw her at Perdition.”
“Lacy is not married to Barrows; she has never been. She worked a modelling job for him, and she quit when he came to work drunk and tried to hit her.”
There was a brief silence. “Let us consult,” David said.
The phone went quiet as the board talked it over. I waited, cursing Pig, Barrows, and the Horde. I reminded myself the project was safe. After all, I’d boxed clever with the contract, but for the rest, I was on rock-solid ground.
David came back on the line. “We’ve discussed it,” he informed me. “Rex, I’m asking you formally, are you certain that there is no truth to this letter?”
A coldness went right through me. “You’re questioning my word?”
“Seeing your recent behaviour, are you surprised?”
“Lacy is not married to Barrows, has never been, and she’s not a thief.” I bit out each word, ice turning to anger. “Anything else?”
“Yes, we’ve also heard disturbing rumours about you threatening Nathara Hyde over a stolen diamond ring.” David rustled some papers.
“She misplaced her ring and then accused my staff of theft. I told her to knock it off. Is that a crime?”
“She puts it differently,” David said. “Also, Rex, we understand that Lacy Redwood, who goes by the working name of Lacy Desire -”
I cut him off. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”
“We are simply clarifying her position,” David cast back. “Whatever name she goes by, this young woman does have a criminal record.” His voice became unctuous. “As your investment partners, we are justifiably concerned about your reputation and associations.”
“What the hell are you implying?”
“Some of us were wondering at the coincidence of Ms. Desire’s presence and the missing ring.”
I saw red. “As it happens, we found it yesterday. It had rolled under a loose floorboard.”
“We’re delighted to hear it. Dear Nathara will be relieved.”
“Anything else?”
“I don’t see why you’re upset,” David was enjoying himself, getting his revenge on me. “After all, if you will spurn people of our own class in order to associate with criminal elements, you must expect us to be concerned.”
That did it. “Is that so? You’ll have come clean to the board then about your own proclivities.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?”
“I meant the bill I received this morning. A full night’s carousing with two prostitutes costs a pretty penny, especially with you going wild on the extras.” I listened to his outraged squeals. “Oh, you forgot to tell your chairman, David? Sorry to let the cat out of the bag. But I’m sure that you can explain your, uhm, associations to Kennard.”
I hung up on him, my hands shaking with tension. The executive were at the kitchen table, going over the plans for the week, but I couldn’t hear them. My mind was entirely taken up by the fact that David, a man who’d known me forever, had treated me like a pariah.
“Rex, you okay?” Crush was standing in front of me. “Hey, what the fuck was that about?”
“Nothing.” I wasn’t ready to share yet; I needed a moment to think. “Where are we? What’s the plan?”
“Here’s the roster for the week, with a list of targets ranked in order of concern and vulnerability.” Crush really should be in the army; he’d probably win the war against terrorism in a week. “I’m going to sniff about and see what Pig’s big plan is.”
“He’s targeting the marina project.” I explained briefly.
“Hell,” Zero groaned. “That’s fucking sneaky.”
“I’m relieved,” Crush maintained. “Now we know, we can fight back.”
“There’s no way they can cancel the project, right?” Kraken asked.
“No, the contract is solid.” But I was worried. Building projects are hell to run because they involve a mass of red tape. I had friends and connections who would help me cut through the more difficult parts, but Pig undermining my relationship
with the board would make life difficult. Also, David might moan to our mutual mates, and I didn’t want people thinking I was too troublesome to deal with.
Crush was way ahead of me. “Rex, from this point you’re out of it. We’ll take down Pig and his pals; you concentrate on keeping the board happy.”
“I should be out there with you.”
“There’s nobody better than you in a fight,” Crush assured me. “But none of us can charm the commissioner of police or pull strings in the city.”
“My fucking title,” I grumped.
“Is worth a fortune and it keeps us in business,” Crush said seriously. “Cosy up to the board. Then go straight to the marina and check in with that contractor. Money makes the board happy; give it to them.”
“Fucking bastards.”
“Don’t be ridiculous; this is business, not personal,” Crush admonished me. “Win the board back over and then go about settling hearts and minds in the village. We need everyone supporting us.”
He was right, and so I didn’t argue. “Okay, but I have to do something first.”
I got into the Landrover and went to the row of cottages by the stables. Parking at the last one, I found the door open. I walked in and found Brianne slumped on the sofa in the living room.
One look at her swollen red eyes made me wince. “Hey, Brianne.”
She was up on her feet, weeping a river. “I’m sorry. Don’t kick me out. It would kill me to leave here.”
I’d known her forever; from the days she tagged behind me like a puppy, to the awkward teenage years when she would avoid me just as astutely. I found myself patting her on the back and saying, “There, there.”
Brianne just disintegrated. “I’m sorryyyyy!”
Maybe I should have thrown her out, but I couldn’t do it. “Of course I’m not kicking you out. I spoke in anger.”
I made her a cup of tea, and we talked it out.
“I’ve had a crush on you since I was eight,” Brianne confessed. “But I never thought it possible. I mean, I’m nobody.”
“Brianne!”
“It’s true,” she protested. “It was okay, I mean, I didn’t mind that you didn’t want me. I was happy just to be near you. But then she turned up. She’s nobody too, and yet you wanted her.” She wiped her eyes. “I was so jealous; I just couldn’t stand it.”
Guilt flooded through me. I’d been deliberately blind to her feelings.
“I thought that if she went away, maybe you’d like me.”
I didn’t say anything as she was crying again. This whole thing had been my fault.
“When I found that ring, I was going to just tell you but -”
Taking her hand stemmed the flood of tears. I couldn’t help myself; I had to know, “That missing money?”
“I did lose a tenner,” Brianne sighed. “I wanted to believe she took it.”
So it had just been one impulsive lie, not a campaign. My heart went out to her. “I won’t fire you, but you’ll have to apologise to Lacy.”
“Okay, anything you want,” Brianne sniffed.
“Lacy has moved in with me. She’s here for keeps, Brianne. I’m in love with her.” I said it gently, not to be cruel but to make sure she understood.
She couldn’t look at me. “Yes, I know.”
“How about I get you a different job? Wally needs staff at the Dog and Duck. Or maybe you’d like to go to London?”
“Thanks but no,” Brianne was wiping her eyes. “I love events, and I’m learning so much. Please let me stay.”
I’d made some of the worst mistakes in the world, so I didn’t have it in me to judge. “All right.”
“Thank you,” Brianne sniffed. “You won’t regret it, Rex.”
I put my teacup in the sink. “Come by tomorrow to talk to Lacy and then we’ll forget about it, okay?”
At the stables, I found Lacy in the small paddock, watching Wendy, my stable manager, lead Mia on a pony. “She saw Snowflake and insisted her arm isn’t sore.” She slid an arm into mine. “I thought it probably best for both of us to get back into it straight away.”
I had a sudden vision of mum, crying when I fell off my first pony and again when I crashed my first bike. She’d wept but never stopped me. Also, if she’d not loved a good gallop, she’d be with us still.
It might be safer to avoid risks but being wrapped permanently in cotton wool is no life either. I hugged Lacy, “She has a good seat.”
Lacy didn’t say a word; she just beamed. She was so pretty that I couldn’t help but kiss her. Wrapped around the limber body, snuffing up her scent, roses, and soap, I felt myself relax. This was right; we were meant to be together.
“So, where have you been?” Lacy asked.
“I went to see Brianne.” Holding on to her, I leaned against the fence. “Lacy, I couldn’t fire her.”
She didn’t miss a beat. “Of course not. Perdition is her life.”
“She tried to frame you.”
“And you didn’t fall for it.”
“I called her out immediately.” She had to know I wasn’t a total prick. “I knew it was a pack of lies.”
“Did you?” Lacy’s eyes were speculative. “Rachel called before I heard your answer. Did she say she found the ring in the blue room?”
Trust her to be quick on the details. “Well, yes. But even before she gave the game away, I knew it was all a lie. You’re straight as a die.”
“Not about everything.” Lacy glanced at Mia who was directing Snowflake in and out of a line of cones. “It’s my job,” she sighed. “I wanted to keep her safe from all the weirdoes.”
Thinking of the comments I’d seen on her Twitter feed, I shuddered. “I understand.”
“I did think of changing jobs,” Lacy said helplessly. “But I’ve not got any other skills.”
God knows why people think the military are tough; the burden of being a single mum is much harder to shoulder. I just hugged her. “You’ve done a great job. Mia’s a sweetheart.”
“I know,” Lacy dropped her voice. “Also, while Jason’s never acknowledged her, I wanted to keep her out of this mess.”
For a moment I couldn’t process it. “She’s his daughter?”
Lacy froze. “You didn’t guess?”
“Hell no!” It came from genuine surprise, but I felt her pull away from me. “Hey, where are you going?”
“You don’t want us,” Lacy said softly. “I didn’t think. I mean -”
I wrapped myself around her. “Have you been out in the sun too long? Because you’re definitely out of your mind.”
Mia was winding the pony in and out of the line of cones, little face screwed up in concentration.
“How could he just abandon his own flesh and blood?” I asked.
Lacy shrugged. “He said right from the start he didn’t want her. He told me to have an abortion, and when I wouldn’t, he washed his hands of me.”
I’m a nasty bugger but that flabbergasted me. “That’s fucked-up.”
“In all these years, he’s never said a word about her,” Lacy sighed. “Nobody knows, not even Rachel.”
“You didn’t tell her?”
“When I fell pregnant, I’d only just connected with her,” Lacy explained. “She’s always been a bit puritanical, so I didn’t feel I could tell her. But Mia needed to know about her dad, and well, uhm, I made up this story.”
“What story?”
“That her daddy loved her, and me, but that he died,” Lacy sighed. “You see, I thought the truth, that her father couldn’t be bothered with her, was just too damaging.” She looked at me anxiously. “I don’t know if it was right or not but I wanted to protect her.”
I hugged her right away. “You’re an awesome mum. Of course you did the right thing.” Poor Lacy. And poor little Mia. There’s a special hell for men who abandon their kids, I’m sure of it. “Were you ever married to Barrows?”
“God, no!”
That was a relief. At least the b
oard couldn’t accuse me of lying. “And he says she’s not his?”
“Not exactly. He just says it’s none of his business. He says it in such a way that it gives the impression that he’s not the father.”
So he couldn’t claim I was keeping his kid from him. That was another relief.
“I was worried he might try and find me by searching for her,” Lacy said bitterly. “Thankfully, he’s never paid her any attention. I think he genuinely doesn’t remember she exists.”
I was wondering how long that forgetfulness would work for us. If he told the board I was keeping his daughter from him, Christian family values Kennard would have a hissy fit. “Lacy, there’s something you need to know.”
When I explained, she exploded with fury. “Those bastards! They have no right to stick their noses into my business!”
“Barrows might think it a good time to claim parental rights.”
“If he tries it, I’ll kill him!”
Scratch beneath the surface of a mum and you release the wild tiger underneath. “There’s no way I’ll let him get near her; I’m just saying to be prepared for a shit-storm.”
“Rex, you can’t tell anyone,” Lacy said urgently. “You know how people are. Someone would talk, or whisper, and if Mia heard...”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” The mere thought of that little girl’s heartache at learning the truth convinced me. “But Lacy, if Barrows talks -”
“I know, the shit hits the fan.” Lacy was quiet for a while. Then she sighed. “I know it’s not my fault, Pig and the Horde have had their eye on Bonnington for a while, but I can’t help but feel that us being here makes it easier for them.”
“Nonsense.”
“If I hadn’t asked you to rescue me, the board wouldn’t have anything on you.”
That was simple to refute. “But you rescued me, Lacy.” I cradled her closely, revelling in the satin skin and fresh sweet scent. “I was lost, and I didn’t even know it. You brought me back.”
“Neither of us is a saint,” Lacy murmured.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of, but I was on the road to hell,” I admitted ruefully. “I didn’t care for anything or anyone.”
