by Stacey Lynn
No contract. No ex-fiancé’s who refused to go away. No shame.
Just me.
I hoped like hell it would be enough for him.
––––––––––
Sophie stood in the middle of a makeshift stage in one of the hotel’s conference rooms with Liam on one side of her and Kevin on the other. Both of the men’s eyes were narrowed, gazes flickering around the room as if they were trying to spot trouble.
I didn’t blame them.
Their parents were in the background, silent supporters and wearing looks of grief like Sophie’s ordeal had just happened yesterday, and not a decade ago. All of them wore the stress visible on their faces. And outside of Kevin, who obviously wasn’t related. They all looked like a family. A close one. When I met Liam’s mom, she embraced me in a hug, pressed her hands to my cheeks and smile. “Well, aren’t you just a sweet little thing. It’s lovely to meet you.”
Her husband had ushered her away and pulled me in for a bear hug. “Nice to meet you. Liam’s told us a lot about you.”
Sophie and Kevin followed, Kevin with a firm handshake, Sophie hesitant. Her eyes were rimmed red and swollen, showing she hadn’t slept much and had cried a lot.
The way Kevin didn’t take his arm from her lower back or her shoulder, rubbing her back constantly with support was endearing.
These people were so good.
I liked them instantly.
But then we were ushered downstairs where Jordan had been busy all morning setting up a press conference in one of the meeting rooms. I was whisked away by Dustin and David, not knowing who was who, and I was standing at the back of the room, watching with a sea of reporters.
I wasn’t wearing my wig. No one there would recognize me, and when I’d tossed it on the bed before Liam had become so disappointed in me, I’d told him I wouldn’t need it. His pride in me evaporated when I lied. But I’d make it up to him. I’d die doing it.
From my view in the back, dressed in a simple black dress, surrounded by the security behemoths, I looked like a nobody. I could have been confused with a hotel server if I threw on a white apron they wore tied around their waists as they refilled water glasses and prepared coffee mugs.
But then it started. The conference, blinding flashes of light as Liam’s family took the stage and stole my breath with how absolutely handsome they were. And as Anne began speaking, somehow flying a redeye from New York to Kansas City to meet us there, she took over. And it was when Sophie began her story that an alert chimed on my phone.
“Excuse me,” I whispered to Dustin or David. “I have a phone call. I’ll step outside.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No,” I pressed my hand to his bicep. “I’ll be okay. And people knowing who I am doesn’t matter anymore.”
He frowned, and I’d obviously made no sense, but I did. At least to me. “The boss said to say close.”
“I’ll be three feet away with only a door between us,” I lied. My pulse started wildly bucking at my wrists and up my arms. My whole plan depended on me getting away from them. I hadn’t realized in the morning when I talked to Karen that they’d be with me. “You can even leave it open and I’ll scream if I need you. Liam’s security is more important anyway.”
That must have made sense because although reluctantly, he nodded and turned toward the stage. “Door open.”
“Promise.”
In a flash, I zipped through a side door, knowing every eye, including Liam’s, would be riveted to Sophie and the way she so bravely, wobbling chin and teary eyes and all, stood in front of dozens of gossip magazines and recounted the night of her brutal rape.
I didn’t need to stop by the reception desk. Instead, I hurried outside and slid into the airport taxi I’d scheduled earlier after talking to Karen.
“Claudia Townsend?” the man asked, barely sparing me a glance. “Do you have any bags?”
“Nope. Just Me. And yes, I’m her.”
He took off, and at the last moment, I glanced through the back window as we turned around the circular fountain.
No one had followed me. No one was chasing me.
And even though it was what I wanted, I couldn’t help the ache in my chest or the tears that burned in my eyes, wondering if there would ever be, anyone who would do that for me.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
LIAM
“What do you mean she’s gone?” I paced Jordan’s office, the already small room closing in on me. “Check the cameras again.”
“I already did.” Jordan was sitting in his chair, so relaxed and calm, I wanted to punch him.
It wouldn’t be the first time we came to blows over a girl. We went way back. I had been in more scrappy fights with Jordan since the first time in fourth grade when Brooklyn Sarato kissed him at a pool party after she’d kissed me a few minutes earlier.
The tiny little slut.
Clicking sounds on the computer pulled me to a stop and I waited. Hands shoved in my hair, I had to look a mess. I didn’t give a shit.
“Hopped in a taxi about forty-minutes ago. Headed toward the airport,” he said dryly. “Just like I told you five minutes ago. That’s all we have.”
“Fuck.” I knew all this. Nothing new had changed. I’d already called Anne and left a message with Karen at Infidelity demanding they find her. I probably shouldn’t have thrown my phone into the wall and shattered it before I got their answers.
Now I was stuck, and the only thing I could do was watch the security feeds where Claudia slipped out of the conference room right as Sophie took the stage. Claudia’s phone in her hand, she glanced at it once before heading straight toward the front doors.
She had planned this. While kissing me this morning and fidgeting, she hadn’t been nervous to meet my family or the press conference. She’d lied directly to my face.
Once I found her, I’d shake the lies out of her.
She’d run. She’d done it.
And I had no fucking clue why.
Why would she do this?
“Do you want a drink to calm down before your head pops off?”
I glared at Jordan. “Shut up. I’m missing something. And yeah…I want a damn drink.”
He pulled out a bottle of scotch and grabbed a tumbler from a buffet table behind him. A few clinks of ice cubes from the ice bucket, the slosh of scotch.
I could already taste it on my tongue before he handed it to me.
The burn didn’t settle me. I was a bomb ready to detonate.
Jordan leaned back in his chair, elbows on the armrests, hands rested on his stomach. “You like her.”
I took another swallow of my drink. “Obviously. What’s your point?”
“No point. It’s amusing is all.”
If I threw the glass at his head, would he duck fast enough? The man had stellar reflexes and skills on a baseball field. As if he knew the direction my thoughts had taken, he pushed away from his desk, smart-ass smirk on his mouth and tipped his head to the side.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he shrugged. I gripped my glass tighter. Probably as tight as the fist gripping my heart and squeezing until it hurt to breathe. “I’m just trying to figure out how you can care about this girl so much in only a few weeks from what you’ve told me, and yet, she’s still smart enough to run from your ass.”
“I swear to God, Jordan.” Screw the thinking about, I raised the glass like I was going to chuck it at him.
The asshole laughed. “Come on. Settle the fuck down. She went to the airport, Allistor, not the moon. Give it an hour or two and then follow her.”
God. I hadn’t even considered it. I’d been too wrapped up in worrying and anger and betrayal and why did I feel so strongly about a girl I only met weeks ago?
Because you’re falling for her, asshole.
Yeah, that was probably true. I wiped a hand across my mouth and tossed back the rest of my drink.
“Thanks for the drin
k.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll wait for my dad to get back with my phone and then head to the airport.”
When I’d thrown my phone, my dad had instantly jumped into action. Personally, I think he needed something to do to get his mind off Sophie and everything in the press conference. They were proud of all I’d accomplished but hated being thrust in front of cameras occasionally. Especially with this drama.
But there was nothing else to do here. The public opinion would flood social media and gossip sites and television shows if they weren’t slammed already, but I’d long since quit following them. There had barely been a dry eye in the house when my sister shared her story. Just like she’d done on the witness stand at her own trial, she recounted the events of the night of her rape with utter, disgusting clarity, and it was only then I realized how much this had cost her. Almost a decade later and she still remembered every moment of hell in vivid color. Several of the reporters had tears running down their cheeks while they held their microphones.
Afterward, I’d pulled Sophie into my arms, hugging her in front of everyone. Not for the photo op, not because there were reporters shouting questions at me trying to get more info I wouldn’t give them, but because she was my damn big sister, and she was the bravest woman I’ve met.
Unlike the little minx who skipped out.
“Not sure the airport’s the best place for you to be unless you take Dustin and David with you.”
“Yeah. Because they’re good at security.”
We’d already talked to them. I still wanted to punch Dustin when he said what had happened. I’d have tried it too if I thought I had a shot but even at my size, the man had an extra fifty pounds on me. Plus there were two of them.
I’d still barely restrained myself.
“Just wait,” Jordan said, his heavy sigh telling me how tired he was of my bitching. I’d been in his office for too damn long. “Anne will call. Or Claudia’s aunt will. You can’t just show up at Kansas City Airport and not expect a mob.”
I had to do something, though. I’d left out how I knew Karen when I was talking about Claudia. Thankfully my filter had kicked in. All my family and Jordan knew was that we met through a business associate. Karen.
I swiped my hands down the thighs of my jeans. They were hot, sweaty. And trembling.
Shit. I had to get a grip. I was probably panicking for no good reason.
Claudia would call me. She had to. Even if I hated the contract as much as her, I still technically owned her.
Fuck that contract. It was probably why she ran.
Damn it. A year with a woman to restore my social image and somehow, my sister had done it for me, and I was falling in love with a woman in a matter of weeks.
“I’ll head to my room. If Anne or Karen call before I get my new phone, send the call up to me.”
“You sure? You look like you could still use another drink.”
“Fuck off, Marx.”
I left his office with his laughter still ringing out behind me.
“Hey,” he shouted at me when I was already through his door. “Don’t be a stranger, Allistor. Some of us still remember you being a scrawny pain in our ass and we miss you.”
Damn. Good people. Easy people. Friends I’d had for life.
“I’ll keep in touch, Marx.”
We shared grins and I headed to the elevators. I was just pushing the button to call the one that would take me to the top floor when my dad rushed into the hotel lobby.
“Liam!” he shouted. For a man just over fifty, he was still in impeccable shape. I’d blame all the farm work he did with our cattle and goats, but he’d installed a full weight room in one corner of a spare barn when I was in high school. He still woke up before five in the morning every day and worked out. “I have your phone. And once it was set up, texts messages came through. Thought you’d want to see them immediately.”
I took the sleek, silver phone out of his hand and typed in my code.
My knees buckled and I closed my eyes before I read the text again.
“Thank Christ,” I muttered, rubbing my hand on my chest.
“If your mom was here, I’d tell you to watch your language, young man.”
For the first time all morning, I barked a laugh. “Good thing she’s not. Shit,” I sighed.
I read Claudia’s text again.
Went home. See you soon. C
Five words. It was enough. Whether the See you soon was a promise, or she knew I’d come after her didn’t matter.
I’d see her soon.
“You look more relieved now than I have maybe every seen you,” my dad said. “You like her.”
What was with everyone pointing that out today?
I gave him the same response I gave Jordan. “Obviously.”
I pulled up Anne’s number. Thank God for being able to move all your phone information over when you were a complete dumbass. “Son,” my dad said, his hand rested on my forearm.
He might have been thirty years older than me, but he was almost as big, maybe stronger. He had the chance to workout more than I did and he’d been using his body physically his entire life. “Look at me.”
And when Chuck Allistor spoke, I listened. “What?”
“Hold on to her. If you care about her as much as I think you do, do whatever it takes to keep her. And whatever you’ve done to send her running, apologize as fast as you can.”
“What makes you think I’ve done anything wrong?”
My dad grinned devilishly. “Doesn’t matter if you have or you haven’t. Been married to your mom for over thirty years and the one thing I’m sure to know is when she’s pissed, apologize. Then tell her she’s pretty. It works every time.”
He gave me a wink and I fought the urge to vomit. I didn’t even want to know what that wink implied. They were my parents for crying out loud.
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll keep it in mind.”
I pulled him in for a hug and slapped him on the back. “You sure you don’t need anything from me here? I can stay until the frenzy leaves.”
“Nah. Kevin took Sophie up to Lawrence for the weekend. He says they’ll hang out in a hotel there with the boys and come back Monday. Thought it’d do her some good to have a weekend relaxing at a spa.”
“Good man.”
“Both my boys are.”
“Thanks, Dad. Tell Mom I love her and I’ll call you soon.”
“Leaving so soon? Don’t you have to pack?”
“I’ll get it taken care of.” I waved my phone in the air. “Besides, I’ve got apologizing to do.”
I didn’t. I hadn’t done anything except start falling in love with her, but if she needed me to, I’d tell Claudia whatever she wanted to hear just so I could be assured she’d be spending the night exactly how we started the day.
Together.
I dialed Anne’s phone number and when she answered, skipped the pleasantries.
“Anne,” I said, “she’s in Savannah. Get me a ticket.”
“I’ll do you one better,” she said smugly. “I’ve already got a chartered plane waiting for you at the private airstrip outside Lawrence. Leaves in one hour and takes forty minutes to get to. It’s a direct flight and it should get there shortly after Sophie’s.”
Yes.
“Thank you.” I stopped suddenly and stared at the floor. I had some damn great people in my life. Anne might have been my agent but she was also my savior.
Especially today.
“Thanks, Anne,” I said again. “Have I told you lately how important you are to me and how much I appreciate you?”
“Not necessary. Just get your shit settled so you can go back to making me money.”
She hung up. I stared at the phone and laughed. Maybe I should have told her she was pretty, too.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
CLAUDIA
My family home looked exactly like it always did as I unlocked the front
door and stepped inside. I’d only been gone for a few months, but I expected it to look different. Feel different.
I certainly did.
But other than some stale, warm air from the air conditioner being on but turned higher than normal, everything was exactly how I’d left it.
Family photos, ones starting the year I was born and continuing until the most recent summer were framed and hung all over the hallway that led from the front door straight back to the kitchen.
I tossed my purse and keys onto the kitchen island and looked around.
All of this would have to go. When I’d left for New York, I had figured I’d sell this place, but I couldn’t prepare myself to do it before I moved. It hurt too much.
Now, it was just stuff. The pain would fade. The anger at my dad would eventually subside. And my mom? She’d always be my mom. Gentle, caring. A little stuck-up and a big pain in my ass for the way she cared too much about other people and their opinions, but I was over all of it.
My phone vibrated in my purse, but I already knew who it was.
When Harrison had answered my phone call after I reached the airport earlier, I’d expected him to be cold and callous, the two things I always used to describe him. My dad might have been a liar, but he’d at least treated me with a lot of love. A lot of laughter. His expectations had been fierce, but he freely doled out hugs and approval.
Harrison, on the other hand, grew up in a family where nothing was good enough. He wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps come hell or high water. And my father was so indebted to his dad…that he’d promised Harrison me as a present.
Per the rules my father and Edward Williamson, Harrison’s dad, had discussed and decided on when I was only seventeen years old, Harrison and I were supposed to be married by the time I was twenty-five. That was still a year away, but since my parents died, Harrison didn’t see the need to wait any longer.
I hadn’t even known of the agreement until my parents’ death.
