“They threw down the word ‘Indians’, huh?”
Julian knew that was going to piss her off.
“Those were definitely the words they said to Justin when he tried to plead for leniency.”
Okay, truth be told, Julian figured the second he dropped that word Elizabeth would be on board. If there was anything the non-Native hated more was when people started throwing that word around. Her husbands and their children were Native.
“Can you help her? I mean me? I mean Tori?” He was all flustered and irritated. While driving, he tucked his shoulder length brown hair behind his ears.
Julian was minutes from needing some serious medication to calm his nerves. His family might be trying to kill him.
“I can get her out. I have some pull.”
Julian knew that was total bullshit. She was married to the Deputy Director of the FBI. If Ethan made a call, Jesus would make time to see him—not to mention that she was a force to be reckoned with herself when it came to her crazy mad investigating skills.
The Blackhawks had the field cornered on power.
In fact, just that morning, Julian had seen her on the news. Elizabeth, Ethan, and Callen were chasing the ‘Shakespearean Tragedy Killer’, or that was what the media had dubbed him.
“I know how busy you are. You’re working, aren’t you?”
She laughed. “Darlin’, there are days I wish I grew mushrooms for a living. Today would be one of those days. Hell! The last month was one of those days.”
And it was true. She’d just come off a tough case dealing with Voodoo and some crazed priestess.
“I owe you one if you can spring her. I’m on a case, and on my way back to the office to go pick my damn mother up from jail.”
Again, she started laughing.
“Lyzee! Come on! It’s not funny!”
Oh, she begged to differ. Anytime a sixty year old woman punched out another in a fist fight outside an investigation agency in front of the media, it was epic.
“Darlin’, I have this. Have Justin be ready to bring her home. I will say this though—I can’t pull this repeatedly or the media will be screaming about it. Once the FBI intercedes, it draws attention, and the Deputy Director has enough heat with my bad behavior as it is, so you tell Clarissa this is her one ‘get out of jail free’ card from me. After this, my hands are tied.”
He appreciated it. “I swear to God that I’ll make sure she behaves.”
Elizabeth laughed her ass off. “Oh, right. Want to put money on that one?”
There was mumbling in the background.
“Callen wants in on that bet too. Ethan said he knows better to put money on that crazy train.”
Julian finally laughed. “That’s probably a good idea. On a side note, we miss you guys, and we’ll be coming in after the baby is born to see you. Tori misses her best friend. Thank you, Elizabeth. I owe you.”
She blew it off. “Jules, family doesn’t keep score. Kiss your wife for me. Now…I have to get back to this sicko. He’s one-step away from making me look bad. I don’t need help with that,” she teased.
Again, Ethan and Callen both made a muffled comment, and then a grunting sound when she sucker punched them both.
“Thank you, Elizabeth.”
“I’ll talk to you later, Julian. Babysit that momma of yours. She’s a menace.”
Yeah, he was well aware.
When he hung up, Hart was staring at him from the back seat. Lennox was leaning against him, but the man still had a look on his face.
“What?”
“I’m still surprised that you can call up that kind of FBI power. That was Elizabeth Freaking Blackhawk. She’s all over the news.”
Yeah, he knew how lucky he was.
They’d lucked out and been accepted as part of the Blackhawk clan, and not a day went by that he wasn’t grateful.
Family mattered. Here was his proof.
“Lyzee and I go back. She’s saved my life, and I’ve had her back. We get each other.”
“Still. I’d kill to work with her.”
Julian pulled off the highway toward home. “It’s pretty awesome. You never know what she’s going to do. Elizabeth is like a wild card. All the while you’re working some serious shit, but she makes it entertaining. You forget that you’re neck deep in killers.”
“It must be nice.”
Yeah, it was.
As they headed down the street, he could see the mêlée of media going on outside their office.
Well shit!
This sucked.
Julian had hoped that the reporters would be at the police station and not there.
So much for that pipe dream.
As he pulled in, they went insane. They knew it was bad when they saw Kane there. The man should be home with his wife and newborn, but instead, he was playing muscle to keep the crazies back.
Julian was glad to see him.
As they all got out, the media went insane—not only because he was there, and they wanted him to answer all the questions, but because they had spotted Lennox Easton holding Hart’s hand.
Well, it looked like their relationship was about to be fodder for the media’s speculation, as was her hiring them. The news was going to explode on both fronts.
That cat was out of the bag.
“This way, Jules,” Kane offered before he hustled them inside. The big man had to shove his way through the mess to get the boss and their client away from the storm of questions.
It was chaos.
When they finally broke the doorway and were safely inside, there was a collective sigh of relief.
Well, from everyone but Hart.
Then he saw her.
He immediately dropped down and opened his arms. Ivy didn’t hesitate. She raced toward him.
“Dada!”
He scooped his little girl up and hugged her to his body. After he left kisses on her face, he stared into her eyes.
“Baby, are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Pop?”
Yeah, he could relax. She was perfectly fine if her first request was sugar. Apparently, she was no worse for the wear. That helped him stay calm.
“I’ll give you one when we get home and after you had something to eat, sweetheart.”
Now that they were all reunited, Julian had to know what had happened.
“What the bloody hell went on here while I was away?” he asked.
As if on cue, Lena started laughing.
Apparently, everyone thought this was amusing but him.
Julian stared at her. She was dressed in some punk outfit with rainbow colored hair.
He had to get HR on that dress code, and soon. That train was coming off the tracks.
“It was a normal Friday here. We were having something to eat between clients, your mom showed up with the cutie pie, and it went downhill from there.”
Julian couldn’t wait to hear this.
“Okay, and how exactly did you all go from Chinese food to my mother getting arrested for assault? That sounds like one hell of a lunch break.”
Lena had enjoyed every second of it—except the part where Clarissa was toted off by the cops.
That part sucked.
“We heard this commotion outside. There was some woman screaming obscenities about Tori. We all knew who it was, but we didn’t even go there. You told us hands off when it came to Shelby, so we opted to ignore the crazy.”
Julian was glad his team had listened to him. Maybe he should have told his mother the same thing.
Hindsight...
Damn Shelby Christensen and her bullshit nonsense!
“Well, before Justin could go out to calmly disburse the media, Shelby began questioning Tori’s ability to be a mother while being a money grubbing Littlemoon.”
Beau was horrified for both Tori and for Julian’s family. They’d been so welcoming to him, and this wasn’t the payback they deserved.
It sucked.
�
��I am so sorry.”
He sincerely hoped his sister didn’t see that on the news. Beau knew how hard this was on her, especially since their mother had abandoned them.
“What else, Lena?” Julian asked, trying to keep his cool. He loathed the woman and how she was hurting Tori.
“The minute Clarissa heard it, she flipped her shit. She raced past Justin to get out there, and when she did, Shelby insulted Tori again, calling her a traitor and that she was dead to her.”
“Is that when she lost it?”
“No, it was when Shelby called her a whore. That’s when your mother sucker punched her in the face and then took her to the ground to pound on her.”
“Oh boy.”
This was bad.
He’d been hoping Shelby swung first. At least they could try the defense excuse.
“Your mom belted her so hard, she broke her nose. Momma Littlemoon’s got game.”
Julian wanted to laugh, but at the same time, he wanted to cry. His mother had punched out a gold digger outside his business.
His wife’s mother.
While on camera.
It didn’t get any worse than this.
Shit!
Shit!
Shit!
“I’ll call the attorney. Beau, don’t you dare go out there, and you are NOT to go near Shelby. We are in regrouping mode, and you going to see her will just fuel the fire.”
“Julian, if you want me to quit, I will. I can disappear for a little while until the heat dies down. I have enough in my savings to…”
“NO. You’re my brother, and you’re staying with us. Tori will die inside if you leave. You’re not going anywhere. We’ll make a stand, and we’ll go from there as a unified front.” He faced the other man. “Hart, you can head home. The less time you’re here, the better. Besides, having Lennox with you is only going to stir the media up. You saw their reaction outside.”
Yeah, he had.
He’d almost forgotten that she was an heiress to a fortune and in the media spot light.
“I can stay at a hotel,” Lennox offered. “Just point me to the nearest one. As for the media, I’m accustomed to them swarming me. They do it every time I leave my estate or they see me with a man.”
Yeah, Hart noticed.
Lena spoke up, “She was in the tabloids with that movie star last month.”
Hart stared down at Lennox, and the jealousy rose up. He didn’t like the idea that anyone was with her but him.
“He’s an old friend. We were planning a party for one of our college friends. The media thought we were getting married.”
Hart wanted to growl.
Then punch something.
“I’m always in some spotlight. I’m sorry.” She directed that more toward the man beside her. He looked angry as he held his child, and she didn’t think Ivy had anything to do with it.
Yeah, this one was on her.
“Are you okay?”
He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about any of this. He didn’t like standing out like a sore thumb, but at Lennox’s side, he and Ivy would be in the spotlight too.
That scared him for his child’s safety.
“You can stay at our place,” Beau offered. “I’m going to be hiding out. We can order pizza and watch a few movies.”
She smiled.
Hart was appalled. There was no freaking way she was staying with an unmarried man, ‘hiding out’, and eating pizza. It sounded like a…slumber party.
NO.
“Uh, or you can stay with us.”
Lennox glanced over. “I figured you’d want time with Ivy. I didn’t want to get in the way.”
His stomach dropped. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to be anywhere near his child.
“We have room. I’d like you to stay.” He glanced down at Ivy. “What do you say, sweetheart?”
It hurt that her being contingent in his life was going to come down to whatever the little girl said, but Lennox wasn’t surprised. She knew that Everhart Rose’s heart belonged to someone else.
Besides, this was temporary.
When this case was over, he’d leave in a heartbeat to take care of his child and life. Their paths had just kissed temporarily.
“Pop?” Ivy asked her.
Lennox opened her bag and pulled out a package of colorful licorice. She loved the stuff and never left home without some sweetness. Besides, the colors reminded her of paining.
“Do you like licorice?”
Hart laughed. “She likes anything with sugar.”
She handed it to the little girl, and she shoved it in her mouth.
“Will you stay with us?”
“I will as long as you don’t mind.”
“I don’t.”
Julian was glad that was settled. “Lena, it’s a wrap. Head out. We’re closing down the office for the weekend. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Julian only hoped he had a business to run come Monday. He had a feeling Shelby was going for the jugular on this one. She was going to want to sue Littlemoon Investigations for every penny they had.
Shit!
Lena grabbed her things and didn’t waste any time hightailing it out of there.
Vivian stepped forward to stop Hart before he could head out the front door with Ivy and Lennox.
“You can’t take her out the front door,” she stated to Hart. “If you do, they’ll swarm her and then follow you home. I’ll take her out the back and to your place—if you like. The media will think she’s in here with Julian.”
He didn’t want to be away from her, but he had to protect Ivy.
“Thanks, Vivian.”
Hart scooped up his daughter and they headed out to go home. Honestly, he couldn’t wait.
He needed to regroup.
Julian looked around his office. He loved the place. Now there was a distinct possibility that he was going to lose everything they’d worked so damn hard to build.
He just never thought it would be because of a Christensen. That was the worst part. If they lost the agency, Tori was going to carry this on her shoulders too.
Julian hated that the most.
Just as he was getting ready to call their attorney, there was a commotion outside.
“It’s Justin and your mother,” Kane stated, staring out the one window.
Great.
His mother had some explaining to do.
“Kane, thank you, but go home to your woman and son. We have this,” Julian stated. “I appreciate you coming in to help us with this mess.”
“Family first, Jules. You know you can call me and I’ll be here.” And he would. When they needed a bigger place, Julian and Tori gave them the money. When Christina needed a job so she’d stay with him, they took care of it.
They were family and to him, they mattered.
The man was grateful. Julian had to save his business, and from here on out, he was going to need everyone’s help.
Kane gave him a fist bump and headed straight out into the mess to clear some space for Justin. After a few minutes, Justin and Clarissa rushed inside.
Oh, Julian was ready to lay down the law. Unfortunately, before he could even open his mouth, Clarissa was speaking.
“Julian, before you yell at me, that trash bag white woman deserved it. She was talking smack about my Victoria. No one disparages my kids. She crossed a line.”
Julian sighed.
Justin laughed and earned a look from his brother.
“You have just as much to lose as I do, Justin,” he warned. “Want to move back to the Rez and be hungry?” Julian asked.
It shut his brother up, and fast.
“Are you angry with me?” Clarissa asked. “Maybe you can’t take the Indian off the Rez,” she said. “I lost my mind when she called my Victoria a whore. She was a soldier and served her country. She deserves to be called a hero—nothing less.”
Julian couldn’t blame his mother.
She was just protecting one of her
own. He probably would have done the same had Shelby been a man. “Slugger, you know I love you, but you can’t do that again.”
She was amused.
She’d said that to him whenever he and Justin got into fights.
“She deserved it.”
He didn’t doubt it. “Let’s sit down and discuss it.”
“I made a mess, didn’t I?” Clarissa asked.
“Yes, you did, mom, but she deserved it. Tori and I appreciate what you did, but now we need to clean up this mess.”
“We’ll go upstairs. I’ll cook for you two. You look thin,” Clarissa said. “They let me keep the flip flops,” she stated. “I think I like them.”
Julian shook his head.
“Of course you do, Mom. Of course you do.”
Now it was time to clean this mess up and save his lifelong dream.
And his child’s future.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Hart was happy to get home.
While it wasn’t huge, the apartment worked for him and Ivy. They didn’t need much space.
Well, that wasn’t actually true.
Ivy took up a lot of room with mostly toys, blocks, dolls, castles, and all the other girly things he didn’t quite understand.
It was simply what kids were like—he guessed. Honestly, she was his first run in with a kid. He didn’t have any siblings who had children.
This was his first time at the rodeo.
And it felt like it.
As he unloaded their stuff, he heard a knock on his door. It had to be Vivian with Lennox.
A part of him was scared shitless.
This was his home, and he didn’t often let anyone in there. This was where he and Ivy went to be safe, and he liked to keep it like that no matter what. After what he saw at the office, he was scared of what might be looming on the horizon.
Letting Lennox into his personal space was something new to him. He hoped he didn’t live to regret it.
Still…
He wanted her to see their home. That would be exactly what he needed to see how she fit into his life.
If she could fit into it.
Hart wanted her. His body reacted when she was near, his heart pounded, and his palms got sweaty. None of that ever happened before, and he knew that was huge.
He really cared about her.
Forbidden Secrets Page 30
