The door closed behind us with a soft snick, and my feet instantly glued themselves to the floor as I looked around. Lincoln and Xander were both in the room, but it was the unfamiliar woman sitting in front of the big desk that gave me the most pause. Her perfectly styled hair and smart business suit gave the impression of importance and screamed power. “What’s going on?” I asked, shakily, turning back to Marco.
Instead of answering, he put his palm to the small of my back and gently pushed me forward. “Why don’t you take a seat.”
I moved woodenly toward the chair beside the woman and dropped down heavily. Marco rested his hips against the edge of Lincoln’s desk, crossed his arms over his chest, and proceeded to drop a bomb that left me utterly speechless.
“A few weeks ago, I asked Xander to look into your parents. I wanted their location, but I also wanted him to find anything we could use against them in a custody battle.”
“Custody battle?” I squeaked.
He continued like I hadn’t spoken. “The main goal in the search was to find enough against them to get them to sign over all their rights to the kids so they’d be legally yours. But on the off chance that doesn’t work out, I wanted to be sure we have everything we need to guarantee we win if this goes before a judge.”
The air in the room suddenly felt so thick I couldn’t breathe. “I can’t... I don’t... I don’t understand. Why would you do this?”
Pushing off the desk, Marco came to crouch down in front of me, taking my hands in his as he spoke quietly. “Because they’re your kids, Gypsy. They’re yours and I never want you to have to worry about them not having insurance or have to explain to a principal or teacher why you’re the one they’re speaking to instead of your folks. If we can do this, they’ll be yours, free and clear. This is the last obstacle in that great life I promised you, baby.”
Marco’s figure began to blur as my eyes filled with tears. “So... y-you found them?”
“I did.” He inhaled sharply, casting his gaze to the side. When he finally looked back to me seconds later, the hazel was shining with sadness I didn’t understand until he spoke again. “They’ve been living in Grapevine.”
It was as if I’d just been punched in the stomach. I squeezed my eyes against the sudden rush of tears, but there was no stopping them. One broke free and trickled down my cheek before I could stop it. “All this time,” I whispered, my voice a ragged croak. “More than two and a half years they’ve been living two towns over, and they never once came to see us?”
Marco rose to his feet like he was bracing for whatever was to come. “Gyspy—”
“This is unbelievable!” I cried, throwing my arms out. “I’ve been killing myself all this time, and they didn’t even have the decency to run further away? I mean, how lazy can you be to abandon your family, but then only move half an hour away!”
“If I may,” the woman beside me spoke calmly, not fazed in the slightest by my freak-out. “Ms. Bradbury, my name is Susan Seymore.” She extended her hand, and after a moment, I reached out to shake it. “I’m a partner at Gimbal, Seymore & Issacs. I specialize in family law. I’ve been brought on to assist with your case.”
My stomach twisted into painful knots and a cold sweat broke out across my hairline. From the quality of this woman’s attire, she made some serious money. On top of that, she was a partner at her firm. I didn’t know what her hourly rate was, but I had a sinking feeling that, whatever is was, I couldn’t afford it.
“Um, Ms. Seymore... I appreciate you being here, but I don’t know if I can pay you for—”
“Please, call me Susan. And that’s already been taken care of by Mr. Castillo. There’s no need for you to worry about that.” I swung around to face Marco with wide eyes, but before I could say anything, Susan continued. “Now, I’ve already started the ground work on your case, and I have to tell you, I have a very good feeling about this. Over the past few weeks we’ve been able to obtain all the evidence needed to have your parents’ rights terminated due to abandonment and neglect. I’ve reached out to a number of citizens who are more than happy to speak on your behalf as character witnesses, should this go to trial. But with everything we’ve compiled with the assistance of Mr. Caine and Mr. Castillo, I’m confident we can settle this out of court. Based on the information I have, your parents aren’t in a position to pay for a lengthy custody battle, but even if they did, they don’t have a shot of this going in their favor. There isn’t a judge in the state who would side with them, and I’ll be sure to stress that fact when I sit down with them later this week.”
Panic clenched my heart in an iron grip. When I woke up this morning, I never could have expected my day to take a turn like this, so there was no way I was prepared to see my parents face to face for the first time in years, “This week?” My gaze bounced around the people in the room. “I... I don’t want to see them,” I said to Susan. “I don’t want to be anywhere near them.”
“That’s fine,” she said quickly. “I can handle the initial meeting. If we can get this settled then, you’ll never have to lay eyes on them. But, Gypsy,” she leaned forward and placed a hand on mine. “If this goes to court, I can’t make you that same promise. You think you can prepare for that?” I nodded, unable to speak past the sudden dryness in my mouth. “Good.” She stood on her fancy heels and reached into her designer purse to pull out a business card. “I’ll be in touch after the meeting, but in the meantime, if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to call me.”
I took the card and mumbled my thanks. I was in such a daze, staring down at the glossy black print on the embossed card, that I hadn’t noticed she’d exited the room until the door clicked closed and yanked me back into the present.
“We’ll just give you two a minute,” Lincoln offered, standing from his chair. Then he and Xander followed suit, leaving Marco and I alone.
“I know you’re probably pissed I didn’t talk to you about this before acting, but I did what I felt I had to do to take care of my family,” he started before I could say a word. “And before you argue with me about the money, you should know I’m not gonna back down on that. I’ve lived a simple life, never had much that was worth a lot, which means most of what I’ve earned has just been sitting in the bank. And Linc pays well, Gypsy. Really well. I can afford this, so I need you to let me help. I know this has been a lot to take in, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this sooner, but—”
Dropping the card onto the floor, I shot to my feet. “I can’t believe you did this for me,” I whispered, grabbing hold of him and holding on tight.
He returned my embrace and spoke quietly. “I’d do anything for you, girasol. Thought you knew that by now.”
I smiled up at him through watery eyes. “You know I love you, right?”
“I do, baby,” he returned, his hazel eyes glinting gold. “And I love you too.”
“I know.” I giggled. “You show it every single day. I just hope I give you as much as you give me.”
“Gypsy, you give me everything just by existing. I didn’t have a home before you. Now I’m home whenever you’re with me.”
And just like that, he gave me more.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gypsy
The hard trill of the phone ringing filled my ear before it finally cut out and was replaced with a message I’d become all too familiar with over the past couple days.
“Hey, you’ve reached Mac! I’m either busy or screening your calls so leave a message and we’ll see what happens!”
Beep.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I left my third message in two days. “McKenna, it’s Gypsy again. I’ve been trying to reach you, hon. I’m starting to worry. If you don’t call me back I’m gonna drive my ass down to Pink Palace to make sure you’re all right.”
Marco had been doing his best lately to keep me clear of the whole Malachi Black situation. I’d ask questions, but all I’d get were grunted answers of “It�
��s being handled,” or “It’ll be over soon. You don’t need to worry”. The lack of information was wearing on my nerves, but I tried my best not to push—an incredibly hard fete for me. When I voiced my concerns about McKenna to Marco, he’d reassured me that they had her covered, whatever that meant. And when I tried to get more from him, he’d shut me down. Up until just recently, I’d let that slide, but with her continued radio silence, I was starting to worry.
Ending the call, I tossed the phone on the bar and resumed scribbling on the tablet in front of me.
“What’re working on there?” Rory asked, sitting down the case of beer she’d just brought out from the store room and leaning over the bar to look at the what I was writing. This morning, having gotten sick of my own company, I’d decided to head over to The Tap Room. It wasn’t open for business yet, but I knew Rory always got there early so she could take inventory and put things to rights before unlocking the doors.
“Lists, lists, and more lists,” I answered, blowing out a sigh. “Sunny’s turning sixteen in a couple weeks, and I’ve taken responsibility of planning a party for a bunch of horny high schoolers who are about as easy to control as the wind.”
Instead of getting sympathy, she threw her head back and let out a big belly laugh.
I’d spent the last couple of days on tenterhooks, waiting on Susan’s meeting with my sorry excuses for parents, and with each day that passed my anxiety was at an all-time high.
I hadn’t told the kids what was happening, just in case things went south, but the closer it got to the day, the more anxious I became.
I didn’t have work to take my mind off of it, so I did the next best thing and threw myself into planning Sunny’s sweet sixteen party.
I’d been sitting at the bar, trying to figure out how to give my sister the best party possible while silently freaking out over the impending meeting while Rory went about her business when she decided to take a break so she could laugh at my plight.
“Glad my misery can amuse you,” I grumbled, crumpling a napkin and throwing it at her face.
She swatted it away easily and rested her forearms on the bar top. “This isn’t just about Sunny’s party, is it? You seem a little high strung.”
Dropping my pen down, I braced my elbows on the bar and massaged at my temples. “The meeting’s tomorrow.” I’d informed her.
After leaving Alpha Omega Investigations the other day, I’d gathered the girls together to tell them all what was going down. Turned out, they already knew, considering they were all among the people Susan had spoken with about being character witnesses.
I shouldn’t have been surprised they had my back, but it still moved me to tears when I found out. Big, fat, body wracking tears.
Rory’s face fell. “God, that came fast.”
“Not fast enough for me,” I mumbled. “It’s only been a few days, but I already want this to be over with.” I groaned and raked my fingers through my hair. “God, that makes me sound like an ungrateful bitch, doesn’t it?”
“No,” she insisted, reaching across the bar and grabbing my hand. “Not at all, Gypsy. It’s understandable after everything you’ve been through. It’s about time you catch a break. There’s just this one last hurdle, then it’s smooth sailing for you, babe. Nothing but happiness, I can feel it.”
I inhaled deeply, holding it in before blowing the breath out past my lips. “You know what?” I asked with a smile. “I feel it too. One last hurdle,” I repeated.
Rory reached beneath the bar and brought up two glasses. She filled each with the soda gun and slid one my way before holding hers in the air. “To the last hurdle and all the good that comes after.”
“Cheers,” I said on a laugh, clinking my glass with hers.
She sucked back a sip of her Coke and plunked the glass back on the bar. “All right. I’ve got an hour before I have to open, so let’s plan your little sis the best sweet sixteen party in the history of ever, yeah?”
We spent the next forty-five minutes coming up with a solid game plan for Sunny’s party, and some of my anxiety was finally starting to loosen its vice grip.
“You know, I bet Eden and Linc would be happy to host the party at their place,” Rory said. “They’ve got all that land, and we could hang lights and lanterns from the trees.”
“Ooh, yeah! I like that,” I cried, scribbling more notes. “And we can get some fancy decorations in really cool colors so they don’t look too little kiddy. Like a metallic pink and black?”
“Definitely. We’ll make it look awesome. And the rest of the girls will be all over helping set this up.”
I heaved out a breath, hunching my shoulders in relief. Looking across the bar, I studied my friend closely. I realized then that I’d had blessings in my life for some time now. My girls were a godsend, and I’d been so consumed with taking care of myself, never leaning on anyone else, that I hadn’t noticed I was taking them for granted.
No more.
“I love you, you know,” I stated. “You and Eden and Nona and Tempie. I love all of you. You’re not just my friends, you’re my family.”
Rory’s expression grew gentle as the placed her hand on my arm in a show of comfort. “I know, honey. We all know. And we all feel the exact same way about you. Why do you think we keep you around?” she finished with a wink.
My stomach chose that moment to let out a loud grumble, reminding me I hadn’t eaten anything yet today. Hopping off the barstool, I slung my purse over my shoulder and announced, “I’m gonna run over to Muffin Top for a coffee and Danish. You want me to bring you back anything? It’s on me.”
Rory’s eyes went big at the mention of the cafe. Muffin Top was a Hope Valley institution with the best coffee and pastries you’d ever tasted. “Oh, yeah! A cappuccino and one of those old fashion glazed donuts.
“You got it. I’ll be back in two shakes.”
Stepping out of the bar, the bright mid-morning sun kissed my skin, leaving behind a pleasant warmth. I closed my eyes and smiled as I tipped my face toward the sky. What Rory said earlier was still bouncing around in my head.
One last hurdle.
Then nothing but happiness.
But I should have known I wouldn’t be that lucky, because if life had taught me anything, it was that for every ray of sun, there was an ugly gray storm cloud just waiting to block out the light in my life.
“Well looks like my day just took a turn for the better.”
My eyes popped open. A chill raced down my spine and my world suddenly turned bleak and gray at the familiar voice. “Malachi,” I gasped as fear clogged my throat and caused goose bumps to break out across my skin.
His narrowed eyes burned with hatred. The menacing energy radiating off of him screamed danger. “Ah, ah, ah,” he warned when I began to back away, pulling a gun from the waistband of his pants and pointing it right at my face. “You and I are gonna take a little ride. But first, gimme your phone.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. I was so close to having everything I wanted. The great life Marco had promised me was just within reach. Then this asshole had to show up and threaten everything.
In that moment, my fear was weakened by rage, and I found myself leaning forward to hiss, “Fuck you.”
His free hand shot out, grabbing me by the back of the neck so tightly I winced in pain as he jerked me closer to him. “Bitch, this is not the time to fuck with me. You think I’m playin’?” His eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles from lack of sleep were smudged beneath them. That cocky, self-assured control he’d exuded was long gone. Now he was completely wired, manic. Unhinged. “I won’t hesitate to shoot you. Then, just because you pissed me off, I’ll go back to where I’m keepin’ that friend of yours and have some real fun.”
My eyes went wide. Every hair on my body stood on end as all the fight I had in me drained away. “Oh god,” I gasped. “McKenna.”
He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “That’s right. I’ll make th
at bitch scream, sugar. I’ll make her beg for me to kill her. How’s that sound? I’ll break her body first, then her spirt. And once I’ve done that, then I’ll kill her.”
A broken sob burst from deep within me.
Malachi’s fingers squeezed my neck so hard I could feel exactly where every finger shaped bruise would form. “Now give me your. Fucking. Phone.” With a trembling hand, I reached into my purse and began fishing around. When my hand brushed the cool plastic of the tracker, a niggling of hope began to unfurl in my belly. “Hurry up!” he barked, giving me a vicious shake.
“I’m trying!” I cried, finally wrapping my fingers around my cell phone.
He snatched it from me and released my neck so he could take a step back. I quickly reached back into my purse and palmed to small tracking device Marco had given me while Malachi turned to chuck my phone as far as he could.
I managed to stuff the tacker in the waistband of my pants at the small of my back before he spun back to me. He grabbed the strap of my purse and ripped it off my arm, tossing it aside. “Let’s go,” he clipped, taking me by the elbow and propelling me toward a car parked a couple yards away.
“I want to see McKenna,” I demanded.
“Oh, don’t worry, you will. The two of you can die together.”
As I was forced into the passenger seat, I sent up a prayer that I could somehow keep my friend safe long enough for Marco to find us.
Because didn’t have a single doubt that he would.
I just hoped he did it in time.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Marco
“One bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with a side of hash browns and a large coffee,” Sally said as she put my breakfast down in front of me.
“Thanks, Sal.”
“Of course, darlin’. Holler if you need anything else.”
I’d just taken my first bite when my cell started going off. Pulling it from my back pocket, I saw the number for Lincoln’s office at Alpha Omega flash across the screen. “Castillo.”
Wrong Side of the Tracks: a Hope Valley novel Page 22
