I nodded once. “I’d better get going.”
“You still hanging around with my sorry, good for nothing kitchen help?” Miss Nece thundered into the kitchen before I had a chance to examine that I might have a friend for the first time in . . . a long, long time.
Trish paled. “I know I’ve been working on my own recipes—”
“Not you, honey. I’m talking about that boy who comes and goes as he pleases,” she said.
Trish covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh.
I tapped my temple a couple of times. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’ve got a crush.”
Miss Nece’s face screwed up like that was the most unpleasant thought to ever cross her mind. “I’ve already been around trouble before. I’m too old for it now.”
“Nope. I’m ninety-nine point nine percent sure you like trouble.” I grabbed the bags off the counter and kissed Miss Nece’s cheek as I passed. “I’ll tell him you said hi.”
* * *
“I can hold my own.”
The security detail Drew had undoubtedly assigned to babysit me ignored me, carrying the bags of food to the elevator. When they’d been waiting on me, along with Easton, who confirmed who they were, my annoyance thawed quickly. Drew needed to stay with his mother, but he wanted me to be safe. He’d actually considered my safety. I wouldn’t call him out on it . . . for now. But he might as well have admitted he cared.
I hesitated when I reached the front door of the Carter apartment. It was odd letting myself into someone else’s home even though I did it all the time. The difference was that here, I wasn’t wanted. I knew none of them liked me. They only tolerated me because of Drew, and they were barely okay with him.
I dropped off the food in the kitchen. No one was around. Loretta’s door was closed when I went past, so I didn’t disturb her, going to our room to stash my purse. Drew was on his laptop when I walked in. He stopped what he was doing and had this look on his face like he was happy to see me but didn’t want to show it. And damn it, I felt kind of excited to see him too.
As soon as he realized that, a smirk appeared on his lips. “Were you in an explosion of some sort?”
I glanced down at my shirt. There might have been an accident with a blender and a strawberry smoothie.
“Well, dear,” I said, sighing dramatically as I dropped my purse on the floor and sank into the chair beside him. “My day was exhausting. You have no idea what it’s like to be the breadwinner.”
“You don’t know what it’s like either,” he shot back. Touché. “It is rather nice having someone else foot the bill for a change.”
“For a change? Need I remind you that you took a hefty amount of someone else’s money?”
“That was hard work,” he protested, sliding an arm around me. “Say thank you, sugar.”
I shivered. I loved it when he talked in that nothing-but-trouble voice. “Not until I know what for.”
“Say it, and I’ll tell you.”
“Thank you, sugar,” I repeated as if it took a great effort.
“I suppose you can take half the credit, since it was your savvy that got us this cash.” He pulled an envelope full of money from beside the seat cushion, holding it open so I could see the green inside. I reached for it. “Not so fast. I need this.”
“What the hell? You said I should get half the credit.”
“Yes, credit. Not cash,” he corrected.
I was irritated, but I found it impossible not to smile when he was playful like this. “And how, may I ask, did you come into this cash?” I asked, threading my fingers through his.
“I sold that jewelry I found in your bag from one of your sugar daddies. You don’t need it anymore.”
“What jewelry? I don’t have any—” I stopped mid-sentence. “You have to get it back,” I said, scrambling out of the chair. “Right now.”
Drew furrowed his brows. “You’re going to have to forget about everyone who’s come before me. I didn’t think you cared enough about any of them to get so attached. I will say the bastard has excellent taste, whoever he is.”
“The bastard is my mother,” I said, reaching for the envelope.
He clucked his tongue in disappointment. “I thought we were past the lies. Are you practicing your skills on me? Making sure you stay sharp?”
“No, you ass. She gave me the necklace, earrings, and bracelet when I graduated from Yale. She’d never worked, but she took a part-time job because she wanted to buy me something special.” Pain jabbed through the thick fog of anger. She could’ve easily used the money my dad earned, but when I figured out why she’d been working at the jewelry store, she confessed she’d wanted to use her own money to purchase the gift. That meant nothing to Drew.
The smirk slightly faltered, but only for a second. “Sorry, sugar. But we needed the money.”
“No. You needed it, and you should have asked me.” I glared, taking a step toward him. “You know what your problem is? It’s never enough. You stole a billion fucking dollars. A billion. But you still have to steal from me. Because you’re a goddamned thief.”
“Sonya. If I’d known—”
“It wouldn’t have made a difference.”
Drew got to his feet and pulled me against him before I could protest. “It would have. I’m sorry.”
“I thought we weren’t lying to one another,” I hissed, twisting to get loose.
He only held me tighter. “We aren’t.”
“It’s always a game to you. You can’t stop.”
Hurt flashed across his face. “Like you have either.”
“I never would have taken your things without asking,” I insisted.
“From what you’ve told me, your track record says otherwise.”
Boom. He’d fired the loaded gun at me, throwing every truth I’d told him back in my face. I’d thought he understood and was on my side. Yet another mistake I’d made around Drew Carter.
Even a thief had boundaries. Not him. I doubted two wrongs would ever make a right, but I was going to try.
“Can you get it back?” I asked quietly, controlling my anger for show. He shook his head. I put a hand to his cheek. “It’s all right. It’s only jewelry.”
He looked relieved, but I ignored that, planting my lips on him. Men were so easy to distract and stupid enough to believe women got over shit as quickly as they did.
The fuck it was all right. He thought he could hock my things and keep the money? No. No. No. He got away with everything. I was even guilty of letting his behavior go without consequences. But he’d best remember one thing: payback was a bitch, and she had sharp claws.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Drew
Had I fucked up?
A big part of me said an unequivocal yes. If I had known her mother had given her the jewelry as a graduation gift, I wouldn’t have sold it. But when I’d seen it inside the box, I wasn’t prepared for what I’d felt. I’d been jealous. I hated that Sonya had gone back for something I’d assumed was from another man. The coin was one thing. She’d stolen it, and I knew she didn’t give a shit about Tamas Levitt. But she’d thought twice about the velvet box. Like it was important to her.
When I opened it and discovered the expensive pieces, I’d wanted to get rid of them immediately. I wasn’t keeping Sonya for myself, but as long as she was around, it was just us. When I figured out how to get in the storage unit, the rest of that crap was going too. I didn’t have the right to get rid of it, but it made me crazy with jealousy. The more I thought about all she’d amassed, and what she might have done to get it, the more pissed I got.
Sonya was doing something to me. Things I didn’t like. I’d spent the last half hour on the phone, trying to convince the man who’d bought the jewelry to sell it back to me. He didn’t want to do it for the same amount he’d given me, greedy son of a bitch. I had no cash to add to it. My hands were tied, but I’d figure something out. I had to. She’d been angry. I saw it
the second I accused her of lying. Instead of dragging it out and refusing to get over it, she’d said it didn’t matter. But it did. I’d fix it. I’d worry about why I wanted to so badly later.
The city lights illuminated the darkness out the windows as I strolled into the living area.
“Mama, you’re up,” I said. She was a warrior. If I’d been in her condition, especially after the past few days, I wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed, let alone be up for company.
But Mama wanted to live.
And I appreciated that people wanted to be around her. Having all the new folks in our lives over for supper made her happy.
There were a bunch of women around the table and in the kitchen cooking dinner, not a man in sight except Sam at her feet and . . . Gabriel?
Fuck me to hell.
My feet refused to move when I saw him sitting next to my mother.
“Mr. Drew,” he said as though he’d been waiting for me all day. All eyes went to me. “Come sit by me. We’re coloring.”
“Um, sure,” I returned uncertainly.
My mother’s eyes met mine and then she looked at Gabriel. Lines creased her forehead. She glanced from me to Gabriel, then back to me. I felt like there was a big sign over my head, announcing that Gabriel was my son, but I kept moving, taking the empty seat next to him.
I’d managed to avoid being in the same room with him in front of my family for all this time. Hell, I’d scared Holly so bad I’d take him away that she never brought him around Carter Energy, which was why I hadn’t seen him myself until recently. Even though I hadn’t believed he was mine, I hadn’t wanted to face that either.
“Here. You can do the policeman.” He slid a coloring book and a pile of crayons toward me. I picked up the blue one, and my mother dropped hers. Gabriel resumed without noticing the weird feeling in the room, and that was when I saw what my mother had.
He was left-handed. Like me.
I ignored the others in the room, looking at Sonya, needing her to calm me the way she always did when Gabriel was around. But when our gazes clashed, there was no support. I nearly broke the crayon in half.
No. She couldn’t have . . .
She was mad about the jewelry. I knew she’d let it go too easily. My tigress didn’t let anything slide, especially when it came to me.
But this was too far, even for her. She cared about Mama. That was undeniable . . . or maybe Sonya was just that good at pretending.
Punishing me? That I understood. Doing this to my mother?
No.
That was too far. A line she wouldn’t cross.
Yet her eyes were triumphant, her mouth twisted into a sneer.
She’d done this.
She’d known if my mother ever saw Gabriel and me side by side, she’d put it together. She’d done it to get back at me.
Mulaney stared at me with contempt, but there was no surprise on her features. Vivian and Muriella froze in the kitchen, taking in the scene. Holly looked as uncomfortable as I felt. A choked sound came from my mother. Gabriel and I both dropped our crayons and got out of our chairs, he on one side and me on another.
“Are you all right, Mrs. Carter?” he asked.
Mama was near tears, the tip of her nose red, her mouth screwing up like it did when she was trying not to cry. “I’m fine,” she assured him with a weak smile, cupping his cheek, lingering.
“Hey, Firecracker? What’s this I heard about making cookies?” Mulaney asked.
“We should get started on that,” Muriella added. “Some of the ingredients we need are at my apartment. We can bake them there.” She turned off the stove burner and covered the pot with a lid. There would be no shielding the boy if they stayed here.
“What about our pictures?” Gabriel asked, clutching my mother’s hand.
“We’ll finish them after you bake your cookies, sweet pea,” Mama said.
Gabriel looked hesitant, struggling with whether to stay or go. “Mrs. Carter?”
We all held our breath.
“Yes, Gabriel.”
“Can I call you Grandma? I don’t have one, and if I could pick, I’d like you to be her. You’re fun, and you color really good.”
“Oh, Gabriel.” Tears flowed down Mama’s cheeks. “If I could pick a grandson, I’d choose you. Of course you can call me Grandma.”
Holly turned away, unable to watch, and Vivian steered her toward the front door. Mulaney grabbed Sonya by the elbow and forced her outside. I couldn’t see her face, if she was happy with what she’d done, but I hoped like hell Mulaney gave her a tongue lashing.
“Okay, Grandma. I’m going to make some cookies now. I’ll save you some.”
He squeezed her hand and took off, the other ladies right behind him, leaving us on our own.
“Drew Harris,” Mama said sternly, though the words were thick with tears. “How could you do this to that boy? To our family?”
“I didn’t think he was mine. You know why.”
“I want answers.” The tears . . . they were big, fat drops falling at a faster rate than she could wipe away. I reached out, but she recoiled from my touch.
That was why I hadn’t wanted her to know. Never in all my years had I seen my mother this hurt. Grandchildren were so important to her, and I’d stolen almost six years of the opportunity to spoil one from her. Now she might only have months with Gabriel, and whether Holly wanted it or not, my mother would not be denied her grandson.
My throat constricted like a cord was wrapped around it. I was losing my only ally, and I didn’t know how to save our relationship. Mama had forgiven so easily my other transgressions, but this one . . .
“I want to know your version. Although, I’m not sure how much of it I’ll believe.”
None of it. She wouldn’t trust a word I’d say.
I turned the dining chair next to her so it was facing her. “Are you comfortable?” I asked as I sat. The withering look she shot me was response enough. I spread my thighs and rested my forearms on them. “I met Holly at a coffee shop before she came to work at Carter Energy. She was nothing like the women I engaged with. After Erin, I just—no woman was ever going to do that to me again,” I grated out, furious at how much it still hurt almost twenty years later. “I had to see if someone like Holly would get in my bed.”
“A conquest?” my mother asked with disgust.
“Pretty much. I charmed her, took her out to dinner. I had a good time. She made me laugh and forget about seeing how far I could get her to go. I took her home, something I never did with other women. I felt how it had started with Erin all over again. Hated the connection when we fuc—slept together. Holly was real. None of it was a put on. Not even on my part. Once that hit me, I panicked. I treated her terribly, kicked her out in the middle of the night—”
“Drew,” Mama said, horrified.
I took a minute. This was hard to admit.
“I know.” It was an awful thing to do, especially to someone like her, but I did it. Too late for an apology, not that I’d give her one anyway. She might not see it that way, but I had done her a huge favor. I couldn’t give her the things she wanted. Couldn’t be who she’d wanted me to be—her Prince Charming.
“How could you?”
I shrugged. There was no good answer. “I knew the condom had busted, but I wasn’t worried. Pregnancy wasn’t an issue, since I’m infertile.”
“The doctors told us you were.”
“I guess they were wrong. When she came to me, told me she was pregnant and it was mine, I didn’t believe her. You can’t blame me for that. I was angry and thought she was using me to get money or something. It didn’t occur to me until recently that she never asked me for a thing.” My chin dropped to my chest. I’d been so blinded by her audacity of trying to pin something like that on me that I’d never stopped to think. It felt like life just hadn’t twisted the knife enough. I couldn’t have kids, yet there was Holly, dangling the very thing I couldn’t have.
“It never occurred to you to get a paternity test?”
“I didn’t need one. I had the doctor’s reports that proved it was impossible,” I said, and I saw an ounce of understanding in Mama’s eyes. I sighed heavily. “I refused to have a test, but I used the situation to manipulate Holly. Threatened her, told her if she said anything, I’d make sure to take her son away from her just because I liked the power.”
“What has happened to you? My son used to be like that little boy. Sweet, curious, with a heart bigger than anyone else’s on earth.”
I ignored the question, couldn’t look at the pain in my mother’s eyes. “Carlos saw Gabriel and me together and figured it out, just like you did. We had a talk, I took the paternity test, and I signed over all my legal rights to Holly. Carlos will be his father. It’s the right thing to do. Look at him, Mama. He’s about as perfect as a kid can be. I’d only destroy that.”
The tears flew in a torrent down my mother’s face. I placed a hand on her thigh, trying to comfort her even as I destroyed her.
“I don’t want him to know the truth. It’s the one thing I can get right out of this. I refuse to take away what Holly has built for selfish reasons.” I stood.
Mama lifted her eyes to me. “I don’t know if I can forgive you for this.”
I gave her a rueful look. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”
Chapter Forty
Sonya
I’d gone too far this time.
I hadn’t thought through the consequences of getting Drew and Gabriel in the same room in front of Loretta. But when I found out he’d sold my jewelry, all I’d seen was red. Deep, dark crimson.
And I’d wanted to make him pay in the worst possible way.
I hadn’t considered how painful the truth of Gabriel’s parentage would be for Loretta. She’d been an innocent bystander, just like Gabriel. I cared about her, but not enough to think about how my plans would affect her.
These people had let me into their home. Loretta had treated me like a daughter from the second we met. She’d never looked at me with disdain or judgment.
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