I stared at her. “He what?”
She gave me an exaggerated nod. “He got Daniel Elliott and Zegas involved too, but I’m not surprised by that. My father? He pretty much only speaks to him when spoken to.”
I’d met that man. Not officially, but on several occasions and he was . . . nothing at all like his children. He was clearly powerful, yet didn’t seem to have the time for people he didn’t perceive as useful. I didn’t like the way he spoke to Lincoln or Beau.
“Why would he involve him?” I asked quietly.
She covered my hand with hers. “Because he didn’t see any other way to get you out of jail.” She squeezed. “I love you, but I don’t know if I’d have gone that far.” She flashed a wry smile. “I can’t imagine what Lincoln is going to owe him for this.”
“What about me? What will I owe him?”
All humor vanished from her face. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, fight him as hard as you can.” She rounded the counter and threw her arms around me. “Don’t think anything of it. I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
I hugged her tightly. “I just want a simple life. Happiness. To maybe bring some good into the world. Is no drama too much to ask?”
“No.”
I held her at arm’s length. “Thank you. For agreeing to be Eric’s guardian if I couldn’t be. It’s lifted a massive burden off me.”
“It’s an honor. I’d hoped we’d never have to execute that document.” She squeezed me one more time before letting go. “Gotta be a step ahead.”
I sank back down on the barstool. “Then why does it feel like I’m running from behind?”
Chapter Fourteen
Lincoln
I rifled through the mail as Eric and I ascended to my apartment.
“Is that from one day?”
He pointed at the stack, and Millie licked the end of his finger.
“I haven’t checked it in a few days.”
“That’s a lot of letters.”
“Too many,” I agreed.
A massive red PAST DUE was stamped on an envelope from the electric company. My bills were automatically drafted. It couldn’t be past due.
Except the accounts were frozen. Yet another inconvenience and reminder of the trouble I couldn’t seem to forget no matter how I tried. More cash I’d have to spend.
“Are we still going to have suits made?”
I lifted my gaze to Eric, grateful for the distraction. “We are.”
“On Sunday?” He looked so hopeful, I wouldn’t have dared tell him no. Not that I wished to.
“As long as Lexie says it’s still okay, then yes.”
A pleasant bell tone signaled our arrival home. Muffy launched from the elevator. I released his leash before I ended up with rope burn on my palm.
He stamped his feet impatiently at the door. I unlocked it, and when I pushed it open, he barked, announcing our arrival.
Lexie was waiting in the foyer.
“Sis!” Eric let go of Millie’s leash and ran toward his sister.
She closed her eyes and held him for a long time.
I will not let them be separated again.
Whatever I had to do to keep that vow, I would.
I tossed the mail on the entry table. Millie and Muffy circled the two of them and then me. There were two purses on the floor and a pair of overturned high heels near the coat closet door. The leashes swirled on the stone floor behind the dogs as they ran around. A dog toy and bone were scattered just beyond the threshold of the foyer to the living room.
Until recently, it would’ve been difficult to find a speck of dust in this apartment, let alone anything out of place. There certainly wouldn’t have been people when I arrived.
Perhaps it wasn’t as cozy as Lexie and Eric’s place, but they’d brought a warmth to the space I wouldn’t have thought possible.
Beau wandered over and slipped her arm around me, taking in the scene of Lexie and Eric. I kissed the top of her head. She’d brought something to this apartment too.
I’d always liked my home, though the contrast of before Lexie and after was stark. Before, it had had a quiet, museum-like feel. There had been no energy, nothing to rush back for.
Now, there was life.
I preferred order, but the mess around me was strangely calming. It meant living was happening here. I wasn’t sure what to call what I was doing before.
Beau pulled on my tie. “Is that . . . a stain?” She stared at it incredulously.
“Looks like it.”
“And you’re still wearing it?” She inspected me as if checking to see if I were truly her brother.
“I am.”
I slid around her. In three strides, I stood before Lexie.
“Yo, Eric. What do you say we go unpack dinner?” Beau slung an arm around him.
“I’m starving.”
“Yo?” I asked carefully.
Beau blushed. “I think I picked that up from your brother.” She steered Eric out of the foyer. The dogs followed, dinner one of the words they understood.
I cupped Lexie’s face with one hand and brushed my thumb across her cheek. “How do you feel?”
She was no longer pale, but she looked tired.
“I’m fine.”
Gently, I tilted her head back so she had to look at me. “I don’t want the fake answer for the rest of the world.”
She sighed. “It feels like there’s a troupe of tap dancers in my brain and they just won’t run out of energy.”
“What can I do?” Once again, I was out of my element, unable to find a solution to a problem. I hated it. Hated she was in any kind of pain.
“You could say hello.” Color flooded her cheeks, but she held my gaze.
“I’m getting to that.” I needed to see she was all right, though I stopped short of a head to toe inspection.
“Today? This year?”
“Are you okay?”
She rolled her eyes and hefted out another sigh. “Didn’t we just go through this?”
“I meant about . . . the events of last evening.” I couldn’t find it in me to say arrest or jail.
“I’m out. And for now, I’ll take it.” Her expression flattened as she eased her arms under my suit coat and around my waist. “Beau told me about what you did. With your father. And me, I mean.”
She worried her bottom lip in her teeth.
“I wanted you free by any means necessary,” I said tightly. I hadn’t heard from him all day. His silence was worse than his phone calls. He wouldn’t stay quiet for long. It was simply a matter of time.
“What will he do to you?”
“It doesn’t matter. The important thing is there are no bars and walls separating us.”
I inched my face closer to hers. The urge to capture her mouth with a bruising kiss was strong. I needed to remind her where she belonged. To remember she was here now. To give her the promise I’d made to keep her free without saying the words.
With a patience and control I didn’t realize I possessed, I fused our lips together with the most delicate of touch. Her hold on me strengthened as she leaned against me.