Alaine nodded. “I know,” he said. “I loved her, too.” He sighed, then met Damien’s eyes. “I don’t know how I can help, but I wish you the best, and I will do anything you need. I hope you know that.”
“Of course,” Damien said. “Maybe I should have told you all of this long ago, but I always thought it was too heavy a burden to put on anyone else.”
“I understand. And I have forwarded you the video I received. If it’s different from the others you will know. If you need to examine my phone or try to trace it, just let me know. I know your team has skills in that regard.”
“I will, and thank you.”
Alaine nodded, looking a bit sad and a bit bewildered, then walked away towards where Liam and Mason were still laughing over their past adventures. Damien turned to go back to the patio, meeting Ryan coming from the opposite direction.
“Got a sec?” Ryan said.
“What’s up?” Damien said, hearing the serious tone in his friend’s voice.
“I caught some of that,” Ryan said. “Just a word, here and there, but enough to pick up on what the topic of conversation was.”
“Go on,” Damien said, understanding that his friend was leading to a point.
“I don’t know Alaine, so take this with a grain of salt, but he knew your father. He obviously cared about Sofia. And she’s dead now because of Nikki.”
“Ryan, what are you saying?”
“I’m not saying anything other than what I just said. As for the conclusions we can draw from that, well, I just want you to keep an open mind.”
And with that, he patted Damien on the shoulder, then turned and walked away.
14
“I can’t believe you did this to me again,” I tell Jamie, as some dude in cowboy chaps and very little else grinds in front of me.
“Oh, admit it,” Jamie says. “You love it.”
I lean back, then turn sideways, trying to appear stern though in truth I’m amused. “I’m not sure love is the word I’d jump to….”
“Face it, Jamie,” Cass says. “She’s got Damien at home, just like you’ve got Ryan. I mean, seriously, what’s the point for you, two? For that matter,” she adds, grinning wickedly, “what’s the point for me?”
“Poor Cass,” Jamie and I both say in unison, each taking a hand. “Thank you for being a sport.”
“And the point isn’t for you to enjoy it,” Jamie tells me. “Though that view is a perk,” she adds with a nod to a second dancer who’s joined the first. “The point is for our husbands to know we’re here. That adds that extra spice when you get home.”
“Trust me, there’s plenty of spice at home. And you, my friend, are a tease.”
“Yeah, but Ryan loves it. And admit it, so do you.”
“I’m saying nothing.”
“How about you, Syl?” she asks. “Having a good time looking at the scenery while Jackson drinks beer back home with his buddies?”
“Hell, yes,” Sylvia says. “After a few more drinks I’ll start sending him naughty texts.” She’s kicked back with her feet on the empty chair in front of her where my friend Lisa was sitting. But Lisa, Jane, and Emma have wandered off to check out the other stages. I’m not sure where the rest of the girls are. Probably doing the same.
We’re at Raven, a somewhat seedy strip club where my friends had taken me for my first bachelorette party. I smile at the memory. Maybe it really is fitting to be here.
I raise my glass and grin at Jamie. “I do love you, James.”
“Hell yeah, you do.” She lifts her glass and we clink. “To all the good times,” she says.
My phone chimes, and I pull it out to see a text from Evelyn: you there?
A wave of worry crashes over me. There’s no reason that Evelyn should be contacting me on the last night of her honeymoon. I tap out a quick yes in reply.
I’m calling now.
I shoot Jamie a look, then stand up. “Evelyn’s calling,” I say as I step away. “I’m going to go take this someplace quieter.”
I answer on the first ring. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Texas, I’m fine. Your father’s fine. We’re having a wonderful time. But this is worth the interruption. I’m about to send you an image. I warn you, you’re not going to like it.”
I pace as I wait for the familiar ping that signals the incoming text. When it arrives, I open it with some trepidation.
A Secret Stark!
Damien Stark’s love child revealed!
The words are typed in boldface, and Evelyn has texted an image of the paper.
Another text follows, this one with the familiar handwritten note:
That’s what the tabloids will be saying, and it will be true. Because he’s an irresponsible, self-centered liar. He kept the truth hidden from the world. Hidden from his wife. What will his children think when they learn? The children who know they belong to him, anyway. How long did he think he could keep this up? This pretense that his life with his wife and his picture perfect family is so good and perfect. There’s another child out there. I have proof. And I will reveal it tomorrow.
I read the words with a frown, but they don’t scare me in the same way that the note calling me a whore did. That note was in our house. This one is just delusional.
And it’s not as if Damien and I haven’t faced something like this before. Not that long ago, a woman he once dated insisted that her son was Damien’s child. Ultimately, records showed that Damien was not related to the little boy, but she’d spent plenty of time harassing us and trying to get the media’s attention.
I’m sure this is the same thing, and I tell Evelyn as much.
“I imagine you’re right,” Evelyn says. “But you need to keep two things in mind. The first is that we both know Damien had many years with many women before you came along. I’m sure he was careful, but you never know the truth. And you should be prepared.”
“Of course, I am. But this isn’t about finding someone’s birth father. This is about harassment, maybe even revenge. But for what?”
“Isn’t that the question of the hour?” Evelyn says. “And I agree. But I also wanted to give you a heads-up about this. I figured you’re weren’t with Damien tonight—I know Jamie, after all. But I need to let him know about this, and I called you first because I knew you’d want to scoot on home to our boy.”
“No, let me tell him,” I say, though the thought of actually showing him Evelyn’s text makes me ill. “We’ll call you after, but I think it should be me.”
“Are you sure, Texas?”
“Yes. What do you think the proof is?”
“I don’t know. There might be none and it’s a complete bluff. There might be a paternity test. There might be a birth certificate. Who knows? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. Charles took this to Judge Kaplan an hour ago. I’m afraid the court refused to issue an injunction to prevent the various papers and sites from publishing.”
“Why?”