“I don’t speak legalese, but what I gather from Charles is that the bottom line is that we don’t yet know who to enjoin. There are hundreds of places that could publish this, but we don’t know whose actually sending the texts. Plus, there’s the First Amendment coupled with the whole thing being speculative. We don’t even know what this person’s going to say or if it’s true. Plus, it’s no secret that Damien’s weathered a lot of scandal. So the court doesn’t want to stifle something that might be true, when a falsehood won’t actually impact Damien’s reputation.”
I drag my hands through my hair, thinking that this is absurd, but there’s nothing I can do or say that will stop it. “All right. He’s over at Jackson’s house with the guys. I’m going to head there now. Thanks for calling. I’m so sorry that this had to happen during your honeymoon.”
“Don’t you worry about that, Texas. Your father and I just want what’s best for the two of you. And we have plenty of honeymoon still to come. We’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll be there by ten,” she tells me. “So plenty of time to see those kids before the ceremony starts at noon.”
“All right. Give Frank a hug for me.”
“I will.”
We end the call and I turn to Jamie. “I need to go.”
“I gathered. But why? What is going on?”
“Evelyn got another text. They’re going to publish in some news rag tomorrow that Damien has a child running around out there. Other than the ones we have together, obviously.”
“Oh, no. Nicholas, I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head. “At this point, I think I’m numb. It feels like just one more thing. But it’s not going to sit well with Damien. I want him to hear it from me.”
“Okay. No problem. I totally get it.”
We’d come in one of the Stark limos, but I don’t want to take the time for it to come back, so I’m on my phone looking for an Uber when a text comes in from a number I don’t recognize.
Baby, it’s me. I broke my damn phone—this is one of those burners Ryan always keeps around. Did you get a text about me? Something that’s going to be published tomorrow? I need to see you. We need to talk about this.
I’m going to head your direction. Meet me here. We need to talk. And there are things I need to show you.
The message ends with a link to a map. I start to tap it, but don’t. My hands, I realize, are shaking and my whole body feels cold.
“What?” Jamie says.
I look up at her and meet her eyes. “Does Ryan keep burner phones with him?”
Jamie looks at me like I’m crazy. “What? You mean so he can contact all his other women?”
“Ha, ha. No, I mean like for work or something.”
“I assume he has some scattered around the house. And I know he has some at Stark Security. The operatives use them sometimes.”
“No, I mean like on him. Would he have them today while he’s at Jackson’s? In his car, maybe?”
“Okay, that’s a weird question. Why are you asking me that?” I pass her my phone, and her eyes go wide.
“That’s got to be a hoax.”
I nod, thankfully she voiced what I already knew but didn’t want to admit. Because this text was trying to lure me somewhere. But why? “I know. Hang on.”
I dial Ryan’s number, and he answers on the first ring. “Hey, Nikki. Are you calling to tell me my wife’s run off with another man?”
“I don’t think you’ll get rid of her that easily,” I say, grinning at Jamie and thankful for the moment of levity. “Listen, you didn’t lend Damien a burner phone, did you?” Ryan is silent, but I can practically hear the shift in his tone.
“What’s going on?”
I summarize for him, and he mutters a curse.
“Forward me the text. I’ll send a team to the location. And don’t open the map link. It might actually be spyware.”
“Done,” I say, sending the vile thing to him. “Can I speak to Damien? No, I take it back. I want to tell him about this in person. This and one other thing, too. Can you not mention it until I get there?”
“Nikki, what’s going on?”
“I’m not in any danger, if that’s what you mean.”
“I don’t know about that. Someone was trying to lure you away. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to keep this from your husband.”
I close my eyes, realizing I’d expected that answer. “All right,” I tell him. “I’ll wait here.”
We end the call, and I slide down in my seat to watch the show. Or try to. I feel numb, my mind racing, and these dancing, gyrating men on the stage are like nothing more than the ephemeral background of a very strange nightmare.
I don’t know how much time passes before Jackson, Ryan, and Damien stride into the club. I feel the shift in the air, then realize that most of the club’s patrons have turned to look at them. I see anticipation on their faces; clearly these women are hoping that these men are going to get up on stage, too.
As far as I can tell, the guys are entirely oblivious to the other women in the room. As Jackson and Ryan find their wives, Damien crosses directly to me, then takes my hand.
“With me,” he says, and I have only enough time to look back at my friends and mouth goodbye before he leads me out. The limo is waiting, and we get in. Immediately, we pull away from the curb.
“What about everyone else?”
“They can find their own way home.” He pulls me close and kisses me, a long, deep kiss. The kind that’s more claiming than affection. As if he has to prove to himself that I’m real and safe, and that I’m his.
“Tell me the rest of it,” he says when we pull apart. “Ryan told me about the text trying to send you off to the middle of nowhere. But he also said there was something else you needed to tell me.”
I draw a breath, then show him the text and relay the conversation with Evelyn. “Charles can’t stop it. All we know is that there’s going to be an announcement tomorrow.”
Damien leans back, but he doesn’t look broken. He looks frustrated, and I can’t blame him.
“Sweetheart, I hope this isn’t true. But we’ve had this conversation before. There is a possibility. A slim one, because I’ve always been careful, but there is a possibility.”
“I know that.” He told me himself when we first started going out that he didn’t date, but he did fuck. In many ways, Damien had been as lost as I was before we found each other. I’d cut. He’d lost himself in his business, moving forward toward conquering the world, and on that journey he had a stream of gorgeous women on his arm. Considering his reputation back then, I suppose we’re lucky this hasn’t happened more often.
“Listen, I don’t know if it’s true,” he says. “And if it is, I don’t know what their endgame is. Why not just approach me? Why send these vile texts? I don’t know, and I don’t like it.”
He shifts in his seat and takes my hand. “There’s only one thing I know for certain right now, and that’s us. You and me, Nikki. Our daughters. Our son. Our friends and all the people we care about. They’re my world. You’re my world. I will find out who’s doing this, I promise. I’ll get us answers, whether this is a hoax or the truth or some mixture of both. But right now I need you to do something for me.”