I plopped on the bed next to Bridge. "I didn't know what else to do. How do we find him? He sounded scared, Bridge."
"Is that what you heard? Fear? Hell, that might not even be a man."
"I-I guess."
"Has it occurred to you that it could also easily be Middleton?"
I frowned. "Why the fuck would Middleton call me and tell me not to go with him?"
"To manipulate you. To make you think you have an ally. Someone more than happy to listen to you. Someone who is on your side."
"What? Okay, let's say it is Middleton. Why? Why send me down this path? Why put me on the trail of his buddies Van Linsted and Jameson in the first place?”
"I don't know, power? I have no clue what his motivation might be. But don't assume the person on the phone is a friend."
"But he's telling me not to go with Middleton. Isn't that the antithesis of what Middleton wants?"
"It would seem that way, but we trust nothing."
"Then how do we operate?"
"We verify. We'll have East analyze that call first."
"Okay, I guess I'll see if he calls again."
He reached for his phone. "What do you mean? We'll do it now."
My eyes went wide. "What? Surely, he's sleeping."
Bridge shook his head. "You don't get it. None of us are ever truly sleeping."
Before I knew it, he had Ben and East on the phone. Drew too. All discussing how to deal with the phone call. I had known I had a family. But this… This was next level.
When they hung up and East was hooked into my phone somehow, I stared at Bridge. "So just like that?"
He nodded. "Yeah, just like that. He has this way of making things happen."
"Yes, I have noticed. Does it ever bother you? The kind of power you wield?"
He shook his head. "It's a means to an end. A just end, I might add."
"Right. Does it bother you that you have it because of your father?"
He frowned then. "Yes, it does."
An honest answer. One I hadn't been expecting. “Will this ever end?”
He pulled me back into bed and tucked me against him. “It will. I promise. We just have to learn who to trust. We’ll get to the bottom of this. It will just take time, Ems.”
As I lay back against his shoulder, I really hoped I could believe him.
Thirteen
Bridge
Everything had shifted now.
Emma believed in me. Everything I thought I knew was a lie. She really believed in me. She loved me. The kid with the dirt under his nails from the wrong side of town who sometimes stole to help his mother make ends meet.
She believed in me. And that was all that mattered.
I still didn't love that my father had tried to get to me through her, but that was a problem for another day.
My father knew my fatal flaw and had used her to manipulate me, thinking he was leading me out in the cold. But he underestimated Emma. Because she was my Emma, and I had been in love with her from the moment I had any idea what love might be, but I'd kept my feelings for her at bay.
For years I'd tried to pretend that if I just didn't think about her, the craving would go away. I wouldn't be forced to contend with the fact that she made me feel out of control. Left to my own devices, I would have been running, and I would have kept running. Because it was far scarier to face her head-on than it was to pretend.
All of this shit I had in my life was just money. Money that as a kid I would have done anything for. Hell, I had. I had sold my soul to the devil to get money, to make sure Mum didn't have to worry about how she was going to feed me, to make sure that Darcy got the best care. I’d understood what money meant. Money equaled power. It gave access and privilege. And growing up, I'd had none.
And then she'd come roaring back into my life and forced me to confront what my priorities really were. There was no making her go away. There was no stopping this. I loved her. I always had.
That morning, walking behind Emma up to the helipad while staring at her ass, my hands were itching to touch her again. All I was able to think about was that tight, naked arse walking in front of me last night. About how she'd shed every article of clothing she’d had on the further she walked away from me, and then the fear and panic that had seized my heart when the folder had fallen open.
In that moment, I’d seen all hope for us die. I’d assumed she’d believe the lies. That she’d reject me like my father had done. But she’d surprised me… again. She’d believed me. Believed in me.
That’s what love looks like, you piece of gobshite.
I made it through the first planning meeting of the day. I was anxious. Itchy to get back to her. I knew that I was going to pick her up for lunch, and I worried that was going to put her in the crosshairs with Middleton.
Sending security and a car was one thing, but I really wanted to be there myself. I had to find a way to act normal.
Later at work, there was a knock at my door, and I glanced up to find my mum in the doorway. "Mum, everything all right?"
I started to push to my feet, and she waved me back down. "Yeah, it's our off day, remember? The restaurant's closed. I was done with the shopping in SoHo, so I figured I’d just come up and say hi. See if you have time for a cuppa."
My automatic response was to say no. Who had time for that? Fuck. I had a mountain of work and a wife to manage. And a maniac trying to kill us. And a father with an apparent grudge.
"Mum, I'm really busy."
"Oh come on, I already have the tea."
She held up a thermos, and I sighed. "So, let me guess, you just wanted to take a quick walk and talk to me about how I'm ruining my life?"
She nodded. “Also this tea is spiked.”
I rolled my eyes. "We've got ten minutes."
"My son, so important. So important you barged your way through my vagina a full three weeks ahead of schedule.”
“Christ, mum, gross.”
She ignored my horror. “A man of importance who does not allow himself to see what's in front of his face. Namely, a woman who loves him, but we’ll get to that."
I sighed. I'd known she would start mothering me. After last night at Ben's and the way she texted me afterward to say that it had been nice to see Emma, I'd known. And I was powerless to stop it, because at the end of the day, my mother was desperate to see me happy. And she’d always hated Mina.
Once we were outside in the square, there was the usual bustle of people and the scent of spring in the air, a slight dampness as well, but that was London. And it wasn't supposed to rain today, but everywhere I turned people had their umbrellas with them, just in case because… London.
"So, have you apologized yet?"
I sighed. "We’ve talked. We’re good."
She lifted a brow. "Just like that?”
I swallowed hard. She didn’t need to know what my father had done. What he thought I could be capable of. “No, not just like that. We have some things to work out, but we're getting there.” That much at least was the truth. “She and I… There's no getting away from it. Emma Varma is basically in my blood.”