“He is.” I lock eyes with Beckett. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he says.
“Here to check up on me?” I chuckle.
He averts his gaze.
Okay.
He must’ve partied too hard.
I shift my attention to the security guard. “Thank you, Officer Clemons.”
“Just doing my job, sir.”
Thank God for that.
After the blow up with Lauren and her vicious threats, I hired round-the-clock security. I don’t know what Lauren has up her sleeve, but I swear I saw the devil staring back at me. She pawned off Naomi for a few parties, booze and a stupid jet-setting lifestyle. Now, she has a change of heart because her daughter is suddenly an asset. Cold sweat trickled down my back when it became clear Lauren would sell her daughter’s soul for a monthly allowance without even blinking. Ever since she drove off my lot, I’ve been working from home. Mrs. Talbot no longer drives Naomi to school. I take care of it, with a security guard tailing us. Bottom line is, I don’t let my daughter out of my sight. I’m not taking any chances. The conversation with Naomi about the bodyguard was an awkward one. The only reason she bought it is because I told her princesses have bodyguards. Thank God her school is in a remote area. I also made sure to warn her teacher and the principle.
“Goodnight,” says Officer Clemons.
“Goodnight.”
He gives me a tight nod before turning on his heel.
“What are you doing here?” I ask my brother.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
He enters and I close the door.
He’s acting strangely. And I’m the one who’s exhausted beyond belief.
“I see I woke you up from a deep sleep.” His eyes brush the length of my body.
I’m still dressed in jeans and a t-shirt from this morning.
“Yeah, another twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep,” I say with a touch of sarcasm. “I passed out on the couch. It’s as good as it gets these days.”
“I figured.”
“Let’s go to the kitchen so we don’t wake up Naomi.”
“Right behind you.”
“What time is it, anyway?” I ask as I turn on more lights.
“It’s about four-thirty,” he says.
“Lucky for you I’m too stressed out to sleep,” I chuckle.
He doesn’t answer.
I walk to the fridge and grab two bottles of water.
“Catch.”
He does easily. “Thanks.”
“I thought you’d be fucking someone by now,” I chuckle.
He’d called before heading out for the evening.
“I was. I had two girls at the same time tonight—friends. I was really interested in the one with the hourglass figure, but she said they came as a package deal, so I fucked both,” he chuckles.
What a gentleman.
I shake my head. “And you decided to drive all the way out here in the middle of the night to tell me about your wild night of sex?”
“Not quite.”
He pulls a high stool and sits behind the kitchen island. I can’t quite make out his long face.
“What’s going on? You look like you lost your dog.”
I lean against the counter and take a long sip of my water.
He does the same before dropping his bottle on the counter. He starts playing with the label like a kid.
“Beckett, are you going to talk or just sit there?”
He meets my gaze and holds it.
I cock an eyebrow in response.
“I was hanging out with Zeppelin at this crazy ass party.” Dillon Coulter is a friend of his and a former roadie. “We both got lucky, so we left the party. Once I was done with the girls, I texted him. He was also done with his busty brunette. We decided to meet at our favorite 24-hour all day breakfast diner. One minute we’re shooting the breeze, laughing and eating, the next images flash on the flat screen TV and my blood freezes.”
“What images?”
“Holt, there’s a reason Lauren never showed up in court two days ago.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh. “You mean, other than the fact asshole Legion and her are masterminding an even more acrimonious revenge sure to ruin my Christmas and New Year’s? After all, they did a pretty darn good job of making me miserable for Thanksgiving. I’m sure that was just the tip of the iceberg from hell.”
I’m still a ball of frustration and anger.
Lauren made true to her promise. She buried me in legal papers up to my eyeballs. My lawyers were swimming in it. My legal fees are through the roof. Fucking bitch. Legion was too happy to fork out the money to instigate me. Why? Because he had a vendetta to settle. Five years ago, when he landed in LA, he approached me so I could sign him onto my label. Even back then he was bad news and he had an inflated ego. I passed. He promised one day I’d regret my decision.
“I doubt they’ll be planning much from now on,” Beckett says.
I frown. “That made absolutely no sense. How much did you drink tonight?”
My brother lets out a long sigh. Rubbing the back of his neck, he says, “I don’t know how to say this.”
“Spit it out,” I snap.
“It’s bad news.”
My heart jumps to my throat.
“Mom? Dad?”
He shakes his head. “Lauren is dead.”
Whoa.
I’m certain I misheard him.
“What the fuck did you just say?” I ask.
“Lauren is dead, Holt,” he repeats.
I push myself off the counter. “Lauren?”
“Yeah.”
“As in Lauren O’Broin?”
He nods.
“The woman who gave birth to my daughter?”
He nods again.
“Wha–– Whe–– Huh?”
My mind is racing so fast.
“Legion is also dead.” Beckett drops another bomb on me.
“Holy fuck.”
“Yeah, the news just hit—someone inside Legion’s camp leaked it to the press. I drove here as fast as I could.”
I’m dumbfounded.
“What happened?” I ask.
“You know those Miami murders everyone’s been talking about since Monday?”
“They were the victims?”
He nods.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“Apparently it was pretty gruesome, hence why it took Miami PD a few days to put out an official statement,” my brother explains.
“Jesus Christ.” I rub my hands over my face. “Are the police sure it’s them?”
“Yes,” Beckett confirms. “Legion’s brother was key in cracking the case.”
“My God.”
Beckett searches for his phone. He swipes it a few times and hands it to me.
I yank it from his hands.
My jaw drops at the headline.
‘BODIES IDENTIFIED. SOLE O’BROIN DYNASTY HEIRESS DEAD: KRIS FAIRE’S BOTCHED DRUG BUY TAKES TWO LIVES.’
“My God,” I repeat over and over as I scroll down Beckett’s phone and read the story’s highlights. “I can’t believe this.”
“It’s pretty heavy shit,” Beckett sympathizes.
We remain quiet for a long minute.
My head is racing with questions. I’m still unable to comprehend any of this.