Chapter
Twenty-Five
Aelin watchedfrom the window next to the front door as Ryan's car pulled into the driveway, the conversation she’d had that morning still fresh in her head.
"Clark is going to war. Especially after hearing you spent the week with that guy, Ryan, he saw at your house.” Her lawyer’s voice was crisp.
“I don’t understand how he knew that.”
“He knows a hell of a lot, Aelin. Did you share a cabin with Ryan?”
Aelin blinked. “We stayed at the same cabins, it’s where my family?—”
“No, did you share a cabin? Was he sleeping in the same location as Bailey?”
Aelin’s hands went numb. “There was an issue with booking. He and his daughter stayed with us, but they were in totally different?—”
"Don’t explain it to me. It doesn't matter. Clark found out. That’s in direct violation of your agreement, and it puts Bailey in potential danger.”
“He’s done it!” Aelin shouted. “Bailey told me?—”
“Do you have proof?”
Aelin’s mouth snapped closed. “Bailey’s word. Isn’t that proof enough?”
Her lawyer clicked her tongue. “Did I ever tell you you shouldn’t have married a lawyer? Clark might be a hypocrite, but he’s a smart hypocrite. He has your damn text messages.”
Her toes tingled as Amaya hopped out of the car and Ryan opened his door. She frantically tapped her phone screen, then lifted it to her ear.
Ryan paused, glancing up at the house as he pulled his phone from his pocket and answered.
“Hey, is everything okay?” He watched her open the door.
She didn’t step out onto the porch. “Mmhmm. You can send Amaya up, but I need you to stay in the car.”
Ryan frowned. “Okay.”
“I talked with my lawyer this morning,” she continued in a rush. “While I was being Fun Aelin, Clark was being an asshole.”
“Are we surprised by this?” He pressed his hand against the roof of the car.
She bit her lip. “I should have known when I didn't see anything from him that he was planning something.”
“You think he planned what? Last night?”
“Hell yes, I think he planned last night. He knew what dates I was going to be gone and he didn’t say a word. He knew I’d be too distracted to double check that the form had been filled out correctly. And . . . ” The shaking started up again.Could Clark hear this phone call?She’d been trying to figure out how the hell he’d gotten access to her texts all morning, but came up empty. They were on the same phone plan, but everything she read said he should only be able to see who she texted, not what was in the message.
“And, what?” Ryan asked.
Her voice was tight. “He has information. On us.”
Ryan’s scowl was visible from the curb. “What kind of information?”
“That we—” Her throat constricted. Clark already knew anyway, so it didn’t matter if he was listening. “That we shared a cabin.”
“So?”
“So, I specifically included a clause in our original agreement that we couldn’t have Bailey around other adults overnight. I was trying to protect her.” She pressed a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut.
