CHAPTER 46
TRENT
By the time I finally got Charlotte settled in bed, she was so worn out that she fell asleep before I’d even finished tucking the blanket around her. Her hand slid across the sheets like she was searching for me, and for a second, I almost stayed.
Hell, I wanted nothing more than to crawl in with her after the day we’d had, but Alex had already texted twice. I knew the guy wouldn’t have asked to meet up again unless it was important. Besides, I’d rather get whatever he wanted to talk about out of the way.
When we left Chicago this time, he’d have to fly out to Texas for at least the next decade if he wanted to see me in person. Well, aside from the occasional business trips I’d have to make, but those would be in and out, over as fast as I could force them to be.
Either way, I had to get going, so I slipped out quietly, closed the bedroom door, and headed down the street to a bar near the apartment. Alex was already there, his beer half-finished and his sleeves rolled up like he’d just come from a board meeting.
Knowing him, he probably had. He looked up when I sat down beside him, eyebrows inching up as he looked me over. “Shepard. You look like shit.”
I scoffed. “Trust me, buddy. You look worse.”
Alex snorted and waved down the bartender for another round. “Fair enough.”
We sat in silence for a moment, both of us obviously trying to find ways to avoid talking about the stuff I knew we needed to get straightened out, but finally, Alex cleared his throat. “Today wasn’t a total disaster, huh?”
I let out a short bark of laughter. “It definitely could’ve been worse.”
“Really?” He glanced at me after draining what had been left in his glass. “My blood pressure still hasn’t recovered and I’m pretty sure Nate is traumatized for life.”
“He’ll be fine. He’s gotten a lot tougher the last few years. Give him some credit. He’s all grown up now and you don’t have to protect him from everything anymore.”
Alex stared at me, then laughed. “Jesus Christ. What are you, like, Cowboy Yoda now?”
I shrugged, trying to keep a straight face, but I couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at the corners of my lips. “If the boot fits, I’ll wear it.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t even really give you shit for it because I still can’t believe you dragged Gregory out like that.”
“He needed motivating.”
“That wasn’t motivation,” Alex muttered. “That was a public warning.”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“Yeah. That’s why I can’t give you shit for suddenly thinking you’ve got all the answers. You really cleaned this mess up for us, Trent.” He lifted his fresh beer and tipped it toward me. “It’s not much, but I’ve taken the liberty of having our security camera footage… fixed up. Just in case he tries squealing about what happened.”
“He won’t,” I said confidently. “Guys like that are all bark and no balls. If he had any sort of spine, he’d never do this kind of thing in the first place.”
Alex thought it over for a moment before he nodded, inhaled deeply, and took a long gulp of his beer. “Either way, thank you. For what you did, for the way you handled Gregory and everything else.”
He paused for a beat, raking both hands through his hair before he blew out a heavy breath. “I’m serious, Trent. Ever since that first phone call when I asked when you could get back to Chicago, you’ve done more than I ever expected.”
Taking praise had never been my thing, but I definitely wasn’t taking it for this. “She’s my wife.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, about that.”
Here it comes.
“If you want to annul it,” Alex said carefully. “I’d understand. Really. You did your part. More than your part. No one, least of all me, would blame you for walking away now.”
“Why the hell would I annul anything?”
Alex’s eyebrows almost flew off his forehead. “Because today was insane. Everything about what happened here was completely insane. I dragged you into family chaos you never asked for and?—”
“I’m not having it annulled,” I cut in. “Not now and not ever. Forget about it. Don’t even mention it to me again. If you want to talk to Charlotte about it, go ahead, but I’m all in.”
