I grab his hand and position it on the hilt on my side, covered by my shirt.
It helps reassure him but the fright doesn’t stray for very long.
“Maybe you should take someone with you,” he suggests, anxiously.
Helen places her hand on his arm. “Luc, honey, Rory will be okay. We’re going to a crowded shopping centre with security and you will be able to contact us at all times.”
“It’s okay, Luci,” I tell him. “I have my knife and if anything happens—which it won’t—I’ll hit the red circle thingy on my phone.”
“Holy shit!”
All heads turn to look at Alec who’s staring at me dumbfounded.
“What?” I frown when he glances down at his computer then back up to me.
Jace goes around to peek at Alec’s laptop. “What the fuck?!” J says, incredulously.
“Boys, language. What’s going on?” Helen joins her son. “Well, damn.” She peers closer at the screen.
“What’s happening?” I question.
“You’re rich, Ro!” Jace blurts out.
“What?!” The rest of us say at the same time.
“Hang on.” I look between Alec and Jace. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“So…the bank you told us about. That you went to after you saw that guy. We stopped there on the way to Mum and Dad’s place,” Jace tells me.
Oh, yeah. Alec brought it up last night. I thought it would be good to know what Mum actually left me. I got a few hundred when I first went there but I didn’t get access to everything until I turned eighteen as part of her wishes.
“And to cut a long story short, Alec hacked your bank account since the dude at the bank wouldn’t give us any details but since I was technically your legal guardian he gave me your card and you’re fucking rich.” Jace grabs Alec’s laptop and turns it around for the rest of us to see.
My mouth drops open at all the zeros. Holyshit!
“What the fuck?” I whisper. “How?!”
Devon puts his hands on my shoulders. “Before your mum passed, she said she had a bad feeling about your father. That he’s changed over the years. She’d already started movingmoney into accounts and most of what she made as an architect went into an account for you and Declan. I’m not sure Marcus even really knew how much your mother really made.”
I rub my eyes then look at the screen again but the number doesn’t change.
I glance up at Alec who has a small grin on his face. He pushes a credit card towards me with my proper, legal name on it.
I pick up that piece of plastic with shaky hands.
“What do Idowith all this?” I say mostly to myself.
Dom’s chocolate irises capture mine and I stare into them for the answers.
“Sweetheart,” Dom says fiercely, “you can dowhatever you wantwith it.”
. . .
“Do you want to get a coffee before we start looking around?” Helen says loudly over the crowd.
“Sounds good!”
I stick close to Helen, hating being among so many people.
