“No, but I also wouldn’t think you’d file a restraining order against her. What happened?”
I sigh. He’s right, and he’s not going to like any of this. “Candace and the team came to talk to Betsey. Calls were made. Garman Straub thought Betsey could be reasoned with. Like maybe firing her would settle her down.”
“But I don’t understand why she was here, and how they knew.” Clint scowls at me.
“She’d been acting erratically all week. She’d blown off a conference she was supposed to speak at and stirred up the sales team by visiting advisors, unannounced. Apparently, while she was waiting for me to get home, she made calls to others on my team. A couple of them got alarmed by how desperate she seemed, and the security team was asked to swing by. They called me Sunday night after we got back.”
Clint nods. “The night I didn’t come home.”
This fact has burrowed deep inside me, and then to hear he was out so late last night... have I lost him? I open my mouth to finally ask where he went on Sunday.
“Let’s swing back to Betsey. What are we dealing with, Mer?”
I bite down on my lips and then answer him. “When I finally got back here to my phone—can’t believe I left it on the kitchen counter—Hardwin asked me to let it lie for the night. They had me block her. Anyway, things escalated fast. At one point I thought she trashed my office. Hardwin had me sign the order Monday morning.”
“Wow. You have to tell the police.”
“There’s more.” I take a breath. “Betsey defied the order and came to the bell ringing. She had a package delivered to me. Client data no one should have.”
“Why would she do that?”
“That’s the question. She’s given me until Friday to turn over information about our securities lending agreement or she’ll come at you about Lucas.” Simmering it all down to the basics, I wonder:What if her demand is a distraction to keep me from discovering what she’s really up to?
“She’s extorting you.” The pain on Clint’s face makes me look away. “That’s why you told me about Lucas.”
“Not the only reason, but yes.” I spin my wedding ring around on my finger. The diamond catches the light, and a rainbow dances across the parquet floor.
“I’m going to put a pin in all the secrets you’ve been keeping from me—”
“To protect you. I needed to figure—”
“No.” He slams up from his chair. “No. We’re partners. You don’t get to decide not to tell me what threatens you and our family. Because... oh.” He slowly sits.
“What?”
“On the car—times up bc.” Clint squints at me. “That could be Betsey Comarsh. She’s telling you time’s up to give her what she wants.”
“I thought of that, but the timing is off.”
“Of course, you thought of it but kept it to yourself. You never even mentioned it to the police. There could be a significant threat to our family out there, and you neglected to tell any of us.”
I hang my head. How ridiculous everything I’ve done sounds when it comes out of his mouth. “I’m sorry. It just didn’t seem likesomething Betsey would do. I wanted them to focus on the Danny guy and now this MJ. I’ve been more worried about Erika. The timing of all this has been excruciating.”
He slumps back into his chair, staring past me.
“I needed time to tell you.”
We sit in silence until he finally leans forward.
His lips I’ve kissed a thousand times are set in a hard line. We vowed to do this life together. I’ve made so many mistakes, including not trusting him with the truth, and he’s disappointed me—refusing to believe my love for him and harboring all this pain of the past. We both have to be willing to forgive. Something he refuses to offer his brother.
Maybe he has nothing left for me either.
He holds out his hands.
I stare at them like they might be a trap.
“It’s okay,” he says.
