“I own that house, Finlay! I have every right to know who’s living under my roof. That cash I saw in your freezer last fall was definitely stolen, and whatever she spent it on is probably illegal.”
“You’re being ridiculous!”
“I’m protecting our children!”
“They don’t need your protection, Steven. They need a father!”
His mouth twisted into a snide grin as he gestured toward the cops in the lobby. “Is that what you’re doing here? Looking for one?” I drew a slow, steadying breath through my nose as Steven paced away from me with his hands on his hips. “Fine,” he said once he had calmed, “ifyou won’t listen to me, then ask Nick to look into Vero.” An incredulous laugh burst out of me. “There’s a warrant for her arrest in the state of Maryland, Finn! Didn’t you do a goddamn background check before you hired her?”
My laughter died. I stared at him, gobsmacked, my jaw practically touching the floor.
“Of course, I did!” I did not. “And I know all about what happened in Maryland.” Though apparently not all of it. Vero had neglected to mention anything about a warrant, which was arguably the most important part. I glanced past him as the vestibule door opened. Vero came in, carrying Zach on her hip and holding Delia’s hand. Roddy toted their luggage behind her. “You don’t have all the facts, Steven. Vero lost that money. She didn’t steal it. It was all just a big misunderstanding.”
“Then it shouldn’t be a big deal if I tell Nick and Georgia about it.” He turned away from me and started walking toward the lobby.
“If you do this, the children will never forgive you,” I called after him. “Iwill never forgive you, Steven.” He stopped, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides as he slowly turned to face me. “I will handle this with Vero when we get home,” I promised. “But right now, Nick and Georgia have more important things to worry about.”
“More important than the safety of our kids?”
“Feliks Zhirov escaped from jail this morning, so yes, Steven, they are worried about the safety of our kids. Are you taking them home with you or not?”
The anger drained from his face. “I’m taking them.”
“Thank you.”
“But when you get done with your little training camp,” he said, closing the distance between us as he stirred the air with a finger, “we’re going to discuss this as a family.” He reached in his pocket and thrust a business card at me. “This guy’s a therapist. My attorney gave him my number a few months ago. I think he can help.”
I crumpled the card in front of him, looking around me for a trash can. “I don’t need a therapist, Steven!”
“He’s a family therapist, Finlay, and we’re both going! Guy agrees it’s a good idea.” I threw the crumpled card at him. Steven shoved it in the pocket of my coat. “When you come to your senses, the children and I will be at my house,” he growled.
I followed him back to the lobby, pasting on the practiced smile I wore for my children as they scrambled into his legs, nearly knocking him down.
“Wow, Steven,” Vero said over their heads. “You finally made it. Nice of you to show up.” A vein bulged in Steven’s temple. I drew a line across my throat to get Vero’s attention, silently begging her to stop, but she was too busy goading Steven to notice. “Delia was telling me all about your little B and E lesson at Finlay’s house the other day. You’re quite the role model.”
“They don’t know anything about you, do they?” he said, his voice filled with venom as he grabbed the kids’ bags. His eyes skated to Roddy over her shoulder as he leaned close to her ear. “Give me one reason. Just one good reason to tell them about your little problem in Maryland. I’m begging you.”
Vero’s grin fell away. She cast an anxious look at the cops across the lobby, paling when I slipped the diaper bag off her shoulder. “We’ll talk about it later,” I whispered. She stared at the floor as I took the children’s hands and nudged Steven through the vestibule. By the time I’d buckled the kids into his truck and hurried back inside, Vero was nowhere in sight.
“What was all that about?” Nick asked, catching me by the elbow as I rushed past him through the lobby.
I rose up on my toes, searching for her head over the growing crowd of students who were filing out of their afternoon sessions. “Nothing. Did you see where Vero went?”
He pointed to an emergency exit at the end of the hall as Ty came up behind him. “Sir, Commander Ortega’s here asking for you.”
Nick did a double take at the faint lines radiating from Ty’s eyes and the lingering red scribble around his lips. “Tell him I’ll be rightthere,” he said, shaking his head as if he didn’t have the capacity to wrap it around one more thing.
“You going to be okay?” he asked me. When I nodded, he checked his watch. “The mess hall’s opening in a few minutes. Why don’t you and Vero grab something to eat. I’ll find you after dinner.” His eyes flicked over my shoulder. “There are some things we need to talk about.”
I turned in time to see Julian and Parker carrying their messenger bags toward the lobby. By the time I turned back to Nick, he was gone.
I burst through the emergency exit, searching the walkways for Vero, pivoting when I heard the door sling open again behind me. Julian called out to me as he jogged to catch up.
“Now’s not a good time,” I said, agitated and hurried.
“I know.” He stopped in my path before I could run off. “I know you have a lot on your plate right now. I just wanted…” He raked his curls back from his forehead, the dusky light of the sunset casting shadows over his cheeks. “I wanted to apologize for what happened in the mock trial. Parker’s boss asked her to volunteer, and she didn’t want to do it alone, so I offered to come. Neither of us realized you or Nick would be here. If I’d known, I never would have let her sign us up. She had no idea what she was doing, Finn.”
I hated that he was defending her. It was one thing to see the good in people; it was entirely another to be ignorant about who they were once they showed you. “She knewexactlywhat she was doing, Julian. She’s in love with you, and she was trying to make me look like a liar to prove I’m not good enough for you. She obviously didn’t get the memo that we’re not seeing each other anymore.”
