“You’ve enlisted Danny Bolls to help you, haven’t you, Lindsey? You intended to blackmail Thomas, regarding his relationship with Boyd Newton, tanking his career in the process, didn’t you?”
She laughed. “You’ve got too much time on your hands, Bailey. Are you doing drugs, or were you poisoned by some of the chemicals the Army uses against our enemies? These accusations aren’t making any sense. Thomas and I are trying to have a baby. Why would I do anything to harm him?”
I unmuted the call with Mom. “I’ll call you later. Love you.”
The crazy bitch my brother had married in a bid to hide from his constituents and himself was smirking at me, but I wasn’t done. “You think you can blackmail Thomas and steal the money Mom gave him with a fake pregnancy? I know what you’re doing, Lindsey. I just need proof.”
I started for the staircase to go upstairs to do a thorough search of their rooms in hopes of finding whatever the fuck she’d been slipping to Thomas before he went to bed at night.
What I didn’t expect was for Lindsey to pull a gun from her pocket and cock it to catch my attention before I got three steps up. “You’re a fucking vulture, Bailey. I won’t let you taint our future.” She was pointing that gun at me, so I put up my hands and turned to face her.
My first reaction was to jump over the goddamn banister, tackle her crazy ass, and break her fucking neck. Unfortunately, Thomas would lose his goddamn mind, so I abandoned that idea.
“Lindsey, you’re trying to destroy my brother’s future. Why are you trying to tear our family apart?” I couldn’t help asking the question. My family was involved, and I wanted to protect them.
She had an agenda. I needed to know what it might be before she completely ruined my brother.
Lindsey giggled. “You don’t belong in Thomas’s life. You know that, right? You’re a horrible influence on him, and I suspect you’ve killed more than one person. Thomas is a good man. You just don’t see that my husband doesn’t really want anything to do with you, but Beatrice forces the issue.
“I’ll tell you one thing for sure. Thomas and I don’t want you to be in our children’s lives.”
She steadied the gun on me, but as I was about to jump her and take my chances with her not knowing how to fire a gun, the front bell rang.
No way she could shoot me now without drawing attention, so while she was distracted with looking at her phone to see who it was, I hurried out the back door and around the side porch to the driveway. Two women were standing on the porch waiting for Lindsey to answer, both looking harmless.
I hopped into my rental and drove around the circle, waving at the guards as I left. When I got to the guard shack, I knocked on the window to get the guy’s attention. He slid the glass open and smiled. “What can I do for you, Mr. Gregory?”
“Who are those two women here to see the First Lady? I haven’t met them.”
He glanced toward the mansion and smirked. “Mrs. Woods and her assistant, Ms. Charles. The First Lady is organizing a charity event next month in support of breast cancer awareness. I’ve heard the whole place will be decorated in pink. Mrs. Woods is the event coordinator.”
“Wow! I’ll look out for my invitation. Have a great day, my friend.” I gave him a salute as I drove away.
Lindsey was guilty as fuck for trying to take advantage of my brother. I’d deal with her in time. Not now, because I had better things to take care of.
I stopped the rental in front of Jagger’s duplex on South Sorrel. The house was dark, the street quiet. I glanced at my phone in the cup holder to see that it was just after ten in the evening.
While I didn’t want to force Jagger to take me in, I didn’t want to be anywhere he wasn’t. I picked up the phone and typed in a text.
You around?
His response was quick.
Yeah. I’m watching some clown in a dark Toyota 4Runner parked outside my house and wondering if he’s casing the joint. Think I should call the cops?
I laughed and stepped out, hearing his front door open as the front light flipped on. He walked toward me with a sexy grin, and I had to curb my desire to run and tackle him.
He walked up, wrapped his arms around me, and held me tight. “I’ve missed the hell out of you, Bailey.”
My heart took flight at his words. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
I placed my hands on both sides of his face. “I’ve missed the hell out of you, Trooper.”
Our lips met, and the world stopped spinning. A few pecks between us before Jagger stepped back. “Let’s get this stuff in the morning. I want you in my bed without clothes so I can show you how lonely that big bed is without you.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. He walked over to the rear passenger door and opened it, grabbing my large suitcase and backpack. “I’ll move my truck, and you can park in the garage. I’ll help you unload everything in the morning.”
Jagger put my bags on the front porch before he punched in the garage code on a keypad outside. The door opened slowly, and he walked inside, backing his truck out of the garage and parking it on the street.
