“I have a lawyer.”
Rafferty sighs. “Carter’s the one that called and got the ball rolling, so…we work for him on this, not you. If you need someone to go over the papers with you, if you want to contest, or…change something, they’re who you should talk to. You know Sinclair won’t steer you wrong.”
The intellectual part of me did know that. My old friend would always look out for me, even if he didn’t have a direct hand in it. Much like with Doc, Kian Sinclair owed me his life. He might not be part of our lives as closely, but I saved him, helped him build his small army of people who know how to bend the law to their will—even if their methods weren’t always legal.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want to burn him and every member of the family he made for himself to the ground because they dared to meddle in things they shouldn’t have...
Except, that was his right. As the Amato lawyer, not just mine, he has always been at the disposal of everyone who needs him. I may not like it—hate it, in fact—but Sinclair, and now Rafferty, are just doing their job.
“Thank you. I’ll make the call if I need to.”
Rafferty nods. “Right, I’ll be off then. I have other errands to run.” He turns and starts to leave the sitting room, before stopping and looking back over his shoulder. “Oh, almost forgot. K said to tell you this is the only divorce he’s facilitating for you; next time you’re stuck with the poor bastard.”
With that and a shit-eating grin, he saunters out of the room, swaying his hips and drawing attention to his ass. Fucking hell. There’s a reason Sinclair collected him—the man’s a good lawyer, but he's batshit crazy…exactly Sinclair’s type of person. We both know he didn’t “forget” that little message. We alsoboth know Sinclair was serious about it. But was it a warning to keep me from doing it again? Or a reminder to not fuck up?
I don’t know, or care. The only person I’ve ever wanted to be married to no longer wants me the same way. And the only other man I’ve given my heart to…well, that will never be us. It can’t be.
The papers crinkle as I clench my fist, and a vice squeezes my heart as I stare down at the envelope…I can't do this.Not alone, at least. Except the two people who I’d normally go to are off-limits to me. Carter, for obvious reasons, and Tennant… I still need to repair that relationship.
Fuck.
Fixing my relationship with my best friend starts with repairing the one I have with my son. Except, it's been days since Doc’s “limited visitors” rule—almost a week since he's been home, and all I've gotten were fleeting glances of him the first day as he recovered from the smoke inhalation.
Fuck. That.
The time for being shut out is over now.
Storming out of the sitting room, I head for the medical suite. No one stops me until I'm just a few doors down from Roman’s room.
Kail, Doc’s most loyal Medical Assistant, steps in front of me. “Can I help you?” His voice is cool, his dark blue eyes wary.
“I'm here to see Roman.”
He tilts his head. “I didn't know he asked for visitors? I know Carter has been trying to get him to see someone aside from himself since yesterday, but last I heard, it was slow going. And…I doubt you'd be at the top of the list, even if Roman was amendable.”
I clench my jaw, the envelope crinkling further as I fight the urge to push the younger man aside. He's Doc’s right-hand man for a reason. I know better than to underestimate him. Not onlythat, I know Doc will take great offense to me putting my hands on someone he considers his.
“He'smyson. I have rights as his father.”
Kail purses his lips. “Funny, that sounds awfully familiar…”
I loom over him, unafraid to use our size difference to my advantage. “I don't need your permission.”
“No, but you need mine, or Dr. Ranlen’s, and I doubt you want me to go get her…”
Spinning around at Carter's voice, I stop my next retort, taking my husband in carefully. His dark blond hair is in disarray, there are dark circles under his navy blue eyes—that look dull and lifeless—and he’s wearing only slacks and a half untucked shirt.
Narrowing my eyes, I say, “I thought one of your lovers was a Dom, surely he should be taking better care of you than this?” I wave my hand at him.
“Do not,” he hisses. “Speak of things you don't understand. They're doing exactly what I need them to—running this Family with Jude, while I've been with our son—and in case you fucking missed it, Marcus was in a serious accident yesterday. So that's another thing added to my plate.
“On top of worrying if both my co-leaders are going to try to fucking kill themselves, and keeping abreast of everything else that comes with this life and our enemies. Or do you only care about things when they matter to you? This isn’t theAmatoFamily, so you don’t give a shit? Marcus isn’tyourlover or friend, so who cares he could have fucking died, right?”
“I didn’t say that.” I take a step closer to him. “I’m concerned about you, Caro. I know how this life can wear you down. Add everything you just listed on top? Excuse fucking me for worrying. You may not love me anymore, but I haven’t stopped. It’s not an on and off switch for me.”
His expression crumples. His brows pull together as pain swirls through his eyes. “It’s not for me either.”
“Right,” I scoff. “That’s why I had a visit from fucking Rafferty just minutes ago.” I thrust the envelope between us.
