“This was a venting situation,” I said.
“Venting? Is that like the coffee drink Mommy gets? It has whipped cream on top.”
I chuckled softly. “No, darlin’. It’s like telling someone aggressively what you’re upset about.”
“So you were mad.” She stared me down.
Damn. She had me there.
“We’re fine, Ellis,” Enzo said. “We were just talking. Ethan had some things he needed to get off his chest, and now I know how he really feels. We’re brothers. We tend to be aggressive.”
“But you still love each other?” She looked from me to Enzo.
“Yes. We still love each other,” Enzo murmured.
She seemed satisfied with that answer, taking Enzo’s hand when he held it out to her.
“Let’s get you some breakfast,” he said.
“Are Mommy and Daddy down there?”
“Daddy is. Mommy is taking a shower,” Enzo murmured as he led her downstairs. I watched them go before looking back to Enzo’s door and shaking my head.
This was fucked.
“Has he said anything?”I asked Ann as I watched Laz gather his toys.
“Not a word,” she said sadly. “He just wants to be by himself. Even Harold couldn’t get him to talk, and you know how much he used to yap his ear off. Nothing, Ethan. We tried.”
I nodded glumly.
“It’ll be OK. Children go through phases,” she said, squeezing my hand. “He just needs to meet the right friends, and he will come back to us.”
“I hope so,” I said, my throat tight.
I missed my sweet boy.
I’d explained a lot of what was going on to Ann and Harold, and they were more than willing to watch Laz through it all, but with Ellis at the house and Dom coming tonight with the twins, I figured now would be a good time to bring him home. He’d stayed with Ann and Harold last night, but I wanted him with me today. I missed him like crazy and hated being away from him. I was in a constant state of worry these days over him.
“You know how to find us if you need us. We’ll be right here,” Ann said.
I thanked her and left with Laz, my heart in my throat. I’d spent the day in my office at Mayfair. I graded some papers for a bit before giving in and trying to figure out who the fuck could have leaked the videos.
I had no fucking clue, but I knew my dick was somewhere in all of it, and I really didn’t want that shit to get out because someday Laz might see it. I didn’t want him to be picked on later in life because his old man had a sex tape with a rock star.
But I also didn’t want Rosalie to suffer more.
Anson approved Enzo’s statement, and it went live last night. It seemed to garner a fair amount of attention because the press was having a field day with it. Anson texted me this morning to say he was going to make a statement on behalf of himself and Rosalie.
It looked like he wouldn’t be returning to Chicago unless things got bad. I promised him I’d be here if Evan, Ryder, and Cole needed me, and I meant it.
“Hey, Laz,” I said as we got into the elevator. “Ellis is at our house.”
He looked up at me, no emotion on his face. It tore me apart inside.
I breathed out.
“Remember Rosalie? Cole’s girlfriend?”
