I pulled my bathrobe closer around me and listened as the cop tried to clear up the situation. When he was finished talking, I made my statement, then went with him as he spoke to two of my neighbors. Both corroborated what I said and offered more details of their own. Beatrice was clearly shocked by how this was unfolding and watched everything through narrowed, flashing eyes.
After gathering statements, the first officer walked up to me again. “Obviously, it’s up to you in this situation. But if I could make my suggestion, I recommend it ends here. Miss Trewes, you have the right to press charges against her. I shook my head and looked her in the eyes. “No need. But I will let my lawyer know about this.”
Beatrice sputtered with rage, and I looked over at the officers, seeing one give me a slight commiserating nod. Both escorted Beatrice off the front step and brought her back over to her own car. I stood exactly where I was, wanting to watch her leave. I was able to hold it together until the cars were gone, then felt myself drop down to the ground. My neighbor stopped beside me and put her arm around my shoulders to comfort me. But she wasn’t enough. My heart was searching for someone else.
17
Vince
The trip was going well enough, and I was just sitting down for lunch at the hotel restaurant when my phone rang. I took it out and answered it immediately when I saw Lindsey’s name across the screen.
“Lindsey?” I answered. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry to call you,” she said. “I know you’re busy with your work trip and everything. But I thought you should know.”
“Calm down,” I said. “I can barely understand you. What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I mean, physically, I’m fine.”
A waitress walked up to the table, but I was already standing up out of my seat. I shook my head and mouthed I was sorry to her, then rushed out of the restaurant.
“Lindsey, tell me what’s going on. What happened? Are you safe right now?”
“Yes,” she said. “I thought I should tell you what happened. Just so you would know. Maybe I should tell Charlie. I don’t know.”
“Go on,” I said as I got on the elevator to head back to my room.
There were a few hours before I needed to be at the track again, and I felt more comfortable having this conversation with Lindsey in my own space rather than out in public.
“I woke up this morning to somebody pounding on my front door,” she said.
My heart gave a hard pound in the center of my chest.
“Grant?” I asked.
“His mother,” she said. “Which, honestly, might have been worse. She showed up hours before I would usually be awake. And she knows that. She knows I don’t get home from the bar until early in the morning. It’s one of the things about my lifestyle she can’t stand, and she likes to rub it in as much as she possibly can. They are both like that. If they like to schedule activities and meetings early in the day so I’m the one who’s the most inconvenienced and damaged by it. They act like I’m some sort of heathen because I don’t maintain the same hours as them.”
“But why was she there?” I asked.
I was trying to stay calm in hopes of bringing her down from the intense peak she’d reached.
“Apparently, the brief went through much earlier than I thought it could and they already saw it. She came to intimidate me and make sure I knew exactly how hard they are going to fight against everything in that document,” she said.
“Did she threaten you?” I asked through gritted teeth, all hopes of remaining unemotional gone.
“Yes,” Lindsey said.
“I want to know everything she said to you. Every single word you can remember. These are all things you need to bring up to Charlie.”
“I told her I would tell him,” I said. “You really think I should?”
“Absolutely,” I said. “Every incident like this needs to be recorded and brought up. Now, tell me what happened.”
I listened with rage boiling in my belly while she explained everything that happened during the confrontation that morning. Since I had never had the opportunity to meet Grant or his mother, I didn’t have much context. But the way Lindsey described it was vivid enough to infuriate me. My hand clenched by my side, and I couldn’t sit still. Finally, Lindsey finished and I heard her let out a long breath like she was deflating.
“You know I wish I could be there with you right now,” I said.
“Of course I do. But I would never ask you to do that. You’re busy. You’re at work. I shouldn’t have even called you,” she said.
“Yes, you should have. Like you said, I need to know what’s going on. Not just to make sure that Charlie knows everything, but because you deserve a support system. And you have it. I’m glad you called me. I just wish I could be there with you right now. But I promise, I’m going to make sure you are safe,” I said.
“Thank you. You’re already doing so much for me and I feel like I’m making it harder.”
“You didn’t do this,” I said. “This isn’t your fault. Relax for the rest of the day and let me see what I can arrange. Make sure your phone stays with you all the time, and don’t hesitate to call the police again if you see either one of them near you.”
“I won’t,” she said.
I hung up with Lindsey and immediately called Quentin.
“Hey,” he said. “How’s the exhibition going? Have you met any of the other teams yet?”
“Yes, but that isn’t why I’m calling,” I said.
“What is it?” he asked, sounding like he could already tell something was wrong.
“There’s something I need you to do for me. Lindsey needs help. There is some serious shit going down right now. I can’t get into the details of it right this second, but I need you to trust me that it’s not good. She needs to be protected. You know her well enough to know she isn’t just going to not go into the bar. But I don’t feel comfortable with her there without somebody to watch over her.”
“You do realize my wife just gave birth, right?” Quentin asked. “I really don’t think she would be too happy with me if I told her I needed to go out to a bar for an entire evening to keep an eye on the bartender.”
“She knows Lindsey,” I argued. “They’re friends. If she knew there was something going on, she would want you to take care of her.”
“Honestly, that’s probably true,” Quentin said. “But you got me worried. What’s going on with Lindsey? Is she in some sort of danger?”
“I really can’t give you all the details right now,” I said. “You’re just going to have to trust me. We will fill you in eventually, but for right now we just need to make sure she is safe. All you need to do is be at the bar keeping an eye on her.”
“You’ve got it,” Quentin said.
“Thank you. It will make me feel much better knowing you’re there.”
“Do you want me to take some pictures? Maybe a video? It might help with your longing…”
I hung up on him in the middle of what sounded like a long, complicated taunt about my crush. Now that I was off the phone and things were at least a bit more settled, I realized I was ravenous. My anger seemed to have built up my appetite. But I didn’t want to go back down to the restaurant. Partially because I didn’t want to deal with the waitress who gave me the stink-eye when I walked out.
Instead, I grabbed the room service menu and ordered a few things that sounded good. While I waited for my food, I went over the plans for the weekend. We got in Thursday, so we would have plenty of time to settle in before the events started. Even though it was only an exhibition, there was still a degree of pressure. Our team wanted to make a good showing so Darren could bring in the prize money and give his reputation even more of a boost. He was already extremely popular. This would only earn him more devotion from the fans, which translated to more income and opportunities for the entire team.
The exhibition wasn’t just about
racing. We were also setting up one of Merry’s famous block parties at Friday night’s opening race. These events had become a huge draw for the fans at our usual races. Originally put together as a onetime thing to increase fan engagement, the parties were now a mainstay of local races and drew in crowds of fans. We had food and beer trucks, played music, and sold merchandise. The shirts and hats designed specifically for those events were collectors’ items among the fans. I’d heard many of them talking in the stands comparing what events they’d been to and showing off their merch like badges of honor.
That Friday night’s event was special among those events. With specialty items designed just for the exhibition and a local band coming to play a set for us, it should get the weekend started on a great note. We also had a few surprises in store, including a local brewery we’d been working with over the last few months to offer a custom beer for the event.
One of the big draws, at least I hoped, was going to be the customized bike service Freeman offered. A side business headed up primarily by my father but anchored by Kelly and Darren’s exceptional craftsmanship, the service let fans and enthusiasts design their own bike. Whether it was restoring an old one, amping up an existing one, or building something completely new, this was all about giving them their dream.
It was an expensive service, but this was the place to market it. The exhibition was full of mega fans and people with a passion for motorcycles. I was going over the marketing materials and party layout Merry gave me, making sure I was ready for that evening. It felt strange trying to put on one of these events without her there. But I was going to do her proud.
Room service arrived and I brought the food in to spread across the table by the window. I had just started eating when a thought flickered through my mind.
Why had I called Quentin? He was at home with a new baby, and while he was friendly with Lindsey the way everyone was, he didn’t have any strong connection with her. Nick was her best friend. My phone call should have been to him.
It hadn’t even occurred to me to call him after I heard from Lindsey. My mind went straight to Quentin. I tried to figure it out as I ate, tried to come up with some reason why it would have been Quentin that came to mind as my solution to make sure Lindsey was safe while I had to be away.
Then the realization hit. I propped my phone up on the table and video called Nick. He gave me a strange look when he appeared on the screen.
“Decided we just absolutely had to have lunch together today?” he asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “This is about Lindsey.”
His face dropped. “What’s going on? What happened?”
I explained the situation and that I called Quentin to ask him to keep an eye on Lindsey. “It was because of the conversation we had in my office.”
“What about it?” Nick asked.
“Lindsey said something that always bothered her was that Grant accused her of sleeping with you. He was determined there’s something going on between the two of you and that maybe she even cheated on him with you. That’s going to be brought up in this battle. Especially since Lindsey is now going after more time with Remy and not just fighting off Grant’s case. This is going to get nasty, and he’s going to bring up everything he possibly can to make her look bad. Including his suspicions about you.”
“So, what are you getting at?” Nick asked.
“You need to spend less time in public with Lindsey. And I should take over. If they’re going to assume she’s in a relationship with someone, it can be me.”
A second of silence came before a cascade of laughter. My brother laughed so hard tears started streaming down his face. I really didn’t see the humor in the whole situation, but I sat and gave him his moment. Finally, he got a hold of himself.
“Okay,” he said.
“Are you done?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, a couple more chuckles bubbling out. “And I agree. But listen. Something I want you to understand about Grant. He’s not a terrible guy. He’s an arrogant, spoiled, womanizing jackass, but he’s not criminal or violent. And all this mess with Remy wasn’t his idea. He went along with it, but in all reality, it was his parents’ idea. He’s chained by them. They run his life. The idea of their grandbaby’s mama being just a quote-unquote barmaid is not acceptable to them. You are successful and all, but that idea is never going to change.”
The conversation only worked to make me angrier. But I was used to that by then. I figured it would just be my constant state until I found a solution for it.
18
Lindsey
With everything going on over the last couple days, I didn’t get as much work done as I usually would. My paperwork was lagging behind, and I had a list of people I needed to get in touch with about issues around the bar. I was always chasing maintenance. It didn’t matter what kinds of upgrades I did or how much work I put into getting it into the best condition possible, there was always going to be something needing fixing.
That week included a brief bar fight that broke a table and two chairs, one of the two bathrooms was in dire need of a plumber, and a refrigerator in the kitchen had a personality problem and occasionally decided not to work. I needed to get people in as soon as possible to make those repairs so they didn’t escalate and lead to bigger issues.
The paperwork, emails, and bills I had to deal with kept me in my office much longer that night than I intended. By the time I got out and went behind the bar, the place was already starting to get crowded. A smile crossed my face when I stepped up to it and found Nick, Quentin, and Merry sitting there. I was expecting to see Nick. He was almost always there on the weekends. But Quentin and Merry were a bit more surprising. Especially Merry. I hadn’t seen her out and about since well before the baby was born. Now she had a newborn at home, and I didn’t think she would see the outside world for a good while.
And at the same time, I didn’t think I should be surprised. After calming down for a little while following my phone call with Vince, I told Nick everything. He didn’t sound as shocked as I expected him to when I described Beatrice storming the apartment building, but I figured it was just quiet, simmering anger. He said he would make sure everything was okay, and this seemed to be the way he was going to do that.
I stepped up to Merry and looked at the glass she held between her hands as she sipped through a narrow straw.
“Ginger ale,” she said.
“Hitting the hard stuff tonight,” I said. She nodded and laughed. “I have to say, I’m kind of surprised to see you out here tonight. I thought you were trying to get to be early with the baby and get as much sleep as you possibly could.”
“Yeah, that was the plan. But when Quentin said he was coming out here tonight, I couldn’t resist. It’s been so long since I got out. And she sleeps for a few solid hours at night. Not all night or anything, but a good little chunk there. Minnie is with her, and I pumped a bottle. When she wakes up, a fresh diaper and that bottle will get her right back to sleep.”
I blinked at her. “Your bar talk is always so scintillating.”
Merry laughed again. “Isn’t it, though? Amazing how a baby changes things.”
A hint of sadness rippled over me. “Yeah, it is.”
“Well, I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy leaving her. Not for either of us. But he said he needed to be here tonight.”
I looked over at the men. They weren’t even trying to hide how they were looking over at the door every few minutes. I knew instantly what they were doing. Beatrice showed up at my house that morning, so they were expecting another showdown. The police made it clear she wasn’t to come anywhere near my apartment again, but they didn’t say Grant couldn’t come to my work.
“Was this Nick’s idea?” I asked, leaning a little closer to Merry so I could lower my voice.
What I really wanted to ask is how much they knew. If Nick asked them to come out here and keep an eye out for Grant, maybe he had spilled everything to them
. I didn’t know how to feel about that. It was embarrassing, and I didn’t want the discomfort of having to explain the secret I’d kept for so long. At least not under these circumstances. But at the same time, I was eventually going to have to come clean.
My goal was to have Remy in my life a lot more very soon. That meant people were going to notice I suddenly had a three-year-old. I wanted the people closest to me on my side, so they should know. But Merry didn’t give any indication she knew anything about what was happening. Instead, she grinned and shook her head.
“Nope. Vince,” she said.
“Vince?” I asked, surprised even though I shouldn’t have been. He did promise he was going to find a way to help me. It seemed Quentin was his way.
“Yep. He called earlier and told Quentin he’s a bodyguard now. Which is pretty amusing considering he is such a softy.”
I huffed out a laugh. That was definitely true. All four of the Freeman boys looked like models, all tough, strong, and alpha. But anyone who got close enough to really know them knew they were all marshmallows. It made me laugh, but it also made me feel special to know that side of them. Not everybody had that kind of insight into one of the city’s most influential families.
“Does he know why he’s a bodyguard now?” I asked.
She shook her head again and took another sip of her drink. “He didn’t say.”
I nodded and slipped over to Nick. Leaning against the bar, I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“What?” he asked.
“You knew,” I said.
“I knew what?” he asked.
“When I called you earlier and told you Grant’s mother came to my apartment, you didn’t seem all that shocked by it. Which struck me as odd because it shocked the hell out of me. But it was because you already knew what happened, didn’t you?”
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