“You wouldn’t—”
Abby cut her mother’s bluster off. “I have had enough of you. I have had enough of your vile and nasty manipulations. Of your threats and selfishness. Of your cruel behaviour. If you want to take me to court, take me. I will turn it into the biggest media circus you have ever seen. Flynn here will help me to set up interviews with everyone he knows. In fact, I expect he wouldn’t mind lending his notoriety to a campaign to drag your good name through every muddy field in England.”
“I’d enjoy every minute,” Flynn said.
Millicent’s face paled but her shark-like eyes were still determined. “You will bankrupt yourself paying for legal counsel. Is that what you want? For you and the child?”
“She won’t bankrupt herself,” Lawrence said. “I’ll take the case and run with it for free.”
“And how will you live while you’re fighting me? There won’t be any time to work. You’ll be out of house and home within months.”
“No she won’t. She can have my money,” Flynn said. “I’m not doing anything with it anyway.”
“Flynn, you can’t…” Abby whispered.
He shrugged. “I’m behind you, sugar. Whatever it takes to make this go away. It’s only money.” He smiled at her, a soft, intimate caress of a smile. “Don’t stop now. You’re kicking ass.”
Abby smiled back at him before turning to her unwanted guests. “I don’t need to explain anything to you. All you need to know is this—if you start a war, we will wage a war. I will fight you until my last breath. I will do everything within my power to ruin your name.” She scoffed. “Now isn’t that interesting? Turns out I am a Montgomery-Clark after all, because when it comes to getting what I want, I will not lie down until you are ruined and bloody. Doesn’t that sound familiar, Mother?”
Abby didn’t wait for an answer—she looked at Millicent’s new lawyer. “Leave. Now.”
The man bustled and flushed, but he headed for the door. Abby looked at Charles, who was still staring at his feet.
“Charles, take your mother and get out.”
His head came up slowly. There was nothing but blank acceptance in his eyes.
“Let’s go, Mother,” Charles said, his first words since entering the house.
Millicent stood, her back straight, her air regal. “You’ll regret this, Abigail.” With one last glare, she swept out of the door.
The air in the room eased as Flynn pulled Abby into his arms.
“You were amazing.” He held her tight.
“She’ll still fight,” Abby said into his chest.
“Probably. She’s a vindictive old witch. But we’ll fight back.”
Abby let her head fall back to look at him. “It isn’t your fight. You don’t have to do this. I can’t take your money, Flynn.”
Flynn rolled his eyes. “Daft girl. If it’s your fight, it’s my fight. I can’t let them take the terrorist from us. Not when I’m on a roll with her education. Anyway, I invested in Harry’s company when he first started out. He made a mint. He can always make more if we need it.”
Abby felt her bottom lip tremble as she looked at all the things left unsaid in his eyes.
“You love me,” she said with absolute conviction.
And Flynn Boyle, bad boy of soccer, actually blushed. “Aye, but don’t rub it in.”
“You love me.” Abby grinned. “Your head must be spinning. Bet you never thought it was possible to love someone other than yourself.”
“Funny, oh so funny.” Flynn tugged her back into his chest.
“Are you feeling okay? Do you need to lie down?” Abby’s voice was muffled against him. She was grateful for the teasing, as it cut through the horrors Millicent left behind.
“I am seriously regretting falling for you now,” he grumbled.
And against all odds, Abby started to laugh. She felt Flynn lean down and whisper in her ear.
“I do love you, Abby.”
She held him tight and felt his muscles tense beneath her hold.
“Aren’t you going to say it to me?” He sounded so affronted at the thought she wouldn’t that it made Abby laugh harder.
She looked up from him to find the room empty. “Where’s Victoria?”
As she spoke, they heard a second car’s engine start. Lawrence walked into the room, grim and worried.
“She’s made a run for it,” he said.
“Lawrence?” Abby said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go after her.” Lawrence patted Abby’s hand.
“Tell her…” Abby bit her lip, her mind a jumble of emotions and thoughts that might never be properly processed. “Tell her we need to talk.”
Lawrence nodded firmly, then headed out of the house.
As Abby watched him go, she felt pain overtake her.
“You do love me, right? I mean what’s not to love?” Flynn’s voice jarred her back to the present.
“I think you love yourself enough for both of us, Flynn,” Abby teased.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Evil woman. I will make you say the words. You can count on it. I haven’t lost a challenge yet.”
“Shut up and kiss me.” She needed him to whisk her away from everything—if only for a moment.
And thankfully, he complied.
37
“Football is simple, but the hardest thing to do is play simple football.”
Johan Cruyff, former Dutch national player
“I saw her heading to the loch,” Dougal said to Lawrence as soon as he entered the pub.
“Thanks,” he told the man behind the bar, as his shoulders sagged with relief. He’d feared she’d run further. Somewhere he’d never catch her.
“She was crying.” Dougal’s usual boom was toned down to almost normal levels. His face, which was a carbon copy of Santa Claus, held worry. “She seemed lost, as though she didn’t know what to do with herself or where to go. I don’t like seeing anyone in that state.” He eyed Lawrence speculatively. “Are you taking care of this?”
“Yes.” He headed for the door, before turning back to the pub owner. “Don’t give away our rooms. We’re moving to town and it will take a while to find a place to live.”
Dougal’s face broke out in a wide grin. “Will you be opening an office here?”
“When I can. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up in London.”
“We need a good lawyer in town. Anything you need. Let me know. Welcome to the family, son.”
Lawrence couldn’t help grinning at the man who wore a yellow shirt with a red tartan bow tie. Without another word, he jogged off in search of Victoria.
She wasn’t hard to find. She wasn’t hiding at all. She was sitting stiffly on the wall beside the loch, just out of sight of passersby. Her arms were around her waist and she was curled in on herself, as though she hoped to become as small as possible until she disappeared entirely. Lawrence hated the sight.
He felt her stiffen as he sat down beside her. He didn’t touch her, unsure what the reception would be. She didn’t look at him, but he noticed she tried to sniff discreetly to hide her tears. For a long time, they sat side by side, looking out over the water. The grey of the vista was soothing. The air still heavy after the storm. The sounds of gently lapping waves and ever-present gulls were a balm to open wounds. Lawrence fought the urge to pull the woman who had become important to him into his embrace. He wanted to fix things for her. At the very least, carry her pain. But all he could do, he knew, was be there for her.
“You were terribly young.” Too young to stand up against her parents.
She jerked at his words, and for a moment he thought she might ignore him. Her eyes stayed firmly on the water as she spoke. “I’d just turned fifteen.” She gave a very unladylike snort. “I thought myself in love. We had one night together before he disappeared. Father paid the family off. He told me it was an awful cliché to get knocked up by the help.”
He knew from the look on her face she wasn’t seeing the
loch anymore. She was watching her past.
“You must have been afraid.”
Victoria stared at him for a long time, her eyes welling with fresh tears. But they didn’t fall. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t have anyone to lean on. I was sent to finishing school in Switzerland, or at least that’s what everyone was told. It was a clinic. Private. Very exclusive. I stayed there for the whole pregnancy.”
“Alone?” Lawrence wanted to hurt Victoria’s mother so badly it ate at him.
“Of course.” Victoria looked back out over the water. “My parents turned up a month before the baby was due. They had a team of lawyers in their wake. The papers were already drawn up. They were going to take my baby, raise her as their own. I would be allowed to spend time with her, under the proviso I never revealed our true relationship. If I didn’t agree, the baby and I would be cut off without a penny. All family connection would be withdrawn. I would have been asked to leave the clinic and have the baby elsewhere. They did say they’d take me back to London. It was their only concession. Although they made it very clear that once in the city, I would be on my own.”
Lawrence couldn’t take it anymore. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him. His anger towards her parents was a visceral thing. He wished he could rip them apart with his bare hands.
“I signed away my baby.” Her whispered words were warm against his chest.
“Of course you did.” He squeezed her hard. “They didn’t give you a choice. You were a child. How would you survive alone with a baby?”
She pushed back and looked up at him. “You don’t hate me for making the decision to give her to them?”
Tears bit at his eyes as expletives fell from his lips. “Of course I don’t hate you. Why would you think that?”
Silent tears fell down her cheeks, cracking his heart with each one. “I did a terrible thing. I gave my baby away. I let her believe that people who didn’t love her were her parents. I let her suffer. They were so cold to her. So horrible, and I stood back allowing it. I hurt her. I should never have given her away.” Her voice broke as she buried her face in his shirt and sobbed.
Lawrence soothed her with meaningless words mumbled as he stroked her. Rage at the people who damaged those they should have loved and protected the most was a fire inside him. He buried it deep. Promised he’d ruin them at a later date. Right now, Victoria needed him.
A noise behind them drew his attention, and he stilled, ready to protect Victoria from gawkers. It was Dougal. He held a tray. It had takeaway cups with warm drinks, bottles of water and a plastic-covered plate of cookies. Without a word, the man placed the tray beside them, smiled softly at Victoria and left. In that moment, Lawrence knew they’d found a real home. Him and Victoria both. They belonged in Invertary.
“Here, darling, have a drink.” He reached for one of the warm cups and held it out to her. “You’ll feel better.” He noticed Dougal had left a pack of tissues on the tray, and silently blessed the man.
As Victoria held the drink, he used a tissue to wipe her tear-stained face.
“Sip,” he ordered.
She did as she was told, and for some reason he hated to see her obey. His woman had spent her life obeying orders. Terrified of being cast out and rejected if she didn’t. It would take time, but he’d teach her there was nothing wrong with standing up for herself. She wouldn’t lose him if she did.
“You did a good thing today, darling,” he told her as he held her close. “You stood up to your mother. You gave her a reason to stop her pursuit of Abby. You made sure Abby didn’t lose her daughter the way you lost yours. You were very brave. I’m proud of you.”
She leaned into him. So small and fragile in his arms. How she’d managed to live under the evil will of a tyrant and still manage to keep a semblance of herself, he had no idea.
“She must hate me.”
He knew she didn’t mean Millicent. “I don’t think Abby has it in her heart to hate anyone.”
“I wouldn’t blame her.” She held the warm cup tight to her chest. “I tried in the beginning. To love her. To spend time with her. I would read to her. Cuddle her. Play with her. She was amazing. Beautiful, warm, loving. She was perfect, Lawrence, utterly perfect.” She wiped at her eyes. “I remember how it felt to wrap her tight in my arms. I never wanted to let her go. I hated being apart from her. I’d cry for hours when we were separated. I loved her so much,” she whispered. “She was my baby.” She looked up at Lawrence. “I still love her so much my heart aches with it, but over the years it became easier to be distant. It hurt too much trying to be close when I knew I could never be what she needed.”
“I know, my darling, I know.”
Victoria turned back to look at the loch. “I visited with David, Abby’s husband, once when she wasn’t there. I think he suspected something, but he never said. I wanted to make sure he would be good to her. I had to see for myself that he was a good man. He was, Lawrence, he was a very good man. And he loved my Abby. I never went back. Mother would have had a fit if she’d found out there was contact. She…”
Her words faded. Lawrence didn’t need them. He’d had enough experience with Victoria’s parents to know they must have made her suffer daily for her childhood indiscretion. He could only imagine the mental abuse she’d endured over the years.
“Charles?” He wondered if the brother had known. If he’d ever done anything to help.
“Charles only cares about Charles. He does whatever he must to keep Mother out of his business.” She shook her head. “Charles has some interests Mother would disapprove of.”
Lawrence nodded. He’d heard rumours. The man’s tastes ran to the twisted. He definitely wouldn’t want a spotlight on them. Neither would he want the funds available to pursue his interests cut off when his mother found out.
“You’ve been alone such a long time.”
“It’s no more than I deserve.”
“No.” He shifted to look her in the eyes. “You’re wrong. You didn’t deserve any of this. It was done to you. Your choices weren’t choices at all. You were a child, and then you were an abused adult dealing with the only world you knew. You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve any of it.”
“Abby?” Victoria’s voice cracked as the tears started again.
“We’ll deal with it together. You’re not alone anymore.” He kissed her hair and wrapped her in his arms.
Where she belonged.
38
“A penalty is a cowardly way to score.”
Pelé, greatest footballer ever
Flynn made a call to his cousin and told him what happened. Matt offered to keep Katy overnight, but Flynn knew Abby would want her baby. After everything he’d heard, Flynn couldn’t bear the thought of the terrorist being out of his sight. They should be together. Where they belonged. Matt promised to bring the kid home as soon as her play date with the famous Jonathan was over, which gave Flynn some time to care for Abby.
Adrenalin-fuelled emotions had worn her out. When she crashed, numb and bruised, he’d put her to bed and told her to sleep for a while. The whole situation was a mess. A nasty, ugly, screwed-up mess that left a foul taste in his mouth. One he just couldn’t get rid of.
Flynn was sitting on Abby’s front step, nursing a beer and wondering who to kill first—the list of prospects was pretty damn long—when Mitch drove up. The American was wearing one of his usual power suits, although he looked more rumpled than pristine.
“It’s Sunday—what the hell kind of meetings do you have on a Sunday? Give your backside a day off and wear a pair of jeans.” Flynn grinned at the man. They’d become friends over the past few years, catching up when Flynn was in Invertary or Mitch was in London. He liked Mitch. For a lawyer—especially one in the entertainment business—he wasn’t half bad.
“I had a meeting with your agent, asshole.” Mitch threw a folder at Flynn as he came up the steps. “Where’s the beer?”
“Kitchen frid
ge.” Flynn opened the folder and sucked in a breath. It was the contract he’d signed for the TV show. He looked up to ask Mitch what this meant, but the man was already inside the house.
Flynn read, hope bubbling up inside him. When Mitch came back out, his jacket and tie were gone, his white shirt sleeves were rolled up and he was holding an ice-cold beer. He sat on the step beside Flynn.
“You broke the contract?” Flynn said.
“You are now agent-less, lawyer-less and you no longer have a camera crew up your ass.” Mitch clinked their beer bottles together. “You’re welcome.”
“How the hell did you manage this?” Flynn was in awe. Seriously. The guy deserved his complete adoration.
“I am just that good.” Mitch stretched his legs out in front of him. “I also put Lake on the case. He’s going to do some digging. You were being fleeced by your agent. I’m pretty sure the lawyer was in on it, but I don’t have any proof—yet.”
“I figured as much when they stopped answering my calls.” Flynn’s jaw clenched. “Guess I need a new lawyer.”
“Don’t look at me.” Mitch held up his hands. “I’m up to my ears dealing with Josh. Without me he would be broke and singing for food.”
Flynn laughed, because it was most likely true.
“Thanks,” he said.
Mitch shrugged. “No biggie. We’re friends.”
“Aye.” And it felt damn good to have people around him, watching his back. He’d spent most of his life in the cutthroat world of professional soccer, where each man looked out for himself. He hadn’t realised until recently just how much of an impact his upbringing and professional life had on his character, or the people around him. As much as he complained about coming home, Invertary had given him back his life.
And it’d given him Abby.
They sat quietly for a while, staring at Flynn’s state-of-the-art motorhome. The land looked bare without the donkeys, who were currently eating their way through the field between Abby’s and Matt’s houses.
Bad Boy (Invertary Book 5) Page 27