I finish the Friday afternoon meeting I have with several of the finance VPs and head toward Frank’s office. I want to double check that there’s nothing for me to do before I leave. If I make it out before everyone else leaves for the weekend, I have less of a chance of being mobbed out the building. Saul is driving Levi and me every day, so getting into and out of VI isn’t an issues at all, but the walk from to the door to curb here has been awful.
I bypass Frank’s assistant and knock on his door. There’s muffled male voices and then he raises his voice to tell me to come in. The sight that greets me is perhaps one of the most shocking I’ve ever seen. Frank is sitting around his office conference table with Levi, my dad, and Isaac. Unlike the last time my dad and brother were in the same room with Frank, no one seems to be throwing punches. That’s a positive development.
“What’s this about?” I look around the room at the most important men in my life.
“We’re just discussing what to do about Jennifer,” Dad answers.
I take a close look at each of them. They look like they’ve been at it awhile. I walk over to Levi and run my hand through his hair. He tries to pull me into his lap, but no, we’re not playing that game. I have questions.
“How long has this little strategy session been going on?” I ask keeping my tone neutral.
Isaac and Levi share a glance. Dad and Frank seem oblivious to the storm brewing inside me.
“We’ve been here since lunch,” Dad answers.
“For over three hours, then?” My eyebrows raise. “Why wasn’t I informed about this? It’s my life she’s tearing to ribbons. It’s my reputation she’s smearing all over the tabloids.”
“We just didn’t want to upset you.” Isaac gives me puppy dog eyes that usually work but not this time. “We figured you had too much on your plate right now.”
“I’m not included in this ‘we’ he keeps using,” Levi grabs my hand. “I warned them that you’d be pissed about not being included.”
He shrugs off the accusatory looks he gets from the other three men in the room.
I look over at Isaac. “You know better.”
I look at Dad. “So do you.”
I look at Frank. “I don’t like being excluded from decisions involving me. If you want me to take a spot here when I graduate, you have to trust me. I’m not going to back down from my mother, she’s not going to break me.”
I can feel Levi’s support at my back, but he’s still not off the hook. I turn to look at him, “You are in just as much trouble. Sure, you told them I wouldn’t like it, but you still participated. You could have given me a heads up.”
I let my eyes travel over each of them. “I deserve a seat at the table when it’s my life and my problems being discussed. I know it affects each of you, but I’m not going to let my life be run by some misogynistic boys’ club. If you can’t handle the femme energy,” I point over my shoulder, “get the fuck out.”
Dad and Isaac both look chagrined, they know they messed up. Frank looks equally amused and full of pride. Levi is looking at me like I’m snack and he’s ready to devour me.
“Now,” I pull a chair out and sit between Levi and Isaac, “what is the plan?”
“I’ve started the defamation lawsuit.” Dad leans back in his chair and stretches out. “I don’t know where she’s hiding out so who knows when she’ll be served.”
“I hired a private investigator,” Isaac adds. “I should have information by the middle of next week.”
“I talked with our building security, and they’re going to direct your driver to a back alley for the time being. That’s where you’ll be dropped off and picked up. Do not get out of the car until one at least one of our security is there to escort you, even if you and Levi are together.” Frank gives Levi a serious look.
Levi looks right back at him with a smirk, and I know whatever he’s about to say will be provocative. “Don’t worry, no one wants my future baby mama safe and healthy more than I do.”
Both Dad and Isaac whip their heads in our direction. I haven’t gotten around to filling them in on the status of our relationship.
“I’m not pregnant.” I answer their unspoken question, and a flash of relief crosses both their faces. “Levi and I are together though.”
“We’re living together. I transferred to Yale and got us an apartment for the year.” Levi drops his hand to my leg. “We’re both living with Con and Lilith for the summer.”
Dad opens his mouth to say something but stops. A tense silence fills the room. Luckily Frank ends the silence by announcing that he has a meeting to get to. Dad pulls me aside and asks if we can speak privately for a minute, so we stay behind in Frank’s office.
“I’m worried you are moving too fast with Levi,” he says as soon as the door closes, and we’re alone. “You’ve been doing so well and moving forward with therapy. I don’t want you to back slide between the stress of your mother’s bullshit and this new relationship.”
“I understand that, Dad.” I grab his hands and squeeze them, imploring him to trust me. “But you have to understand that Levi and I have been end game for each other since we were eleven years old. I know it’s been a messy ride, but it is our ride, and it just makes sense. No one makes me feel like he does. No one loves me as deep as he does.”
We stare each other down for a minute, his gaze boring into mine for some reassurance. He clenches his jaw and nods when he finds what he was looking for in my eyes. He wraps me up in a hug that squeezes the air out of my lungs and lifts my toes off the ground.
“I just love you. I don’t want you getting hurt ever again,” he says into my hair.
“I know.” I hug him back just as tight. “I love you, too. I can’t believe you and Frank were in the same room without fighting,” I say when he sets me back down.
“Yeah,” he grins, “me too. Frank cares a lot about you though. It’s been obvious all these years watching him come to your meets and take you out for dinner occasionally. I can’t hold a petty grudge against someone who loves my daughter like his own.”
“What did happen between you two?” I ask as we walk into the hall.
“Ah, that’s a story for another day.”
“I’m so excited for this,” I almost squeal as Lilith and I get into the Range Rover with Claire. “I’ve been dreaming about getting you in a wedding dress since the first time we went shopping back in Founder’s Ridge. Your body was made for a mermaid gown.”
“I literally have no idea what that means,” Lilith says unenthusiastically.
“It means fitted from the bust through the thighs,” Claire says, “then flares out on the bottom.”
“Do you want long sleeves since it’ll be a winter wedding?” I ask while I flip through one of the bridal magazines I bought this week. “Here, look at this one.” I toss another magazine back at her. “Fold over any pages of dresses that stick out to you.”
“I’ll take one, too.” Claire holds her hand out for my other magazine.
With random Saturday morning traffic, it takes about twenty minutes to get to the shop. For the first time in days I can get out of the car on the sidewalk and not immediately be surrounded by photographers. Lilith convinces our security team to stay in their car, parked across the street from the front door.
We’re greeted as soon as we walk in the door with flutes of champagne. We’re directed to blush pink Victorian settee to sit while we go through the magazines showing what Lilith likes and what Claire and I could envision for her. After she gives her dress size and budget to the stylist helping us, we sit back.
“This place is overwhelming,” Lilith whispers looking at the walls covered with racks of gowns. “Also, I am not spending five thousand dollars on a dress I’ll wear once. That is insane.”
“You aren’t paying for it.” I take a sip of my champagne, so I don’t tell her I already told the shop ahead of time that Franklin Marsh was paying for the dress, no limit on price.
“What?” She turns to me with narrowed eyes. “You don’t have the money to be buying me a wedding dress either.”
“I know, I’m not. Frank is paying for it.” I met her glare with one of my own. “He wants to do this as your uncle. Don’t make me tell him no.”
“I’ll tell him,” she pulls out her phone and starts to text him, but the stylist walks up and tells her that she’s pulled dresses.
While she goes back, I send off a text to Frank that he can expect a response. When I look over at Claire, she’s texting someone with a soft smile on her face.
“I know that face. What guy are you texting?” I ask.
“Oh,” she startles, “just a random Tinder guy. No one important.” She slides her phone in her purse.
“What’s his name?”
“G-Gary. He’s funny but definitely a player. I’m not going to meet up with him.”
Lilith comes out in the first dress, and I can tell by the look on her face that she hates it. It has an illusion bodice with feathers covering the A-line skirt. She steps up on the dais in front of the three-way mirror and makes eye contact.
“I look like a half-plucked chicken,” she says completely deadpan.
Claire and I both break out into laughter while the stylist grimaces. They walk back into the dressing room, and I check my phone. Frank sent me a text telling me not to worry about it. He just called the manager to ensure he’d get the bill.
Lilith comes out in a second dress. This one is much better. It’s a slim fitting white crepe with a plunging neckline and off the shoulder long sleeves. There’s no lace or embellishments except the pearl buttons on the back. It’s beautiful but a bit too plain. She goes back to the dressing room.
Another stylist comes out and sets a book of bridesmaid dresses in front of us. Lilith’s already told us to pick a dress in black, our choice of style and design. I see a few styles that I love, but I want to wait to see what Lilith goes with for a dress first. Claire seems to have the same idea and suggests we get dresses that compliment whatever she picks.
Lilith comes out in the third dress, and I can see she loves it so far. It’s another A-line dress with an illusion bodice, this one has lace appliqués covering the top and sleeves. There’s a deep V in front which shows off her cleavage in a sexy but classy way and the back is held together by a Chantilly lace keyhole. The skirt is a flowy chiffon with more Chantilly lace.
The stylist adds a tiara since Lilith has said she doesn’t want a veil, but Lilith rejects it with a comment about “princess shit” being unnecessary. I ask about customizing the sleeves to be made longer, at the moment they’re just cap sleeves. We’re told the designer is open to customizations like that, so they take her back to get precise measurements.
Lilith comes out after a while and notices that there’s photographers roaming around the sidewalk. She texts her security to deal with them while we devise a plan to go out into the alley in behind the shop. She shoots Saul a message telling him where to pick us up.
She argues back and forth for a few minutes with the manager about who is paying for the dress but ultimately backs down. She mumbles something about paying for alterations as she grabs her purse off the counter.
We head to the back of the shop and realize we’re in a different alley than we thought we’d be in and we’ll have to double around the block to get to where Saul is waiting. As we are walking and chatting Lilith stops mid-sentence. She turns her head quickly and yells at Claire and I to run.
I turn to see what is going on, thinking maybe some photographers found us when I see her spin and throw a punch right into a man dressed in all black with a hood over his face. I scream and look around, trying to find a way to help as she starts fighting him. That’s when I notice four more men and a sleek-looking black van parked at the end of the alley.
“Claire,” Lilith makes eye contact with her and nods. Claire grabs her ear right before she’s wrapped up in the arms of one of the men. She tries to fight him off, but she’s so thin and delicate he just lifts her up and starts running to the van.
I turn just as another man comes up behind me and push him backwards into the wall. Lilith is now trying to fight off two attackers. I see bottle sitting against the wall and reach down to grab it, swinging it across one of the attacker’s face. He falls to ground with a thud.
I start to rush over toward Lilith when I feel something crash against my temple. The last thing I remember seeing before everything went black was the glint of a knife arcing toward Lilith’s back.
27
LEVI
“On a scale of one to ten, how annoyed do think Lilith is by dress shopping right now?” I ask Con while I spot him on the bench press.
“Probably somewhere around one hundred,” he says between grunts.
“Ives is probably having the best time,” I muse. “She lives for shopping. Wedding dress shopping has to be like the Olympics for her. Actually, even more special than the Olympics. Those are too mundane for her. Maybe summiting Mt. Everest or something.”
Con glares at me.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re extra irritating this morning,” he states.
“Everything irritates you.”
I’m on the receiving end of another glare. “What time is Griff meeting us for lunch?”
“Around eleven,” Con glances at the clock, “we should probably clean up and get ready.”
We wipe down everything we used and head back up to the penthouse. I text Griff to let himself in when he gets here. I pause in the bedroom, looking at our rumpled white sheets. Ivy has always woken up before I do, usually to swim some laps before her day starts, but this morning I was up first. I watched the sun rise over the city and the light creep across the room, catching her glossy curls in the early morning pink light. All I could think about was how I never want dark sheets again; I love the contrast between her hair and the ivory satin pillow she uses.
I pull myself away and go get ready. We’re just going to a sports bar to watch the Red Sox game so jeans, my lucky shirt, and a pair of flip flops is all I need to get ready. When I come out of the bedroom, Griff is stretched out on the couch scrolling through his phone. He motions me over with his head while holding a finger to his lips.
“Claire sent me these,” he holds his phone up for me.
It’s a picture of Hoodrat in a wedding dress. She looks absolutely stunning. Just seeing this peek of what she’ll look like as a bride has my eyes pricking with moisture.
“Fuck, I’m gonna cry like a baby at this wedding,” I say when I hand the phone back to him.
“I’ll keep a hanky in my pocket for you,” he jokes. “She really does look beautiful. Claire won’t tell me if this is the one she chose though.”
I’m about to ask why the fuck he’s texting Claire, but Con walks out right before I can.
“You guys ready?” He grabs his phone from the counter. “I figured we’d just walk. It’s not that far, and security said no one is out front.”
“Sounds good to me.” I miss being able to walk down the streets of Manhattan without a circus following half a step behind.
We grab a booth in the back when we get to the bar, and Griff orders a pitcher of beer for us. A half hour later we have a spread of bar food all over the table, and we’re on our second pitcher of beer. Our phones are all in the middle of the table. We have a rule that whoever looks at his phone first pays. Most of the time Griff ends up paying.
One batter into the fourth inning Con’s phone goes off with a shrill alert. He knocks over his beer grabbing it while he curses.
“That’s the panic alarm,” he says. “It’s either Claire or Lilith, and since they’re together, it has to be all three of three of them in trouble.”
Griff is already tossing a stack of bills on the table, probably twice the amount of the bill, but we have to go. I pull up my driver’s number while Con calls Saul.
“What do you mean she’s bleeding in an
alley?” Con shouts as he runs out onto the sidewalk. “Where are Claire and Ivy?”
He pauses to listen while Griff and I exchange worried glances. Con snaps his fingers at Griff and mouths for him to call Lake, Lilith’s business associate.
“She’s not conscious? Where is she bleeding from?” Con is full on having a meltdown now. I’m about two seconds from joining him, and I’ve never seen Griff look so worried. “Okay, okay. We’re on our way, I’ll track Claire’s location.” He ends the call and puts both hands in his hair.
“What’s going on? Who’s bleeding?”
“Lily.” He turns in a circle. “Fuck, I don’t know what do to. Did you get Lake?”
“He didn’t answer, so I texted 911 to him, Grant, Sawyer, and Nolan. I’m sure at least one of them is with him.” Griff’s phone rings right as he finishes.
“Talk to me,” Lake’s voice comes over the speaker.
Con snatches the phone, “Lilith was stabbed coming out of Blanc Bridal. Claire and Ivy were abducted. Before Lilith passed out, she said the abductors were speaking in Russian.”
Fuck.
I see my driver a block down, so we start running for him.
“I’ll give you the code to track Claire. She and Lilith both have earrings fitted with tracking devices that they can activate by spinning.” Con pauses while Lake yells at Nolan, their tech guy. Con rattles off a list of numbers and disconnects after Lake says he’s on the tracking.
“Fuck!” Con slams his fist into the dashboard. “I don’t know what to do. Go to Lily or go after Claire and Ivy. Sonofabitch!” He roars and fists his hands.
“We’ll go after Claire and Ivy,” Griff says. “You call Victor.” He turns to me, “You call Frank, he’ll want to be there for Lilith.”
My heart is racing. If anything happens to Ivy, I will hunt down the abductors and kill them slowly and painfully. I’m as torn as Con, though, because Lilith is beyond a friend, more than a cousin to me. She’s the sister I never had, a missing piece to help fit me together when I didn’t even realize I was broken. I don’t know if we’re connected so closely because our moms were twins or if we just get each other, but I can’t fucking lose her.
Relentless (Titans of Founder's Ridge Book 2) Page 22