by Snow, Nicole
“I—I don’t remember.”
Damn her. She may be my sister and scared for her life, but I’m ready to strangle this chick.
“Uh-huh. You get hit so often it wasn’t memorable?”
She doesn’t answer.
“You hit yourself?”
Still no answer.
“Jesus. Abby, I want to help you, but you’re making it ridiculously hard. The longer it takes you to speak up, the longer you’ll be away from Millie, and she’s started having nightmares. Do you want that?”
Her face sours, wrinkling with frustration.
“Is that why you came? To remind me how shitty of a mom I am?”
“I didn’t say that. I think you’re great, whatever happened to put you here. It’s a lot harder than I thought being a parent.”
She gives me a thin smile.
“Are you managing okay?” Before I can answer she says, “Well, I guess you are. You’ve got Nick’s nanny, and he’s carrying the kiddo around.”
“He even showed up for dinner with juice boxes and snacks.”
“Holy hell. If you don’t marry this guy, I will.”
“You’re not marrying anyone if you don’t get out of here, and apparently you don’t want out badly enough to talk.” I sigh.
“So, just for fun, let’s say someone did hit me,” she says slowly. “They’d probably be dangerous, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. Which explains why you had to do whatever to wind up here. You have a little girl to protect. You did their bidding because they made you. I’m right, aren’t I?”
“But if I need to protect my daughter and this person is dangerous, wouldn’t it be better for me to hang out here surrounded by guards? And wouldn’t Millie be better off being doted on by her loving aunt and rich-as-hell boss rather than with me? Miss Magnet for evil?”
“Evil?” I’m taken aback.
“Reese, think. Why would I risk involving you, let alone Millie, with someone I thought might be dangerous? And still out there.”
A chill runs up my spine. She’s trying to protect us. I never thought of it that way.
“You won’t even give me a hint?”
She shakes her head.
“Okay, well, they had to have probable cause. What did you get pulled over for? And if it was for drugs, why did they suspect you?”
“I think I got pulled over because my taillight was out. I’m not sure. The whole thing was overwhelming. I freaked out and then I was mostly just happy I hadn’t picked Millie up from Mrs. Gamlin’s yet.”
“That’s...not a lot to work with,” I say bitterly.
“Sorry. I hope someday this all makes sense. I just really don’t want you or Millie falling any deeper. The more I talk, the bigger your risk.”
“You can’t just rot here,” I insist, sitting up in my seat. “So, if you won’t talk to me, are you going to talk to Sutton?”
“I don’t know. If it isn’t safe...no.”
“What is safe then?” I don’t mean to badger her, but I’m losing my patience.
“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when I can.”
Then what? I just play mom until then? What about Millie?
She’s still asking where her mom went every day.
“Look, I can imagine how much this sucks...but sooner or later, you have to come clean. Between me and the attorney, we can keep you safe,” I tell her.
She looks at the clock overhead. The guard standing behind her at the edge of the room shifts his weight, slowly approaching.
“We don’t have much longer,” she says.
My heart sinks. There’s no point in more pressure right now.
“You don’t need to worry about Millie,” I tell her. “She’s safe, and I don’t think you should worry about Will either. He hasn’t been interested in her for a long time. He’s completely off the radar—even CPS is satisfied for now. I got through their little white-glove inspection.”
“I just...I need to calm down. It’s hard. The longest I’ve ever been away from Millie before was a few nights a year, and even then she had dinner with me before going to your place.”
“I remember. Trust me, she’s fine. I even learned to make chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese.”
“You’re the best little sister ever. I don’t think I’d get through this without you.” She gives me another smile that looks like it might break her.
I know you wouldn’t. “You have to talk, Abby. Just think about it.”
“We’ll see. Right now, I have to go,” she tells me.
She stands, never giving me a second glance, and that’s probably for the best. The second she disappears, I’m storming out in a huff, pushing past a couple burly cops on my way out.
This is all so bewildering, so intense, so painful.
How the hell do I save my sister if I can’t get her to open up?
12
Best of Intentions (Nick)
I slurp my coffee and hammer the cup down on my desk in disgust.
I’ve been tagged in two thousand thirteen posts and another sixteen hundred tweets.
I’m trending for no good reason.
I had dinner with Reese and her four-year-old niece last night. The only other places I’ve been in the last twenty-four hours are here and home.
How the hell can I be trending? What the fuck now?
Snarling, I face the inevitable. All of my tags link to one place: The Chicago Tea.
I’m so fucking over it. I rip up the phone and call Roland Osprey.
“Mr. Brandt, hello. It’s about time,” he answers on the first ring.
“Birdshit, what’s your problem?” I snap off.
“Problem? I wasn’t aware I had one. You, on the other hand...well, I trust you’ve seen your latest spike in popularity.”
“Why are you determined to destroy me?”
“You make it so easy,” he throws back. “This isn’t personal. I’m not out to get you, but I do run a vast entertainment empire. The people love you, and I love the people.”
“I’m going to sue you if you don’t knock it the fuck off,” I growl. “You know that, right?”
He pauses before asking, “Do you remember the last time we saw each other?”
“No.” Why would I want to?
“It was at your grandfather’s funeral—”
“Right. No wonder your slimy face isn’t my most vivid memory of that day.” I drag a hand over my face, swallowing a groan.
“I’m just saying Godfrey Brandt was such a caring, wise man. He was always so careful about where he opened his mouth, did his business, and put his dick. He’s one of the few among his peers who I believe remained faithful to one woman. It’s regrettable his grandson can’t say the same. Your grandfather must be rolling over in his grave right now.”
“Cut your shit and leave my grandpa out of it. You’re not getting the goddamned video and I’m not commenting on it.”
“But you keep confirming it exists,” he says in that oily, refined tone I despise.
If he wasn’t such a snake, maybe he’d have the city calling him it’s most eligible billionaire bachelor and Chicago could leave me the hell alone.
Why was I stupid enough to make this call?
“The photos blowing up on your little blog are over three years old. They have to be. Carbon Beach, California was the only vacation we ever took together. It was one big drunken mistake. Another time, another place, another life,” I say, trying to reason with this asshole. “This movie star friend loaned her a private jet with a loaded bar. Carmen convinced me to hop on for the ride. Can’t you just move on? Why is this newsworthy?”
Birdshit laughs darkly.
“I write what my readers want, and my facts are impeccable. Thank you for the history lesson, though. I’ll be sure it gets in the next article,” he sneers. “In this case, sex on the beach wasn’t just a drink, was it? Do you know how many people would kill to see you and Carmen Seraphina up to no good naked? Ev
en with some tactical censoring...my God. I can only imagine the traffic and the ad revenue.”
“Fuck off.” I end the call by slamming my cell on my desk so hard it’s a miracle the screen doesn’t shatter.
Way to go, Nick. Another waste of time.
Tiffany passes my office window, holding Millie’s hand.
Grandma’s office is barely a stone’s throw from mine. Thank God the kid wasn’t in her playroom when I had my tantrum, even if no one can see me in full meltdown through the frosted glass.
I need to watch it. With this kid and Reese counting on me, I’m realizing I’m not the only one affected by my shit anymore.
For the next hour, I do my damnedest to get back to approving designs for Brandt Dreams’ first interior projects when my door swings open. She doesn’t even knock—and why should she when this used to be her kingdom?
I look up. Grandma stands in the doorway, regal as ever.
“If you were ever a sight for sore eyes around here, today’s the day, Grandma,” I say.
“Oh, I just stopped by to see that lovely little hummingbird before checking in with you. She’s so adorable.”
I grin. “I know.”
“How long has she been spending her days here?”
“Just a few.” I motion to the chair across from my desk. “Do you want to sit?” I stand. “My seat’s probably more comfortable. We can trade if you want.”
Her forehead wrinkles. “You can quit treating me like an old lady right now, dear. I’m quite capable of roughing it out without imported leather.”
I don’t point out she’s in her seventies.
“Well, you should sit either way.”
She looks at me for a long moment, her eyes searching. “Did you forget you were supposed to take me to see the Winthrope site?”
Shit. That’s today?
“I’m sorry, Grandma. It’s been a long week. Ready when you are.” I grab my coat on the way out the door.
We slide into the town car together.
Reese turns to see Grandma and beams. “Granny Bea! It’s been forever.”
Grandma smiles at her. “You too, sweetheart. Is that darling creature upstairs truly your niece?”
Reese gives her a quick nod.
“She’s so adorable. I’m happy someone’s finally putting my old office to good use, considering my grandsons act like it’s haunted.”
“I hope it’s no inconvenience,” Reese says sheepishly. “I promise it won’t be like this for long.”
“Pish.” Grandma waves her hand like she’s swatting a fly. “You’re practically family, and that makes young Millie one of us by extension.”
Grandma slaps my leg, turning to face me with a low whisper. “You tell her.”
“She knows I think the kid’s a rockstar,” I say, clearing my throat.
When we arrive at the Winthrope hotel site, a tangle of construction and dreams, I climb out of the car and hold the door open for Grandma.
Once I’ve helped her out, I take her arm and lead her through the gate, into the construction zone.
“Nicholas Brandt, I can walk over a little uneven ground. I told you to quit treating me like an old lady.”
“I’m being the gentleman you always wanted me to be. You could fall. Your heart might be strong enough to handle more hospital visits, Grandma, but mine isn’t.”
“Aren’t you sweet?” She laughs and shakes her head.
Ward stands in front of the construction zone with his arm tucked around Paige, who’s wearing a pink hard hat.
“I thought you were tied down with the studio?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “This hotel was such a big deal, I had to be here. I might’ve never been a Brandt without it.”
“I dig the hard hat,” I tell her.
She laughs. “It was a compromise.”
“Compromise?”
“Paige didn’t want ‘helmet hair,’ and she wasn’t coming this close to a construction zone without one,” Ward says, kissing the top of her helmet. “We agreed if I bought a pink one, she’d wear it.”
She smiles up at him.
“You two are so cute,” Grandma says with a fluttery smile.
I roll my eyes. She catches me and points a finger at my chest.
“Listen, when you’ve made it to my age and you’re still kicking, you’re easily amused. Now, I want to hear more about this adorable little girl with the slide in my office.”
“Nick built it himself,” Ward says. “Actually, he put everything together.”
Grandma smiles at me with surprise.
“You boys are doing so well on your own. I should’ve handed over the reins a long time ago before my heart left me no choice. But what’s going on with Reese? Why, pray tell, does her niece have a playroom in my office?”
Ward speaks first.
“Nick hired the nanny to help Reese with childcare. With everything going on right now, we couldn’t afford to lose our driver. Nobody gets through traffic like her,” he says, giving me a quick glance, unsure how much Grandma should really know.
“Why would you lose Reese?” Grandma asks.
I shrug, rolling my shoulders.
There’s no point in keeping everything buried.
“Her sister got arrested, Grandma. The kid didn’t have anywhere to stay. Reese is her only other family. If she didn’t have childcare, she wouldn’t be able to work, and I didn’t want her giving her left leg to find someone to watch Millie. It’s stupid to lose a good employee over a babysitter when the situation’s out of her control,” I say.
“I gotta say,” Ward jumps in, clearing his throat. “Nick took the initiative here—even when he’s been busy with Brandt Dreams—and he’s managing pretty well. It’s only been a few days, but so far, it’s all working out.”
I nod at my brother gratefully. It’s weird when he’s not a complete dick.
“The nanny teaches Millie, too. They don’t just play,” I tell them. “Tiffany Hines has a preschool curriculum she’s used with previous clients, so I told her to make sure she implemented it.”
“Oh, my. So, you’ve hired a private tutor for the driver’s niece?” Grandma asks, her eyes going wide.
When she looks at me, I get this odd sense she’s seeing someone else.
“I’m paying for it personally. Not on the company’s dime. Nothing else would be appropriate,” I say, squaring my shoulders.
Grandma throws herself at me in a bear hug, then reaches up, patting my cheek.
“See? This is why I never gave up on you. I knew there was a good man in there somewhere. Apparently, you just needed a set of blue eyes and a backbone to wake up.”
Over Grandma’s shoulder, Ward grins at me and holds his thumb up.
“Nah, Grandma. You just have to be on Nick’s level—four years old and ready to do portraits in crayon over a juice box mocktail.”
Ah, there’s my brother. I subtly flip him off, making sure he can see the one finger salute wagging behind my back.
“Behave.” Paige elbows my idiot brother playfully.
Grandma lets go of me, chuckling because of course she sees it all, and turns to Ward. “The kid likes him then?”
“Reese likes him a lot more,” Paige says with a knowing smile. “She talks about him nonstop.”
“Does she?” Grandma asks slowly.
Fuck.
I was tempted to ask her later, but since Grandma just did, I glare at the hotel’s giant foundation and the towering cranes around it.
“We’ve come a long way from her joking about throwing him in the trunk and dumping him in Canada without a passport,” Ward says.
Paige giggles. “I wanted to body-slam you more than once when we first met.”
“If you body-slam me, I’ll enjoy it,” Ward says, lowering his voice to a volume he thinks I can’t hear. “But you really think Reese secretly wants Nick?”
Paige shrugs. “There’s no one else she’d rather rant about.”
“Oh, that’s perfect,” Grandma says, clapping her hands. “That little hummingbird will be my grandniece.”
I can’t pretend I’m oblivious any longer.
“Stop it. All of you. I’m her boss. I would’ve hired a nanny for anyone else in the office in her situation.”
“But you haven’t, big little brother,” Paige says.
“I hate it when you call me that.”
“You’re Ward’s little bro, but you’re older than me, so—”
“I know. It makes sense and I still hate it.”
“Little brother?” Ward says.
I catch his eyes and wait for some outrageous, pedantic shit.
“I was Paige’s boss once. Just saying.”
Boom. There it is.
“You only thought you were,” I say, deflecting his unwelcome advice.
Grandma chortles—yes, chortles.
“I’m afraid we can’t engineer Nicholas’ love life like this lovely hotel just by pecking him. So let’s walk and see the progress, or I’m leaving,” she says, patting my hand and mercifully ending my torture.
Ward waves, leading the way into the skeletal building, and we all follow him inside to do some actual work.
* * *
“Why are you so quiet today?” I ask.
Reese’s eyes flick to mine in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t realize I was...”
She goes quiet again.
“Pull over,” I say, after another stretch of silence.
“What?”
“Pull into the next parking lot.”
She doesn’t answer, but we enter the lot of a shopping center not far from my building. It’s late, so it’s mostly vacant.
“Park,” I order.
As soon as she does, I get out and climb into the front passenger seat.
“That’s—” She exhales at my presence. “Different.”
What does that breath mean? Is Paige right?
Forget it. Even if she wanted to fuck you, the price is a wrecking ball.
“Something wrong?” I clip.
“I’m just used to everyone being in the back,” she says.
Against my better judgment, I take her hand. “Sorry. I could tell you’re upset. I wanted to help.”