This had been the longest that she and her folks had stayed away from each other on a social basis, but even with the passage of time, her parents still weren’t ready to wine and dine with their new son-in-law.
This stubbornness had to change after tonight, though. How could her parents continue to shun Tristan when her husband had been instrumental in getting them what they’d wanted and needed—the five million dollars from the Shipton family trust fund.
She’d had a visit from a representative of the trustees’ office this afternoon. They’d given her no warning whatsoever that they were coming to see her, so she’d been suitably shocked when they’d relayed the good news. No doubt the tears of relief she’d shed on the spot had added to their conviction that she’d had no idea whatsoever of the early gift they’d decided to hand her.
She’d been worried that she might not get the money on time, but it had now been deposited to her account. All of it. Her parents would be able to pay Shipton Enterprise’s creditors before the stipulated deadlines.
It was a shame her folks had been out of the office when it had all happened. She’d have loved to share the news with them right then and there, but they’d gone to a lunch meeting together and hadn’t returned to work at all. She wondered if the trustees had informed them of the news.
“I’m going now,” Paige called to Tristan.
Tristan came out of his study. “Where are you going?”
“To see my parents, remember? I’m telling them about the money.”
Tristan frowned. “I thought it was tomorrow.”
“No. Tonight.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You wanna see them?”
Tristan shrugged. “Why not, if you’re seeing them anyway?”
She smiled apologetically. “I don’t think they’ll be too comfortable discussing the five million dollars in front of you, honey. Let me give this news to them first, then I’ll persuade them to have dinner with the two of us soon.”
Tristan’s frown deepened. “I’d really rather that we go together.”
“Next time. For tonight, I’ll say hello to them for you.”
“Hello, darling,” Debbie said as she opened the door.
“Hi, Mum. How are you?”
“Good, thanks. I’m glad you’re here tonight. Your dad and I have something we’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”
Paige raised an eyebrow as she followed her mum to the kitchen. “From the tone of your voice, I’d say you want to talk about Tristan.”
Debbie’s lips curved without cheer.
“Hello, Paige,” Larry said, coming in from the back door with a bunch of lettuce leaves in his hand from their small vegetable patch.
“Hi, Dad.”
“I’m glad you’ve come. We need to talk about Tristan.”
Paige sat on a stool by the kitchen island. “I hope it’s you finally telling me to bring Tristan home to join us for family dinners,” she said wryly.
Larry stood on the other side of the island in front of her. “Paige…”
She repressed a sigh. “Before you say anything, I want to tell you my news.”
“What news?”
“The news we’ve all been waiting for. The trustees transferred the five million to my account this afternoon.”
“Really?” both her parents said.
“Yes. So you see, you have to thank Tristan for that too. And we can go to the bank whenever you’re ready and get the whole amount transferred to your account in one go.”
“Well, I suppose that’s good news,” Larry said.
Paige raised her eyebrows at her dad. He supposed? He’d been so desperate for that money before, and now that was all the reaction he could give her?
“Thank you, Paige,” Debbie said, eyes moist. “We’re very grateful.”
She smiled at her mother.
“Yes, thank you, Paige,” Larry said. “You can go with your mum to the bank sometime this week after we’ve set up a loan agreement with you.”
Paige appreciated that gesture. “Thank you. This will stop you tearing out your hair, right?”
“It should. I’ll speak with the creditors.” Larry cleared his throat. “Now, I don’t want to ruin this night after your good news, but we have to discuss Tristan. We can’t put this off any longer.”
“Tristan’s happy you got the money too. He also hopes you’ll now talk to him. You’re open to that, right?”
Larry sat on a stool while Debbie looked out the window.
“I don’t know how to say this, Paige,” her dad said. “But for your safety and that of your child…”
Paige frowned. She didn’t like the tone of that.
“You have to leave Tristan.”
She gaped at her dad. “What?”
“The investigations to this are very hush-hush and sensitive, but we’ve finally got clearance from the undercover operatives to tell you what you need to know. We’re relieved, because we’ve been worried about you for ages.”
“What are you talking about?” Paige said in a voice louder than her usual.
“Tristan is part of a criminal organisation. Apparently, he’s pretty high up—one of the bosses. He uses his clubs as a front for his illegal activities, which include drug dealing and money laundering.”
Paige sprung up from her seat just as every cell in her body rejected her father’s words. “That’s not true.”
Debbie put a hand on her arm. “It’s true, darling. I’m so sorry. It’s why we were so against you telling Tristan he’s the father of your baby.”
“Fortunately, the authorities believe that you know nothing about Tristan’s link to the underworld,” Larry said. “It’s because we’ve been working with them from the very beginning to ensure they’re aware of your innocence. But it’s now become imperative for you to leave Tristan.”
Paige shook her head, rebelling at the idea. “This is crazy. I’m sure whoever told you all this is mistaken.”
“We’ve known Curtis for years, Paige. You know he’s a trustworthy person despite you having no romantic interest in him.”
“Curtis?”
Larry nodded. “He’s an undercover detective for the Australian Federal Police. When Tristan offered to buy one of our clubs, we happened to mention it to Curtis and his parents during dinner that night. The next day, Curtis asked us to meet him. He introduced us to a couple of people, who we found out were his bosses at the AFP. They questioned us about Tristan and asked us to help them in their investigations against this big criminal organisation that Tristan’s a part of. We shared with them everything we know about Tristan, TG and his family. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything new for them, but we remain informants. It’s why I also decided not to sell our club to Tristan, to protect the Shipton name.”
“So you did lie about the contract? Tristan was actually the first to have accepted your offer?”
“Yes. The police didn’t mind me lying to Tristan because they wanted to see what he’d do. When Tristan threatened to sue us, we tried to notch it up a bit so he would actually go ahead with it. The police were hoping that we’d have the opportunity to uncover a few things about Tristan’s illegal activities if he did take us to court, and they would have backed us up to ensure we didn’t lose.”
“But I heard you say that losing the planned court case would destroy Shipton Enterprise! That was why I approached Tristan in the first place—to ask him to negotiate with you, instead.”
Larry let out a harsh sigh. “I said that to an acquaintance who also does business with Tristan, and it was an act so Tristan would stop threatening and start suing. Anyway, it’s obvious Tristan doesn’t want to get the courts involved in any way. He just wanted to scare me and your mother.”
Paige rubbed her face, hoping to understand what was going on—or rather, to wake up from this extremely bad dream.
“We’ve been worrying about you all this time, Paige, ever since you told us that you’d seen
Tristan and had told him about the baby. But we couldn’t say or do anything without approval from the authorities. Curtis has been arguing with his bosses about telling you the truth about Tristan for weeks. But, apparently, the powers that be couldn’t be sure which side you were on. That’s been giving us sleepless nights, Paige. We want to avoid you getting caught inside the net that the authorities are planning on casting over the syndicate very soon. So we told Curtis’s boss that you want out of your marriage with Tristan because you and he are always fighting about us, and that you’ve chosen us over him. Because of the help we’ve been giving them so far regarding drug dealers in clubs, he agreed to guarantee your protection against being considered part of Tristan’s team. But that’s with the understanding that you’ve already left Tristan, like we’ve told him.”
“No,” Paige murmured, her chest constricting so hard she was finding it hard to breathe.
“I’m so sorry, darling,” Debbie said, taking her into her arms and hugging her tight.
Paige burst into tears. “You’re wrong. Curtis is wrong. I’ve never seen Tristan do anything illegal. He’s a good man.”
“But you really hardly know him,” Debbie said softly. “And, of course, he’s very good at hiding his nefarious activities. I’m sure he’s keeping a lot of secrets from you.”
Secrets. Paige’s mind took her back to her conversation with Tristan last night. He’d been talking furtively on the phone, and when she’d asked who he’d been speaking with, he’d said it was just Carter.
Tristan seemed to share a lot of secrets with Carter and Gavin, who apparently ran a security consultancy business. But as far as Paige knew, those guys didn’t work in the nightclub industry.
Maybe Tristan needed security for something else. For what, though?
Goosebumps covered her body. Could her parents and Curtis be telling her the truth?
“I understand this is a shock to you, Paige,” her mother said. “We know you’ve fallen in love with Tristan. But think of your baby. Think of your future. Tristan will go down, and we don’t want him taking you and our grandchild with him. You have to leave him right now. Curtis will help hide you.”
Paige simply gaped at them, her mind finding it difficult to process everything at once.
She jumped at the sound of the doorbell.
Her dad went to get it, and came back to the kitchen with Curtis and another guy in a black suit, whom Curtis introduced as Tony Axel.
“Paige,” Curtis said. “I’m so glad you’re here, and I’m so sorry about this.”
She stared at him, having no words for her pain and confusion.
“There have been some developments,” Curtis said, glancing at all three of them. “Things are happening faster than anticipated. I can’t give you any details because it’s classified, but an operation is imminent. Paige, if we’re to guarantee your safety, both from being suspected of being a part of a dangerous syndicate and also from Tristan thinking you’re a threat to his organisation, then you have to go into hiding immediately. I got approval to use my family’s country estate in Bowral as your hiding place. I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable there than anywhere else.”
“Are you kidding me?” Paige asked. My God, this night was getting worse by the minute.
“I’m sorry,” Curtis said softly.
“Can’t she at least pack some stuff?” Debbie asked. “Maybe another day won’t hurt.”
Curtis shook his head. “It’s too risky. Now that Paige knows who Tristan really is, she’d be acting strange around him. He’d get suspicious. Besides, she has to be out of Tristan’s place when the arrests happen to ensure she doesn’t get caught in it. Even my boss won’t be able to help her if she chooses to go home to Tristan after what we’ve told her.”
“How long do you need to keep her hidden?” Larry asked.
“She’ll be free to go when the operation is complete and everyone has been rounded up. I can’t tell you when that will be, but I’m hoping she’d be able to spend Christmas with you. She’ll most likely be interrogated afterwards, but I’m sure she’ll handle that well.”
“But I can’t disappear just like that, Curtis,” Paige insisted, everything about her refusing to listen to what they were saying. “It’s less than two weeks before Christmas. I have so many things to do. I can’t be away from home.”
“Then I’m going to have to arrest you.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I have my orders. You know too much now, and you’re Tristan’s wife. With the operation at a very sensitive stage, we’re being very cautious. And my partner’s here to make sure I follow my orders to take you with me.” He gestured to Tony by the kitchen entrance, who flashed his badge at her.
“You can’t arrest her,” Larry said angrily. “She’s innocent.”
“We shouldn’t have told her,” Debbie said to Larry, sounding scared.
“I can’t just leave,” Paige murmured.
“If you try to go home tonight,” Curtis said gravely, “then we’ll have no choice but to treat you as Tristan’s cohort. You’ll end up spending time in jail, Paige. Do you want to give birth there? Do you want to raise your child behind bars or have him taken away from you?”
“But she’s innocent!” Debbie cried.
“I’m saying, if she chooses to go home despite instructions from the authorities, that’s what she’s facing. It’s Paige’s choice. If she’s so in love with Tristan as to ignore what I’ve said here, then she’ll be considered a part of Tristan’s gang.”
“Darling, you have to go with Curtis,” Debbie begged.
Paige felt faint. She couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Are you ready to go with me, Paige?” Curtis said. “We have to go now. Timing is critical.”
“Of course she’ll go,” Larry answered, helping her to her feet.
“No,” Paige murmured, confused as hell. Her heart screamed for Tristan, but the picture of Tanner being born in prison was too great a threat for her to simply ignore.
“Look, Paige,” Larry said, “if Tristan turns out to be not guilty, I’ll be the first one to strip away all my pride and grovel at his feet. But if he’s guilty like the authorities think, you have to protect yourself and your child. And if he really loves you, I’m sure he’ll be able to understand why you’re disappearing for a while after we explain to him the reasons. But you cannot allow yourself to go to jail. It’s no place for a pregnant woman, and definitely no place to raise a child.”
Curtis took her arm and Paige found herself going with him. If it wasn’t for Tanner, she’d risk going to jail. She believed in Tristan.
But then again, she had to acknowledge that love could be totally blind.
Chapter 15
Tristan glanced at his wristwatch. How long did Paige plan to stay at her parents’ for dinner?
He sighed. He still hadn’t warmed towards Larry and Debbie even though Carter and Gavin hadn’t yet found anything tying them to the drug cartel that Preston Pawlish had been linked to.
He’d started to believe that the Shiptons were completely innocent of consorting with unsavoury characters, otherwise Gavin and Carter would have found that out already. Those guys were good. His guess was Preston probably had criminal clients who were totally unknown to Paige’s parents.
Even so, he’d had enough of Larry and Debbie being difficult and uncompromising. It was time they stopped making things hard and hurtful for their daughter, especially when Paige was supportive and generous enough to lend them five million dollars.
Anyway, he supposed he should let his wife spend time with her folks after weeks of not socialising with them.
He reclined his seat and started to watch a horror film…
Tristan jerked up in his chair. Somebody was screaming.
Oh, it was the girl in the movie. He’d fallen asleep.
Wait, he seemed to be watching a different show now.
He checked the time and frowned. It w
as way past midnight and he’d snoozed for three hours. Had Paige decided not to wake him?
He got out of the chair and walked to their bedroom. “Babe?”
He frowned at the empty bed. How could Paige not be home yet?
He hurried back to the lounge room and grabbed his phone. There was a message from Paige. His heart pounded as he read it.
Tristan, I hope in time you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me. I really appreciate your help and support, and I do care for you. Unfortunately, I realised I don’t want a “till death to us part” with you, after all. I’ve known this since we came back from Wolgan Valley, after I spoke with my parents again. I just can’t imagine having to deal every day with the stress of you and them never getting along. I choose them. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier because I do want to get the money from the trustees to help my parents. Now that I have the five million dollars safely in my hands, I’ve decided not to continue with the act anymore. I’ll be in touch much later to discuss your visitation rights for Tanner. But since it will be a while yet before I give birth, there’s no rush. I plan to be uncontactable for a while to give both of us a chance to deal with this breakup, so please don’t be surprised if I don’t answer your calls. I just need some time alone and a little peace and quiet. Please also remember that our prenup states we won’t be giving each other a hard time with the divorce. Don’t worry about me. I really don’t need anything from you apart from your understanding. Thanks for everything and take care of yourself.
Tristan stared at his phone screen, his breath short and fast.
No, he wasn’t buying this. Something else was at play and it scared the hell out of him.
He called Paige, but just like the text had stated, she didn’t answer. Worse, her voicemail stated she’d be uncontactable for a few days for some much-needed rest and relaxation.
The Unexpected Husband (Captured by Love Book 8) Page 13