Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
“That’s it?”
I nodded.
He seemed bemused. “We haven’t heard from him since then.”
“Well, the reason why had nothing to do with me. I’m sure his ego took a hit at being escorted out, but it wasn’t that dramatic. Eventually, they were less escorting and more simply following since he just left.” I tipped my head to the side. “Did you hear from him frequently before?”
“He came to me on a regular basis, demanding money.”
“Oh Jamie,” I whispered. “Did you give it to him?”
“In the beginning,”— he took another sip—“yes. It would buy him leaving us alone, particularly Lindy. Eventually, when he tried to extort five million dollars from me so I could adopt Dru, no. After that, the number of demands decreased, but they continued until Lindy got sick. And surprise, he never sued for custody, even if he threatened it repeatedly.”
I could add Chester Lynch to my hate list, and I did, at a position very close to the top, sandwiched between AJ Oakley and Paloma Friedrichsen.
Jamie kept speaking. “Dru was seventeen when her mom died. Less than a year away from reaching her majority, which meant he had nothing to hold over us anymore. With Lindy gone, this is maybe why he fucked off for the last five years.”
He was staring into his bourbon, and he’d been speaking, but I sensed I lost him.
“Jamie?”
He turned to me. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“What?”
“Ned learns Roland is making moves. You find out Paloma is attempting to interfere with us. Pop’s over a barrel. And suddenly, Chet shows up?”
“Oh my God,” I breathed as what he was saying struck me.
“Pop said he’d play dirty, and this is as dirty as you can get, unleashing that asshole on you, maybe on Dru, thus on me.”
“He wouldn’t,” I whispered. “Dru is for all intents and purposes his grandchild.”
He swirled his bourbon. “So was Judge, and he fucked him over his entire life in an effort to steal him from me, and in the meantime, keep him from me.”
“That’s…it’s…it’s…diabolical,” I stammered.
He lifted his glass to me. “Say hello to AJ Oakley.”
My eyes narrowed on him. “That was a long text.”
“It was.”
“Am I going to have security?”
He looked steadily into my eyes. “Yes.”
I blew out a sigh and buried my fingers in Heiress’s ruff. “This is outrageous.”
“What it is, is all they’ve got. If I can shut Chet down, and I can shut Roland down, then I can shut Pop down. And in a few months, it’ll be over.”
“Until you hand the ranch to your real father. Which will make AJ lose his mind, and it’ll be an emotional juggernaut for you.”
“Until that,” he muttered into his drink, before taking another sip.
I was definitely looking into hiring that yacht.
I wasn’t sure I could afford it.
But I was looking into it.
“Before the police get here, you should know, Allegra called.”
At my declaration, Jamie’s attention returned to me.
“She told me that Nico contacted Darryn to get the number of his cousin’s divorce attorney.”
“Surprised at how fast this is, but not that it’s happening,” he murmured.
“Yes. And Allegra also shared that none of them, my girls or their men, like Felice.”
“Hmm.”
“Did you read that?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. But I’m not surprised. She isn’t very likeable.”
Indeed.
“Oh, and I called and told off Roland.”
His focus narrowed on me. “You did what?”
“I called and told Roland, if he didn’t desist in harming me, he’d lose them forever. I have no idea if it sunk in.” At Jamie’s look of concern, I brought my shoulders forward and released them. “It was an out-of-control moment after the situation with Chester Lynch. Delayed reaction. I got angry, and he was the one I wanted to take it out on.”
Carefully, Jamie said, “You do know, sweetheart, that if this is AJ, Roland might know about unleashing Chet.”
I scoffed. “That is not Roland’s style. He’s acting like an ass, but he’d lose his mind if he knew someone put their hands on me. And there’s no way he’d make Dru collateral damage.”
“You know him better than me,” he muttered.
I hoped I did, because, if Roland had anything to do with bringing Chester Lynch back in Jamie and Dru’s life…
All bets were off.
CHAPTER 17
PATEK PHILLIPE
Jamie
Six years ago, it was just Jamie, Lindy, Dru and Jamie’s longing to have his son more a part of their lives and deeper in their family.
Now, late morning after Nora had been attacked, Jamie’s phone was overheating with all of the texts he’d been receiving from his massive, extended family.
Dru, he’d learned, had shared with Chloe.
And then it swept through the Oakley/Swan/Holloway/Pierce/Sharp crew like wildfire.
He wasn’t complaining. It was good for him, for Nora, for Judge and Dru.
However, imminently, Jamie needed to leave to meet a colleague for lunch, this colleague also one of Roland’s who Kateri had uncovered was considering investing in Oakbilly Gulch, when his phone didn’t buzz with a text.