Page 114 of Catch and Release

“Thank you.”

It was more than he deserved after the scene he’d caused in the waiting room. But he was grateful.

He just wished someone were here with him—someone who could hold him and share the burden of being afraid with him. It clearly wasn’t going to be Willa. He tried not to hold it against her, but he wanted her here. Needed her here.

Tucker came to mind, and he felt stupid for not trying to call him sooner.

He walked over to where his phone had landed on the floor, and miraculously, it still worked. The screen was cracked, but it still lit up.

He clicked Tucker’s contact and put the phone to his ear, begging him to pick up.

“‘Shawny?’” Tucker’s tired voice came over the phone.

“Tuck.” Shawn’s voice broke.

“What’s wrong?” his voice cracked through, more alert this time. Shawn thought he heard Hanna mutter something in the background.

“Grams fell. Bad. We’re at the hospital.”

“Shit,” Tucker said, then the phone crackled a bit with the sound of sudden movement. “We’re on our way.”

They’d been talking in circles for a while now, and Willa was done with it.

“I’m not signing your fucking NDA,” she said for what felt like the hundredth time. “Tell your wife you fucked up and get away from me.”

She walked up to the door and went to unlock it, turning her back to Leo.

“I’ll give you $500,000 to sign it.”

Willa stopped in her tracks.

“What the fuck?” she whispered.

Something bigger was at play here—something she might have had the energy to try and figure out if she didn’t already feel a headache coming on. Why was he willing to give her half a million dollars to keep his secret?

He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against one of the pillars on the front porch. “That’s as high as I’ll go. Sign it now and it's yours.”

“Leo, no. I don’t care about the money.” She bit her lip, then added quietly, “Why are you doing this?”

His eyes blazed. “Last chance.”

She stiffened. “I don’t give a fuck, Leo. Leave me alone. If I ever hear from you again, it’ll be too soon.”

She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Took a deep breath.

Listened carefully as he got into his car and drove away.

Thank God that was over with. Hopefully, he’d give up now. Willa wasn’t so sure. The champagne that had lulled her into a comfortable buzz earlier that night suddenly felt like she drank it days ago, so she went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. Checked her phone.

“Shit,” she said upon seeing the six missed calls from Shawn.

One was right after he left, and the others were back-to-back about thirty minutes later. Had that much time passed since Leo had showed up at her doorstep?

“Shit,” she said again.

That fucker really loved to ruin things for her.

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