Page 80 of Tied Up in Riches

“Doesn’t mean I can’t help you.”

“There’s nothing you can do for me at this point except leave me alone and move on.”

“I beg to differ. You know your boyfriend–”

“Has a car waiting for you.” Marcus cuts him off, appearing in front of us and holding his hand out for mine. When I glance up, Marcus is shooting Beau a death glare. I kind of like the possessiveness, but I take his hand and break the tension anyway. My boyfriend immediately relaxes at my touch, pulling me to him and toward the door without a single look back–even when Beau yells after us, “I’ll talk to you very soon, Brooke.”

Chapter thirty-one

Marcus

Fucking hell, that was a close call. I tried to get Brooke out of the country club as soon as we informed her mom we were leaving, but word spreads quickly at a place held together by money and gossip. Beau tried to get in a final word, I’m sure a final ditch effort of spilling my secret in person. Thank god Brooke was none the wiser when I pulled her away.

When we got back to the hotel, we packed our bags. I checked my phone–still no update from my lawyer or PI. Brooke made arrangements for a rental car, and we’re in a Ford Focus halfway to New York. Beau has tried to call her at least four times since we left the club, each time she declines it with a groan or a frustrated sigh. Thank fuck for that grace from the universe.

I didn’t know how to get out of not connecting my phone to the dash cam, so when my PI’s call comes through it covers the GPS screen with his name. Fucking hell. The timing.

Brooke is unbothered by the pause of the piano version of Taylor Swift’s album The Dead Poets Society or something. Glancing over my shoulder, I check my blind spot, then move to the exit lane, getting off at the one directing toward Seaside Park.

Brooke glances at me in question. “I need to take this really quick.” Stopping at the light at the end of the exit, I hit accept on the last ring. “Hey, Frank. Give me a moment.”

He says nothing, staying on the line while I pull into a parking lot lining a roadside beach. Brooke shifts her attention to the family in front of us, the kids standing on the bulkhead as the parents lather sunscreen on them. I turn the car off, automatically switching Frank to my phone instead of the car speaker. “Hey, sorry about that,” I tell him.

“You’re good. I’ve got something.”

“Shoot,” I say, my confidence immediately spiking. I glance over at Brooke to see if there’s any indication that she can hear the other end of the line, but she’s not even looking my way. She’s got her eyes locked on the car that pulled up beside us. There’s a girl in the front seat jamming out to her music like no one is watching, and the biggest smile fills Brooke’s face. I love when she sees a glimmer. Her joy from the smallest things makes me so fucking happy. Fuck, I’m pretty sure I love her.

I tune back in quickly, only missing Frank going over a few basic things I already knew about Beau. That’s when he hits me with new information. Apparently the cases I found were a lead. He managed to get in contact with an estranged friend of one of Beau’s clients who spilled all the dirt we needed to nail the coffin of his blackmail against me shut–proof that he’d been paying off witnesses to build his “win” percentage. I ask a few vague questions that he answers clearly, catching on to the fact that I’m trying to be discreet. I ask him to call my lawyer and fill him in, knowing he’ll already know what to do, and request the final bill be sent to my email. Thanking him, I hang up, shooting a text to my lawyer as backup. He already has all of Beau’s contact information as well as his lawyers, and I know he’ll take care of this for me. He gets paid to take care of it.

Hanging up with a fresh breath of air filling my lungs, I turn the key in the ignition, and the car roars back to life. I reach over, running my hand up Brooke’s thigh, and she glances my way like she was too entranced by tens of glimmers in this park to notice I was ready to get back on the road. She shifts her smile back to me. “Everything okay?” she asks.

“It is now.” I give her leg a squeeze.

As I back out of the spot and pull back onto the parkway, I promise myself I’ll tell her as soon as the filming is over tomorrow. Even with the threat of Beau telling her gone, she deserves to know, and I don’t want to keep anything from her anymore.

Chapter thirty-two

Brooke

“I’ll text Emma and Charlotte and let them know we’re on our way over.” I unlock my phone as Marcus pulls the hotel room door closed behind us.

Marcus shoots me an appreciative smile as he guides me into the elevator.

“Have you ever been on TV before?”

He shakes his head. “No. You?”

“One time for the local news station in Phuket.” The milky white “1” button glows red when I push it, and the elevator starts its descent from the seventeenth floor. “And a few times in the background when Beau was getting interviewed for some high-profile case.”

He hums, leaning against the rail. “Can’t say it’s something I’ve ever wanted to do.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have to cross that off your to-don’t list today. It’s nice you’re supporting Emma and Charlotte, though.”

He gives me a sideways glance. “It’s the type of investor I want to be.”

“Well, I know they appreciate it. I definitely would if I were them.”

“I’m sure they’ll be just as happy to see you.”

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