Page 59 of Royal Pain

“Nope. This has been my private space. Get settled. I have a meeting with my brothers. I’ll go over the plan later but if it’s possible, do you have a recent photograph of your son and can you supply that jump drive? I’m not stealing it.”

I had to laugh. “You can have anything if that will help you.” I took my purse to the bed, sitting down and finding my billfold. I had several pictures of my baby but one was perfect, highlighting his dimples, that adorable smile he had. Just holding it in my hand suddenly brought overwhelming sadness. Tears even slipped past my lashes. “Mommy is going to bring you home, baby. I promise you.” I kissed the picture as I laid it on the bed, glancing at Gage.

There was no doubt how troubled he was or how angry.

I dug the stitches from the side of my purse, able to pry out the jump drive. He walked closer when I had it in my hand.

“You have my promise I’m going to burn down whatever city I need to get Damien back. Okay?”

I handed him the items before wiping my eyes. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“You can. Try and rest. It was a long flight. Oh, one last question. What prompted you to try and go for full custody and issue a restraining order?”

I laughed, the sound bitter. “Because he started stalking me. Everywhere I went, there he was. When the preschool called saying Joseph had tried very hard, including making threats to pick up the baby, I knew his behavior was only going to get more irrational. I took the last of the money I had at the time to get my attorney to file a restraining order. Fortunately, he found a judge that didn’t appear to be influenced by the group. That’s when Joseph really lost it, threatening me on a regular basis. Then it stopped, as if he realized he wasn’t getting anywhere. I know what you’re going to tell me. He did so to force my guard to drop. Well, it worked.”

“Stop blaming yourself, darlin’. Men like that are extremely good at faking whatever emotion they want. They do best threatening people when they think they can get away with doing so, but they’ll take down anyone and enjoy being a bully. I know the type. And don’t worry. I can handle the asshole better than most.”

“Somehow, I have a feeling you can.”

Nodding, I watched him walk out, and as soon as he did, closing the door behind him, I let myself go, rolling over and sobbing against the comforter. Why had I been so stupid?

CHAPTER 16

Gage

Profound sadness.

I’d seen it over the years, mostly from a few friends who’d lost a loved one. But seeing Evangeline’s face, the tears in her eyes made the anger that much more dangerous. Not to me or the woman I cared a hell of a lot about, but to the bastards who’d molded and shaped her and an entire community because they thought they deserved such a place of power.

The initial meeting was in a few moments, a slight plan to push forward. I hadn’t expected the jump drive. I moved behind my desk, powering up the system as I envisioned her gorgeous face. I never wanted to see her cry unless it was tears of joy.

That would come, just not as soon as I would like.

I shoved the drive in, hoping that it didn’t get corrupted or that one of us could make sense of what we were seeing. It was hard to tell since she’d gotten everything on the fly. But goddamn, Iwas proud of her. Who had the nerve to do something like this? She wasn’t a pushover. She was just born into the wrong family.

As the information popped into view, the contents were random, but I began to see something of a pattern. Not only had she gathered names of what appeared to be the people in charge, but also some possible candidates for being allowed to move in. And upcoming likely marriages. She’d even captured a couple of emails, which were pretty interesting themselves. What appeared to be most damning was some odd financial information and other names that I couldn’t make heads or tails of. What she’d collected proved this society did exist. I doubted it would matter to any outside source, but to us, it was golden.

I heard voices and sat back. When Valerio and Braxton walked in, it was like old home week at our wealth management firm, where we used to enjoy having a meeting at least once a week. So many things had changed after Dad had died. While Valerio handled a lion’s share of my father’s corporation, both Braxton and I had certain functions.

Right now, none of that mattered.

“You look terrible, bro.” Valerio never minced words.

“I think you mean enraged,” Braxton added. “What, you’re not drinking?”

“You can make me one,” I told him. They both knew their way around my house and my bar.

“Demanding. I assume you have a guest, or did you stow her away somewhere safe?” Valerio asked. The two of them appeared to be more relaxed than I’d seen in a long time. As one or the other had told me over the last few months, having a good woman in your life would do that to you. Or for you.

“She’s here. It turns out her best friends are just Stepford children.” I ejected the drive and walked around the side of the desk.

“As in the old horror movie?” Braxton added as he pulled three tumblers from one of the shelves.

“Exactly like that. Weathered Heights where a very unusual board of directors decides who moves in and who moves out. In exchange for being allowed into the neighborhood, you basically sell off your children. God help the girls. Even if they are allowed a somewhat normal life, it’s stripped away when the perfect husband has been identified.”

“Shit. And the vicious cycle is perpetuated.” Valerio shook his head.

“I’ll say. And the wives? They’re brainwashed.”

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