Page 26 of Sutton and the CEO's Baby

“Margaret isn’t the concern,” Earl interjected. “Forrest is a loose cannon and we have reason to think that he might be after you. I know that he would have done anything to get to Jo. You are all that is left of her, Sutton. He’s a dangerous man.”

“Why would he want me? I am not his daughter.”

Knox looked uneasy. “You mother was still married to him when she left. Coswell could believe that there is a chance you are his blood. Then there is also the money. Maybe he will try and blackmail you, or worse.”

I frowned. “I thought you said he was rich?”

“Was,” Earl said grimly. “There are reports that his finances are not what they once were. With bad investments and gambling, I would say that Forrest Coswell is a prime target. The problem is that he still has enough power to cause problems.”

“Where is Mark?” Martha demanded.

“Tokyo,” I said faintly. “I told him to go. I insisted.”

Martha reached over and took my hand. I almost jerked it back. I wasn’t used to her being so nice. I wasn’t used to her giving a flying fuck about me.

I searched her face. “What about your life in California, before all of this? Don’t you want to go back?”

“Don’t be stupid, girl,” Martha said without any heat. “You are our life. We chose to stay after Jo died. I might have been a right pain in your ass, but I have always cared about you, looked out for you without you knowing.

‘Thank you’ seemed trite to say to two individuals that gave up everything for your mother.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked in a small voice.

Martha looked at a loss for words and Candice pressed a tissue into my hands. I was crying, but I didn’t even know it.

Martha shook her head. “I couldn’t, child. I just couldn’t.”

Alice leaned forward to speak. “We don’t want you alone out at the trailer. You and Candice should stay here until the Baker place is finished. There isn’t room for Max to stay there too. And I won’t hear of you not having a bodyguard around.”

I was hesitant to remind them that Max was hardly in his prime.

“No, we will stay at the trailer.” It was Candice who spoke up, and for once I was grateful that I didn’t have to make the decision. “Knox will stay with us until we are able to move into the Baker Mansion.”

This stunned everyone into silence.

Knox was quick to come on board with the plan.

“Of course, I will keep them safe.”

I could see Candice gritting her teeth. She hadn’t offered the invitation so that Knox could share her bed. She wanted me to be safe. As much as I appreciated the gesture, I did think that a little one-on-one time might help those two stop dancing around each other.

“Why don’t we get a good night’s rest and talk more about it tomorrow?”

Reena’s suggestion was more than welcome. I felt wooden as I stood and hugged the individuals that I thought I had known my whole life. It was like walking into a production and never being given the script. There was an entirely different world that I had been completely ignorant of.

Candice took my hand and we walked back to the car. Knox promised to follow us just as soon as he stopped to grab a few things at the station.

The moment he mentioned work, Candice stiffened but she didn’t drop my hand, or say anything. We just kept walking.

“We should go back to the city,” Candice said when we were alone in the car.

I frowned. “Why? I don’t have as many people in the city to protect me as I do here.”

“I don’t feel good about it,” Candice said with a shrug. “I just think we need to get the hell out of here.”

I drove us back to the trailer, contemplating what Candice had said to me. But I didn’t see that the city would be that much safer. When Mark got here, we could make our final decision. But for now, I felt better being surrounded by the people that cared about me.

“I am staying,” I said firmly. “If my uncle died trying to find me—, or worse, trying to warn me—I owe it to him to find out. I also want to reach out to this cousin of mine. I feel guilty. Almost as if my exsistence caused her to lose her dad.”

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