Page 24 of Hidden Heir

He never did, and I’ve had three wonderful years with my daughter.

Now I find myself in his kitchen because he’s the only person that can save me and my family from the Irish mafia. I can’t tell him the truth about Tiffany; she is my child, he simply donated the DNA.

I want her to have a normal, loving life.

Which is why I can never tell Leon the truth.

I don’t know him well. Not really. If he finds out I kept his child from him, what’s to stop him from killing me and taking her? Or worse, handing me over to the Irish instead of protecting me from them?

I’m stuck between two rocks, and I’m praying that Leon is the softer space.

I hate lying. It makes my stomach tight and my skin hot, but for my daughter’s safety, I will lie until my gums bleed.

“Has your boyfriend eaten?” Leon asks, cutting through my wandering memories.

“My boyfriend?” I glance over at him in confusion. His head is down as he chops up tomatoes and peppers for scrambled eggs. “I don’t have a boyfriend. You mean the man I came with?”

Leon nods.

“He’s my brother, not my boyfriend,” I snort in disgust. “Eww. A thousand times eww.”

“Oh.” Maybe it’s just my imagination but Leon almost sounds relieved. He chops a little faster, then lifts his head, his green eyes locking onto mine. “Tell me why you’re here.”

He looks at me so intently that I feel stuck, like the moment I look away I will accidentally unlock and spill all of my secrets. Telling him the truth about the Irish and my brother is a gamble I’m not yet willing to take. For all I know, he’s friends with those monsters. I don’t know the rules between crime families, but if they move in the same dirty underworld then it’s reasonable to assume they’ve crossed paths. I don’t want to give Leon an excuse to hand me back to them.

Not wanting Tiffany to hear too much, I hand her tablet to her and ask her to play at the table. She takes one last bite, then holds her arms out for me to help her off the stool. I lead her over to the kitchen table and help her get settled in before going back to lean against the island.

“I’m scared,” I say softly. It’s hard to talk about.”

“Nothing and no one can get to you here. You’re safe.” Leon says firmly. “You came to me for a reason and I want to know why. How did you even know where to find me?”

“I googled you the day after we met. I realized we didn’t exchange numbers, and I didn’t know how to contact you.” A half lie. “Found out you lived in this huge place and realized you were way out of my league so I chickened out on contacting you.”

I notice a small grin on Leon’s face as he tosses the chopped veggies into a pan. “And you came here last night because?”

I take a deep breath and tell myself to lie around the truth.

“I, uh,” My stomach twists into knots. Whatever I tell him could mean the difference between life and death for my brother. “My brother is a drug addict. He has been for longer than I can remember. Last night, he got high. Like, scary high. I had gone out because someone had broken in and trashed my place of business, and I was shaken and needed to let off steam. As I was preparing to leave, I was attacked. I was able to get away and came home to find my brother passed out and my daughter sobbing, scared to death. The guy must have followed me home because he showed up, banging on the door and yelling that he was going to kill me and my daughter. He might have been stalking me because I don’t know how else he knew I had a kid.”

I shake so badly that I’m forced into silence, and I quickly place one hand over my chest, feeling my heart pounding beneath my palm. Tears spring into my eyes, despite my constant swallowing to try and keep the emotion at bay.

Leon abandons his cooking, turns the flame down, and approaches me slowly. “Is that who burned your shoulder?”

I nod. “And I lost my shoes when I ran away and…” I trail off, unable to look him in the eye. “I was scared. I have no one else. It’s just me and my brother. When I found him in that state, I thought he was going to die, but I couldn’t take him tothe hospital because they’d ask me why I left my kid with a drug addict. I couldn’t risk her being taken away from me.

“I know that sounds terrible but he’s trying to change. I swear he’s trying to fix himself. After the guy stopped banging on my door I knew I had to get us someplace safe, someplace that Ant could sober up and we could discuss rehab—again. I crashed because that guy ended up catching up to us and was chasing me. I didn’t know where else to go and I found myself here. It all sounds so pathetic, I know, and I’m so sorry, but I just needed?—”

Leon’s hands land softly on my shoulders and a sob bursts out of my throat. I’m unsure if it’s from being upset or fear. Tears swell in my eyes as I feel Tiff tug on my shirt.

“Mommy?”

“I’m fine, baby,” I tell her. “I’m okay, really.”

“Take a deep breath, it’s okay,” Leon says.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I just… I didn’t know where else to go and it was a desperate moment.”

“I understand.” Leon’s thumbs rub gentle circles on my shoulders. “Brooke, you’re safe here.”

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