Page 39 of Fergus

Her throat moved as she swallowed. “I couldn’t allow her to continue blackmailing Fergus when I knew everything my mother said was a lie.”

“More so even than Thea realized, hm, Fergus?” Nikolai prompted.

“What does he mean…?” Thea turned to ask Fergus.

“Yes, Fergus, what do I mean?” the Russian taunted.

Fergus glared at the other man. “How the fuck do you know these things?”

“I have informants everywhere,” Nikolai revealed without apology.

“Not in my fucking bed, you don’t.”

“No,” the Russian conceded. “But I do have eyes and ears everywhere else.”

Fergus winced as he looked at Thea. “Your mother and I never had a physical relationship.”

“But…” She moved to perch on the side of one of the bar stools, as if she might sway and fall if she didn’t. “She said… Why didn’t you?”

“Because I realized on our first date that Jessica was nothing more than a self-centered gold-digger.”

“Tell her the rest,” Nikolai encouraged.

Fergus released a frustrated sigh before continuing, knowing that if he didn’t, Nikolai would do it for him. “At the time, I thought our second dinner together was a chance meeting. We were both eating alone at the same restaurant and decided to eat together instead. When it happened again a week later, I realized I was being played. I only agreed to sit with her that time so that I could tell her, in privacy, not to ‘accidentally’ bump into me again. The only reason I accompanied her when she received the call about you being rushed to hospital with suspected appendicitis was so that she could reach your side as quickly as possible. I had no idea until then that she even had a child, let alone how old you were.”

“I… She… She definitely told me the two of you were dating.” Thea’s cheeks were flushed.

With discomfort or embarrassment? Fergus wondered. Neither of which she should be feeling, when she had done nothing wrong. The opposite, from the sound of it.

“Not after that first time, no,” he told Thea gently.

“The two of you never slept—had sex together?”

“No.”

“So how did she think she could accuse you of— Never mind,” she dismissed in a heavy voice. “My mother was obviously more delusional than I thought she was.” She shook her head. “Until the day she died, she let me believe I was the reason you had walked away from her.”

“What!” Fergus stared at her.

She released a sigh before explaining. “I’m not sure my mother ever wanted children. But my father certainly did, and I was always closer to him than I was her. I don’t think my mother liked that either. Probably a jealousy thing, but I can’t be sure. I know she never seemed to particularly like me, but after my dad died, things became even more strained between my mother and me. She wasn’t exactly neglectful, but she only did the bare minimum to ensure social services were never called in.”

“Bitch,” Fergus muttered under his breath.

Thea shot him a rueful glance. “After a while, her disinterest didn’t bother me. Mainly because I realized you can’t miss something you’ve never had. But what she tried to do to you was… I couldn’t just sit back and allow her to blackmail you when I knew it was all a lie.” Thea huffed. “She never forgave me.”

Fergus could easily imagine how Thea’s bravery had infuriated her mother. Not for the first time, Fergus was glad Jessica Morgan was already dead.

Nikolai nodded. “It is my belief, and one shared by her lawyer, that your mother believed Fergus would pay her off rather than risk the scandal of the situation appearing in the newspapers.”

“And instead, Thea threatened to reveal the truth, and Jessica had to back off without receiving any financial payoff from me.” Fergus was still totally stunned by the fact it now seemed Thea’s threats to her mother were the reason Jessica had dropped her lawsuit against him. “The information from the lawyer I understand, but how the hell do you know those other, more personal, things?” he demanded of the Russian.

Nikolai shrugged. “London ismycity. Nothing happens within its boundaries that I do not know about. Or I cannot access information on if I need to.”

Fergus scowled. “You really are one scary fucker.”

“Thank you.” Nikolai nodded as if he had just been paid the highest compliment. And maybe to him, he had. “I believe the coffee is now ready, Miss Morgan.” He smiled at her.

Thea didn’t look at Fergus again—deliberately so?—as she moved to pour Nikolai a coffee before placing the cup in front of him.

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