Page 57 of Daddy's Dirty Little Secret

29

XANDER

The helicopter lifted off with a slow, shaking rumble that settled into something steadier as we cleared the rooftops. I kept my eyes on the skyline for the first few minutes, pretending I needed the view, but I was watching them through their reflection in the window as the lights of the city passed beneath us.

Amelia was curled against her father’s side. He held her close, one hand on her shoulder, the other bracing her thigh. She hadn’t looked at me since we boarded. I wasn’t sure she would.

No one said a word.

The cabin wasn’t large. The soundproofing helped, but the engine was still loud enough to make conversation feel like a chore. Maybe that was for the best.

Laurence hadn’t even looked in my direction since he helped her into the seat. His jaw was tight, his eyes fixed on some point outside the window. He was doing what I couldn’t—keeping it together, acting like he had a right to hold her like that after what he’d put her through. And the worst part? He probably did.

I sat across from them, hands folded, staring at nothing.

I had her back. That was the only part of this I could hold onto. Everything else had gone sideways.

She’d said it would be simple. She told me she was on the pill. She told me it wasn’t serious. No strings. No mess. I believed her. I let myself believe that I could have her without the fallout. And then I made the one mistake I swore I wouldn’t make—I got attached.

Now she was here, sitting two feet away and holding someone else’s arm like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart. And I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel. Relief? Anger? Grief?

I couldn’t even look at her without wondering what else I didn’t know.

She was pregnant. That part wasn’t a question anymore. And I didn’t have it in me to doubt that it was mine. But knowing it and being ready for it weren’t the same thing. I kept thinking about everything Laurence had done to get them into this mess. Every decision he made, every shortcut that turned into a trap. And I asked myself if I would’ve done the same. If I already had.

Could I protect her? Could I protect a child? Could I keep myself from turning into the same kind of reckless idiot, pretending I had control when I didn’t?

My hands wouldn’t stay still. I folded and unfolded my fingers, shifting my grip until I had to look away from them entirely.

I didn’t want to fail her. But I knew I would. I’d seen what it looked like to be left behind. My mother walked out like it was nothing. Quiet, calm, final. She didn’t scream. She didn’t fight. She just decided. One moment she was there, and the next she was gone.

What if Amelia left too?

What if I gave her everything, and she still walked away?

I stared at her reflection in the window, her face half lit by the cockpit lights. She was pale, worn thin by whatever had happened in that house. She didn’t look like someone who’d meet me in my office and pour her heart into satisfying me. And she didn’t look like a woman who wanted to run. But neither did my mother, right up until the moment she did.

The rot doesn’t show at first. It starts slow.

And now I was sitting here, wondering if I’d already lost something before I ever got to keep it.

The helicopter touched down just after eleven. Amelia moved like her legs didn’t want to hold her, leaning into her father as they stepped onto the landing pad. She didn’t look at me, not once. Laurence kept one hand on her back like she might disappear if he let go.

I drove them to his place. No one said anything.

When we pulled up to the curb, Amelia reached for the handle, but I stopped her with a look. “Stay in the car,” I said, and she listened.

Laurence got out and stood there, waiting like he expected something else. I stepped out after him and followed him halfway to the door before he turned.

He didn’t apologize at first. He didn’t explain, and I didn’t expect him to. There was nothing left to say that wouldn’t make things worse. He’d gambled with her safety, with her life, and she was the one who paid for it. I hadn’t forgotten that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to.

Laurence shifted like he might say something. “I didn’t want?—”

“Don’t,” I snapped. “Don’t pretend this wasn’t your fault.” He flinched, but I didn’t stop. “You let them take her without a clue what would happen. And you didn’t fix it. I did. Half a million. My money. My name. You stood there and let her suffer whileI bled to clean it up.” I could’ve punched him, but I restrained myself for Amelia’s sake.

He opened his mouth again, but I took a step forward. “If you ever put her in danger again, you’ll wish Hayes got to you first.”

Then I turned, walked back to the car, climbed in, and slammed the door shut.

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