Page 187 of Hidden Ties

“Wait until tomorrow.” Creed made no effort to move. “If you tell Glory tonight, she won’t get any sleep, and tomorrow is already going to be difficult for her.”

“I’m going to see Victoria!” she corrected him. “I’m going to ki—”

Shaking, she covered her face with her hands. She’d never believed herself actually capable of murder, but tonight, any doubt she could was gone.

Before she could resist him, Creed pulled her down onto his lap. She was so upset at what he had told her that she didn’t try to get up.

“How could a mother do that to her son? I don’t understand! She saw Denny in the hospital, how badly he was burned, saw Glory barely hanging on to life. If it was an accident, why didn’t she say so? How could she be so cruel?”

“I don’t think Victoria could accept not having control over Denny anymore. When she went to see Denny that night and saw how happy they were, how they were building a life without her being able to hold money over their heads, I think she wanted to destroy that life, so they’d have to come begging to her for help, and she’d have Denny back under her control. Regardless of why, Victoria started the fire. With her son gone, she turned to another plan—gaining control over her grandchildren and mold them the way she wanted them to be.”

“The injustice of Victoria letting Glory take the blame for years! That is so sick.”

“I agree. When I was talking to her, there was no doubt she is mentally ill. Maybe Bradford wasn’t aware of how sick his wife is. I have my doubts where that is concerned. He said he would get her help.” Creed soothingly rubbed her back as he talked. “Bradford gave me a check to reimburse Glory for the destruction of her home and the money she had to pay fightingto retain custody of her children. Gather all of Glory’s medical bills, and I’ll make sure Bradford pays for those as well.”

“Thank you.” Having all the financial aspects of Glory’s needs taken care of lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.

“You’re welcome.” He looked away from her as he said, “I wanted to bring this up tonight because I need to get it out in the open. Money will no longer be a problem in caring for your sister and nieces. With the money, you will have enough to buy a home. You won’t need me financially.”

Sage looked at him, trying to read his expression.

“I’m going to sleep in the guest room tonight and give you a chance to think your options through before we get Glory and your nieces in the morning.”

“Ifwe go in the morning,” she corrected him, still waiting for his reaction, which remained elusive.

Creed’s hand slid to the back of her neck caressingly as he talked. “Yes, that’s why I told you tonight.”

“You could have told me before we got married.”

“I could have, but I wanted to marry you. To be honest, even if Bradford is able to hire the most successful psychiatrist in the world, I don’t think they would be able to fix what is wrong with Victoria. I’ve seen a lot in my line of work, and she’s the worst type of psychopath. She’s become fixated on the children, and she feels as if you are keeping them from her.”

“Me? Why? Because she found out Glory is gravely ill? How did she find out? That’s why I paid to keep a separate residence from Glory so Victoria wouldn’t be able to use how ill she is against her if we have to go back to court.”

“Victoria was jealous of you before the fire,” Creed told her, weaving his fingers sensuously through her hair. “The night of the fire, she came over because she was furious Glory and Denny had chosenyouto keep the girls, despite her asking for them.”

Finding out Victoria was so sick as to be responsible for her son’s death because she hadn’t been asked to babysit showed the level of obsession Victoria was capable of.

“I was hoping, when I talked to her, I would be able to frighten her enough not to make another attempt on your life.”

“But you don’t think so?” The level of fixation Creed was telling her that Victoria felt toward her was scary.

“No, I don’t. I hope I’m wrong, but I think Victoria won’t stop until she succeeds. What makes me even more worried is that, eventually, she’ll become so frustrated at not eliminating you, she might decide that if she can’t have the girls, no one can.”

Horrified at what Creed was saying, she began shaking. “You think she would actually hurt the girls?”

“I wouldn’t put anything past the woman I met. I’ve had to deal with psychos before, but that bitch takes the cake. The security in this development is top notch; there are alarms throughout the whole home, which a security company monitors twenty-four hours a day. Delivery trucks have to be scheduled in advance; packages can’t even be delivered to the door. Two guards take turns delivering the packages twice a day. All the guards who work here are highly trained and have previously worked in the police field or in the military. When you want to leave, you need to let me know. I hired a private security detail to provide a bodyguard to accompany you when you do.”

“I don’t want a bodyguard,” she protested.

“If you had seen Victoria yesterday, you wouldn’t argue with me. I also want to make you aware that, on my side of the room that I didn’t show you, there is a mock wall, which hides a safety room that is double-locked. There’s a code to open the room electronically—a manual lock above eye level. There are two gun safes in the room, too, which will be kept locked at all times. The children may have access to the whole house, except our bedroom suite.”

Sage stiffened on his lap. “The gun safe; I want to make sure it’s inaccessible to the children.”

“It will be completely secure twenty-four hours a day, and if they stay out of our room, it will be inaccessible,” he assured her. “I don’t take children’s safety lightly.”

She believed him where that was concerned. The two times they had taken the girls out, Creed had been as vigilant about watching them as she had been. Where the bedroom was concerned, she could understand he would want a child-free zone. He had made sure to take care of all their needs in selecting a house; it was only fair he was given the only need he asked for.

The gentle stroking of his fingers had her alarm bells going off. Finding herself about to lay her head on his shoulder, she forced herself off his lap.

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