Page 82 of Fierce Love
“It’s, uh… Owen just texted me. Mickie and Niall have been arrested.”
“They’ll get out of it. They’ve never once gotten what they truly deserved.”
“They’ll getexactlywhat they deserve this time.”
She stares at me for a beat, assessing. “Didyoudo this?”
“They did it to themselves. I didn’t uncover anything that wasn’t there.”
“What’d you find?”
“A lot. Too much. Obviously, the police weren’t putting enough effort in. I just sped the process along. Owen says they should end up in jail for a long time.” I hold her gaze. “Long enough that maybe you could consider Bellerive your home again.”
Color leaves her face, and she turns back to the sink. “I’m not talking about that.”
“Hols.”
“Reyes and Cruz gave me the extension on my leave for Posey’s wedding, and then… and then we’ll see.”
That’s not a no, which is as close to a yes as I’ve gotten so far. “I just want you to consider that youcanbe safe here.”
She bites her lip and turns away from me. Something I can’t name is heavy in the air.
“Even if they tried to come for you or Kinsley through some of their associates, I’d protect you both, Hols. If I have to keep security on us forever to make you feel safe, I’ll do that.”
“I know you would,” she says, but she’s still turned away from me. “I don’t think that’s necessary, though.”
My phone rings, and I can see it’s the video chat I’ve been waiting for from the other two producers and the director to discuss the network feedback and the specifics of the final episodes.
“I have to take this.”
“It’s okay,” Hollyn says, nodding but not looking at me. “I’m okay.”
But it doesn’t feel okay, and I’m stuck for a moment, indecisive. Even if I pushed right now, I don’t think she’d tell me what’s holding her back, what’s making her unsure we can go the distance.
With her parents behind bars, I don’t see any other barriers we can’t leap over with ease.
“Get the call,” she says over her shoulder. “I need to take Kin to get some things for the gala tomorrow night anyway.”
“You’re sure? There’s a weird vibe…”
“I’m sure,” she says, turning to look at me, a slight smile on her face. “I was just surprised about my parents. They’ve been such a cloud over my life. To think that might be gone is… it’s good, but it’s a lot.”
I search her face for one more beat before swiping into the call. She comes over to me as I say hello and plants a quiet kiss on my cheek, her hand trailing across my middle as she makes her way toward the stairs, where the faint sounds of Kinsley training Henry echo.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Hollyn
While I got used to being around excessively rich people in New York and pretending I understood their extravagance, their lifestyle, galas like the one at the palace tonight only drive home how much of an outsider I still am in my own country. My parents’ arrest yesterday hasn’t helped that feeling. Everyone in there will know. The news will have spread like a wildfire across the country, and anyone who got screwed by whatever lucrative games my parents were playing isn’t going to be happy.
The last time I was at the palace was the night of Nate’s prom, and that night is a rocky memory, just like I’m sure this one will be.
Much like tonight, I felt beautiful, but I’d also felt unlike myself. I was pretending I was capable of being the partner Nate needed. While I’m now confident we could have grown in similar directions in the years between then and now, I’m not sure I everwould have felt like I fit into his circles, into the wider aspects of his rich upbringing. The wealth gap between us is still big, even if Posey thinks none of that should matter now. But maybe we were always meant to be a couple who could thrive in a house but struggle to survive in the world.
In our house, surrounded by what we’ve created together, we’re great. Better than great. I love who we are and what we are to each other between those walls. If it was possible to live in that space forever, I’d never have to wonder if wetrulyfit.
But already as we enter the palace gates, I’m keenly aware that I’m the criminal’s daughter and he’s a Tucker. The Celia Tuckers of the world are never going to accept me, welcome me, believe I belong on the arm of someone like Nathaniel Tucker.
