Page 115 of Playing A Risk
“Unless Jamison or Isabella have it in them to have Dori followed, it’s her. You said Ava was freaked out and didn’t think your deal was settled.” Jonah hands me my phone.
I take it back as my body shakes. There’s no question about it. My mother is behind this. I can barely type my message because I’m trembling so much.
Me: Where are you?
Beauty: Like you don’t know. Good night, Hunter. Call me when you want to be honest with me again.
“Fuck! She can be so stubborn sometimes.” I type another message, pounding on the screen with my fingertip.
Me: I swear to you, I don’t know where you are. No one that I know of is following you. Now tell me where the fuck you are.
I stare at the phone and wait for her to respond. Nothing comes through. I tug on my collar and think about where she would be on a Friday night.
We were supposed to meet, but I blew her off to get myhead straight. That probably pissed her off. My terror grows with every passing minute.
“Jonah, I hate to ask you to do this, but can you ask Jamison if he knows where she is? I don’t want him to think she and I are fighting.”
“Sure, but he’s not dumb. He saw you leave today and now I’m looking for her. He’s going to know no matter what way you slice it.”
“Would you rather contact Melanie?”
“No. She’s done with me. Although, maybe it can open the door for me to get back in with her.” Jonah nods at something he’s thinking about. “I’ll reach out to Melanie.”
“And Jamison?”
“You sure are needy today, but yeah, I’ll reach out to him. In the meantime, you can call Dad and see if he has any insights on what our mobster mother wants with Dori.”
Jonah makes his calls and I contact our dad.
My dad sighs heavily through the phone. “I wouldn’t know, Hunter. I haven’t spoken to your mother for years. What did Ava tell you about her? She knows more than any of us.”
“Just what I told you. Joan Venturi wanted Ava and me to get married and have a baby by the time I turned thirty-five. She agreed to let the marriage part go, but she was always insistent on the kid. When Ava told her we decided not to comply, Mother Dear acted like it was no big deal.”
“It sounds to me like your mother has her sights on Dori as the one to make it happen. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“But why? My mother doesn’t want anyone to know about the Dupree’s son, so why does it matter that this child she wants comes from me? Nothing about it makes sense.”
My dad hesitates too long for my liking. “You’ve got me there, Hunter. Nothing about your mother makes sense. Are you sure Dori’s being followed?”
I release a low growl. “Yes. She’s pissed off at me because she thinks I have someone tailing her without her permission, and she’s not in the position to be coming at me with her attitude right now.”
“Why?”
I shove my glass toward Jonah and gesture for a refill. “Because I caught her coming out of a closet with someone today. I left the party pissed at her.”
My dad groans. “That explains where you went. Christ, Hunter. What have you gotten yourself into?”
“Don’t hold it against Dorothy. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. I overreacted. Trying to date someone is hard when you can’t tell anybody about it. Other guys come on to her and I have no way to deal with it.”
“We’ll take her contract clause to the board at the next meeting, which should take care of the issue. But I don’t know what to tell you about your mom.” He clears his throat. “Hunter, you and Jonah need to be careful. I don’t have a good feeling about what she’s up to.”
“Dad, why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me something?”
“Find Dori and we can discuss this another time. I need to make a few phone calls and it’s getting late.” He hangs up.
I glance at my screen. Seeing no new messages from Dorothy, along with that reaction from my dad, has my heart racing.
I face Jonah. “What did Jamison and Melanie have to say?”
