Page 39 of Twisted Trust
“You didn’t report your son missing either, did you?”
Every word from her is a spear to the heart and another black mark on my record.
Scott is slipping away from me with every passing second.
The air grows thin and my chest tightens to the point that I’m openly gasping for breath. “Hillary?—”
“You have no job, untrustworthy friends, your son was left to wander the strip,” she tsks sharply. “Just what kind of mother are you? I was going to look past what happened on my last visit and the danger you placed him in, but how do you plan to care for him when you one, can’t keep him safe and two, no longer have the ability to provide him the necessities?—”
“Enough.” Levi’s sharp, cold voice cuts through the air like a hot knife through butter. “I don’t believe an ounce of you has the professionalism to deal with this without being clouded by theobvious prejudice you have against Maeve already, but twisting things to fit your own narrative isn’t going to fly here.”
Hillary stares at him with her mouth open wide. “Excuse me?”
“Cameron is a proven trusted friend, and leaving Scott with him is of no consequence. A dear friend who is nowmissing,which is a great concern but for Maeve, the safety of her child trumped that, like any good mother. So unless you have any concrete reason Maeve shouldn’t be reunited with her son, I believe you should make that happenimmediately.”
“I think—I mean, absolutely not!” Hillary trips over her words while I stand there on the verge of tears, stunned that Levi is even sticking up for me. “I can’t release a child into the custody of someone who doesn’t have the means to provide for him.”
“She has the means,” Levi snaps. “I’m the means.”
“And who, exactly, are you?” She stands up straighter with a challenge in her eyes, obnoxiously clicking the pen.
“I’m her fiancé,” Levi states calmly.
What?
10
LEVI
The words slip out before I can stop them. All I hear is this obnoxious bitch tearing down the woman I’ve just spent four hours watching drive herself crazy about the safety of her son. Howdareshe stand there and act like Maeve isn’t a good mother? Like her entire world doesn’t revolve around that child?
His cry of happiness in the hospital upon seeing Maeve awake is all I need to know about howhappyand loved that boy is. This wretched woman doesn’t have a fucking clue and I can’t act on the homicidal urges I have right inside a police station, so this is the next best thing.
Maeve is staring at me with her mouth wide open, and Hillary matches her surprise while holding that annoying pen an inch above her folder.
“Excuse me?” Hillary chokes out and her gaze slides from me to Maeve. “You’re engaged?”
“Yes, she is.” I step between them before Maeve can even think of calling me out on my lie. Then I hold my hand out to Hillary. “Charles Davenport. You might have heard of myself or my father, thefounderof the Davenport hotels you see on theStrip? That should give you ahintat the safety and security I provide for my fiancée and her son. I also dabble in investing, but as I said, your current prejudice against my wife-to-be tells me that you don’tdeserveto hear a single one of my credentials. After you return Scott to his mother, however, I’d be more than happy to talk to your boss about who I amandyour atrocious conduct in this matter.”
Hillary takes a few long seconds to stare at me, then she closes her mouth and swallows audibly. “I am familiar with the Davenport name,” she says quickly. “Maeve never mentioned that she was seeing anyone. Usually in cases like this, we need to know abouteveryonewho is around the child in question.”
“I asked Maeve to keep it quiet, a matter I now regret. I wanted Maeve to be judged fairly on her merit and not by her association with me, but clearly, I had too much faith in thefairpractice of Child Protective Services. You already judged her and made up your mind, and your attitude since then has been to fit that narrative rather than see what really happened. Maeve trusted a friend who is nowmissingand it’s a miracle Scott turned up unharmed. Surely, it would be in everyone’s best interests to return Scott to his mother?”
Hillary glances past me at Maeve, and whatever she sees finally makes her move. “Wait here one moment,” she says quickly, then she hurries past both of us and leaves the room.
The door barely closes and Maeve turns on me, shoving both her hands into my chest to push me away. “What the hell are you doing?” she snaps sharply, barely keeping her voice down. “Are you insane?Engaged?I don’t need you to fight my battles for me! Battles you helped fuel!”
I catch her wrist as she tries to push me again and as she stumbles into me, I wind my other arm around her waist and pull her close despite her grunting protest. “Maeve. I had nothing to do with this. My people had nothing to do with this,but I will do everything I can to find Cameron and the truth. But until then, you need me. You heard her. She’s ready to pull Scott away from you without a second thought. Is that what you want? To lose your son?”
“No!” She barks at me and slowly, her struggles cease as the logic of my plan finally seeps through her desperation. “I can’t lose him.”
“And with my help, you won’t.”
“I don’t understand.” Maeve’s brows knit together and her eyes dart back and forth as she studies my face. “One minute, you want to kill me and the next, you’re helping me get my son back?”
I don’t have an answer for her. Try as I might to draw one up from the depths of my troubled soul, I have nothing that makes sense. Before the silence drags on too long, we’re interrupted by Hillary who looks away as Maeve and I break apart from what likely looked like an intimate embrace.
“Where is he?” Maeve demands as she peers past Hillary. “Where’s my son?”
