Page 101 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

"But they don't have the papers. They don't have anything more than they had five years ago when they decided that they didn't have enough evidence to do anything."

"I got a text that suggested Olivia and I were alive only by their grace. I need to let this go or you’re in danger. It is gutting me to leave you and the girls. But I'll do it in a minute if that's what it takes to keep you safe."

My anger quickly vanished, and instead, hope and the need to soothe him replaced it. I sat on the couch, taking his hand in mine. "You don't have to leave. All you have to do is stop talking to the FBI."

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it, and I felt his love, his warmth wrap around my heart. "I took pictures of the papers. Pictures that are on my phone. I didn't tell Agent Marsden that they were there, but she has my phone for evidence, and she suspected that I made copies. That means they're going to find them. I don't know if it's going to help their case, but at this point, she’s said they’re going to look into the crew. I have to go."

I heard the resolve in his voice, and it angered me. I let go of his hand and rose from the couch. "You can't do this to your daughters."

He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "I don't have a choice, Lindsay."

Tears streamed down my face, but I wiped them away defiantly. "It's almost Christmas, Oliver. We've all been through a traumatic time. But with Christmas around the corner, it's our chance to bring back the magic back into those girls’ lives. But you're just going to walk out on them?" I shook my head. "I wish you'd never heard of them. I wish they'd never met you."

The pain in his face was acute, like I'd stabbed him in the chest. A part of me felt bad for saying something so cruel, but at the same time, my anger at him felt justified.

"I loved you too, Oliver. I loved you that night we conceived our daughters. I loved you when you came back. The tragedy is that I love you still. But I will never forgive you for this." With nothing more to say, I left.

30

Oliver

Feeling like somebody had cut my heart open and rolled it over broken glass was a pain that I had never felt before. But it didn't matter. I would learn to live with it just as I had learned to live with all the other pain in my life. The only thing that mattered was Lindsay and the kids’ safety. So, I didn't follow Lindsay out of the room when she told me she would never forgive me. As planned, I was on a plane the next day, returning to California.

I went back to work, doing all the things a CEO of a company who'd been gone for a week would do, which was mostly catching up, putting out fires, and barking orders at people. It was just a few days, but most of my staff were keeping a wide berth from me.

Two days before Christmas, I was working at my desk while down the hall, my staff were celebrating with an office holiday party. My admin had encouraged me to poke my head in to say a few festive words, but that was impossible. There wasn’t a festive cell in my body.

I considered heading home to work when my phone beeped. Like a Pavlovian dog, I tensed, wondering what threat I was going to receive. I hadn’t gotten any texts since I’d left Boston, but that was likely because I’d gotten a new phone since the FBI had my old one. But I wouldn’t put it past anyone in the crew to hunt me down.

I recognized the area code of Boston. I poked the button and saw that it was a video call. I turned on the video and held up the phone.

Blue eyes and blonde hair and cherubic smiles filled the screen. "Oh, hi, Daddy!" Cassie waved her hand furiously.

"Not so loud, Cassie. Grandpa says we have to be quiet,” Georgie chastised.

My heart squeezed tight at the sight of them. I wished I could reach through the phone and hug them. Then I wondered how they were calling me, and why weren’t they angry at me for leaving?

"Olivia." Georgie pulled her sister until all three little faces filled the screen.

Emotion choked me, and I barely managed to say hello.

"Is that where you live?" Georgie asked, her eyes looking as if they were taking in my surroundings.

Olivia leaned forward, her face filling the screen until her lips were on the screen and I realized she was giving me a kiss. Jesus fuck. How did a man survive emotion like this?

“You got spit on the phone.” Georgie’s hand wiped over the screen.

“Daddy? Will you be here for Christmas?” Cassie asked. “We’re going to the cabin.”

God. Was this my punishment?

I checked my watch. It was nearly seven here, which meant it was almost ten back east. "You girls are up late."

"Grandpa says we have to be quiet so that Mommy doesn't know we’re up,” Georgie said.

"Mommy says she and Gran-Mira are helping the elves." Olivia finally popped in, and I was so happy to hear her voice. I couldn't imagine that she'd forgotten the terror that happened to her, but I hoped she would be able to live her life without it haunting her every moment of the day as it did for me.

"Have you all been good for Santa?" I made a mental note to send presents and then immediately questioned it. I wasn't supposed to be in their lives.

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