Page 141 of In The Game

Barrett throws his arm in front of me and cuts me off. “What the hell are you even talking about?” He screws up his face and looks at her like she’s crazy. “I’ve always been here! I’ve never abandoned her!”

I don’t know where he’s going with this, but I’ll follow his lead.

She points her finger at him. “That’s bullshit. You left my baby alone while she took care of your child. You’ve got five years of unpaid child support you owe her. And I’m here to see that she gets it. I’ve seen the text messages from her that you sent. They are heinous. And I’m sure some news outlets would love to get their hands on them.”

She’s here for blackmail. Then I freeze.

I never showed her those messages.

“Oh my God.”

She sits back in her chair and purses her lips.

I’m in shock. I knew my mother was a shitty parent, but I never realized how truly evil she was until this moment.

“You sent those messages.”

“No, I said Isawthem. You sent them to me, remember?”

I shake my head. “No. I only ever showed them to one person—Barrett.”

This time the claws come out when she speaks. “You’re an opportunist just like your mama, you’re still the same Raleigh from back home. Shake your ass and get whatever man you want. You may have learned how to take care of yourself when you get yourself into a bind, but you’ve forgotten who you learned that from: me! I’ve got the texts either way, tabloids aren’t gonna care. Family first. So we can do this under the table, or loud enough for everyone else to hear. The ball's in your court.”

“I fucking knew it.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up.”

She blinks at him, trying to act cavalier but deep down she wants to know what he means as much as I do.

“Oh, did you think I haven’t been keeping tabs on you? The minute Raleigh told me you weren’t allowed to see Arthur, I did a background check on you. I’m smarter than I look. Even for a dumb jock.”

He points up to one of the security cameras in the far bookshelf. “See that? If you think it’s smart to threaten blackmail or slander my or Raleigh’s name, you better believe I’ll bury you in a lawsuit so deep that by the time you surface, you won’t have credit to buy a pack of fucking Newports.” He lowers his voice to barely over a whisper and leans over the table. “And if you ever try to contact or step foot on this property again, I’ll shoot first… You understand, right? Isn't that how you people do it in the south? This is my family now. Not yours.”

Holy fuck. I have never had someone stand up for me like this in my life. This is an entirely different level. I’m seeing Barrett in a new light. Fierce, protective, and unhinged. I do everything I can not to gawk at him, but my thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. Barrett keeps his eyes on her, but speaks to me.

“Get the door, Raleigh.”

“Who is it?” I ask. He seems to know something I don’t.

“It’s her ride.”

FIFTY-FOUR

Icalled the police on my way home to make sure when she left the house, she left for good. At the time, it was for trespassing. However, now I get to tack on the charges for assuming a false identity—mine. And all the years it cost me with Raleigh and my son.

While they read Darlene her Miranda Rights, I pull out my phone, snap a copy of the results, and begin tapping the screen.

“What are you doing?” Ral asks.

“I’m texting our lawyer to tell him it’s not Julia we need to go after, it’s your mom. And I want an order of protection against her.”

I was ninety percent sure she had a warrant out for her arrest. It doesn’t make sense to drive instead of fly. I saw the North Carolina plates, and her background check says she’s got a habit of not showing up to her court hearings. I wanted to make sure she was removed from the house before she could peel out of here like a bat out of hell. Or a cunt out of… well, our driveway. Turns out, I was right, color me stunned.

“When did you call the police?” Raleigh mutters. Her voice sounds small, and is muffled with her chin dropped to her chest. She has no reason to feel shame over her mother. I slide my arm behind her and squeeze her side.

“On my way home.” As soon as I saw her barge in on the doorbell cam, I knew I had her. “It’ll be okay.”

“Thank you for having Rhys take Arthur so you could stay with me.”

I nod as Darlene is escorted past us to the waiting police car outside. Another officer stays behind to take our statement. It feels like forever to give all the information we can to police, and I let them know I was already in touch with my lawyer because we would be pressing charges. After he leaves, we both take a heaving breath.Holy shit.

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