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“I’ll be fine.”
“You can’t know that.”
I know she’s right. Half of this battle is going to be keeping her mind at ease. Making sure she knows Lizzy and I are safe. I know what that means for us, but I’m still struggling to accept it. Tears burn at the back of my throat.
“We can wait and see,” I try to bargain.
“We can’t. They’re escalating. Taking photos in your home, Coop. Following us to your family’s home. Who knows what they’ll do next. We can’t wait.”
“I’m not okay with this. I’m not doing this. There has to be a way,” I say the words even as I’m accepting that she’s right. She usually is.
“I’ve been lying here for hours trying to think of a way. Any possible way it can work. But…”
I can see the desperate way she looks at me, and I know in my heart if this woman thought there was a way to fix it, she’d do it in a heartbeat. She’d fight for me—for us. So if she’s not, I can’t fight her. I can’t make her hurt even more for trying to do what she thinks is best. I take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. I close my eyes and try to just appreciate the fact that I have her at this moment. For this fleeting bit of time we have left, she’s mine.
41
Beatrix
Life at Madison’s is busy, and I’m thankful for it as I don’t have as much time to think about Cooper and Lizzy, or the status of my unknown stalker who seems to have gone quiet since the release of the photos—at least temporarily. But that hasn’t changed the fact that my mom has insisted on coming out and checking in on me. She’s settled into her hotel, and we’re waiting for her to arrive at Madison’s for dinner.
“You guys just got this house, and now you already have me and mom descending on it. I’m sorry!” I apologize as we plate the takeout meals we ordered to keep things easy.
Quentin’s out with a bunch of the guys after practice, continuing to get to know them, so it’s just us girls tonight. I’m thankful at least that he doesn’t have to listen to me getting babied by my mom and best friend. Although I’m sure Cooper is one of the people he’s out with, and it hurts my heart that he gets to see him and I don’t.
“It’s no worry at all, Bea. I’m glad she’s coming. You need support right now.” Madison’s eyes are full of sympathy.
“I’m fine. I know I had a little breakdown there for a minute, but I’ve rallied. You did your fixer thing and got rid of the pictures and put the hammer down on anyone trying to sell them. I’m still not sure I ever want to see the inside of a Chaos locker room again, but beyond that, it’s like it never happened.”
Madison gives me a look that tells me she knows me better than I think she does.
“I know you’re strong Bea, and I have no doubt this is gonna be in your rearview soon, but until we find out who is doing this, it’s not fine. So I still wouldn’t mind having your mom and her security connections as backup support right now.”
“I guess that’s fair. I just feel like we’ve settled the whole me going out to Seattle conversation, and I’m worried it’s going to reignite. With us trying to stay focused on the new PR company…” Now that I knew Cooper and Lizzy were safer without me around, I’d redoubled my focus on work. I’m not about to let the stalker take that from me too.
“I’ll make it clear to your mom that I’ve got my own security people I’m working with and explain how we’ve beefed up security here. We needed to do it anyway with Quentin doing well, the extra publicity thanks to my family’s shenanigans, and people starting to care about his comings and goings. It just makes sense all around. Plus the cops are involved now. That report’s filed and hopefully there’s progress soon.”
“All right. As long as we’ve got a plan to keep her happy.”
As we make our way through dinner, Madison and I explain the situation to my mother. She nods her way through our discussion until she abruptly stops us.
“Wait… what name did you say your dad gave you for security in Cincinnati?”
“James Sharp.” I repeat his name, and my mom goes stark still, the color in her face draining.
“Does that mean something to you?” Madison asks.
My mother looks between the two of us and sets her drink down.
“You remember that he used to work for your father? Around the house?” my mom asks.
“Yes. I liked him. He used to talk to me. We’d joke around. Honestly, I kind of had a bit of a crush on him. He was older and kind of hot with all the bodyguard-ish vibes he had going on.”
“Yes, well…” She presses her lips together like she’s just tasted something unfortunate. “He had a crush on you.”
“What?” I pull back, my brow furrowing as I try to process that information. He’d been well into his twenties, and I was still sixteen or seventeen at the time.
“I overheard him talking to you one day. Complimenting you on your dress and telling you how smart you were. You’d just broken up with your boyfriend at the time when you found out he was going to a different college than you. I was worried that if he kept flattering and fawning over you that you wouldn’t see through it. Nothing he said was inappropriate. Nothing I could point to to get him fired, but I just had mom senses, you know? That something was off with the way he looked at you. I didn’t want to tell your father though because it was in the middle of an election cycle, and nothing had actually happened. So I talked to the head of security, and I had him reassigned away from you and the house. I don’t even remember the reason I gave. I heard he quit a few months later anyway.”
