WE’RE SO CLOSE I can almost taste it. For the past couple of hours, the team and I have been scouring Heather’s emails for any sign of nefarious activity. If I could just find something to bring her down, Bella and I wouldn’t have to hide our relationship and Ashley could go back to her life in Florida. I feel terrible for having to impose on her, asking her to watch Harper again, but there really is no one else I’d trust my daughter with besides her or Bella.
Speaking of my sister, Ashley pokes her head into the study. “Hey guys, you’ve been in here for a while. Do you want me to whip y’all up something to eat? Chef doesn’t get back until next month so you’re stuck with my cooking.” Lifting a finger into the air, she adds, “I might not be Michelin rated, but I can make a pretty mean sandwich.”
“Thank you, Ashley. We’d really appreciate it,” Titus answers.
I look back at Ashley and see that a blush has begun to appear on her face and neck. That’s odd. Titus is making my sister blush? I make a mental note to talk to Ashley about that before speaking up. “You’re already helping a ton with Harper. How about you order something from Marco’s. My spare card is in the kitchen drawer. Get whatever you think we’ll like.”
“You’ve got it. That’s my favorite kind of cooking.” Ashley winks at us before slipping out of the room.
I look over at Titus and notice that his eyes are still lingering on the door where Ashley had been a moment ago, his gaze unwavering. Something’s definitely going on there.
Hudson clears his throat, breaking the suspicious stare I was giving Titus. “I think I found something. There’s a set of encrypted emails and they all seem to be between the same two sources.”
“Great,” I say, praying that this is what we’ve been looking for. “Point us to them and we can all work on decoding. Hopefully we’ll have our answer by this afternoon.”
“First one to break through gets a bottle of their favorite liquor!” Ren bellows.
“It’s on like Donkey Kong!” Titus chimes.
“Who even says that anymore?” I say, rolling my eyes and shaking my head back and forth. “But in case y’all were wondering, I’ll be the first to find the source. Gentlemen, prepare yourselves, you’re going to lose,” I rib the team, stoking their competitive nature.
Three hours later and we still haven’t found anything. Ashley came in about an hour ago with take-out from Marco’s, practically forcing us all to take a break and eat. I have to admit, it’s nice having her home.
I decide to take another break to check on Ashley and Harper. I’ve barely seen them all day and I like to make sure I spend enough time with them on the weekends.
Our parents were never home, my father was always working and my mother off at some event; and if by some miracle they were home, they would hide themselves away in their respective corners of the house. My father in his study and my mother in her room, constantly downing martinis to numb herself from reality.
They never had enough time for Ashley and me—we were a nuisance. A mere disturbance they could pawn off on the multitude of nannies.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to forget the memories. I never want to be like them. Once I found out I was going to be a father, I vowed to never be like them, making sure to always dedicate time to my child. So far so good. I do work a lot but I also have a special daddy-daughter date once a week and make time for her on the weekends.
Stepping into the playroom, I see Ashley and Harper playing with her lovey collection. I swear that girl has more stuffed animals than Ashley does shoes.
“Did you find the source?” Ashley asks as she waves a stuffed panda in front of Harper.
“No, the team is still working on it.”
“You’re going to lose out on that bottle of liquor if you don’t find it first.” Ashley purses her lips, trying to bite back her laughter.
“You know I don’t need it. It’s a good incentive for them though, you know how they like to win at everything.”
“Yes. I know.” Ashley smirks, her face flushing from a memory.
“What’s up with that?” I ask, pointing at her face.
“What?”
“You’re all pink. You turned all pink earlier when Titus talked to you too.” I arch a brow and notice how her face manages to turn an even brighter shade of red at the mention of Titus. “There!” I shout as I point at her face. “You’re doing it again.”
“Calm down, I’m not doing anything. It’s just hot in here.” Ashley fans herself, trying to add credence to her lie.
“It’s sixty-eight degrees in here, Ashley. It’s the constant temperature in every one of my homes and you know that, so cut the act and stop flirting with my team. Besides, won’t your boyfriend back home be upset if he knew you were getting all hot and bothered by someone other than him?”
“That piece of shit can go fuck himself for all I care,” Ashley growls, practically foaming at the mouth.
“Language! Little ears.” I motion toward Harper.
“I’m sorry.” Ashley brings her hand to her mouth, her eyes as big as saucers. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“I’m assuming it’s whatever that POS did to you. So what happened with the boyfriend? Do I need to go kick his a—, I mean, behind?” I look toward Harper and wonder if ‘behind’ is a bad word under this context.
“You’re correct in assuming he did something. We’re no longer together and no, you don’t need to go kick his patootie.” Ashley waves me away. “Now go back to what you were doing, I really don’t want to talk about it. Besides, Harper and I were having a good time until you showed up. Wanting to talk about things that are best left in the past is definitely not our idea of fun, right Harper?”
Harper coos at Ashley while mashing a pacifier into her baby gorilla’s mouth.
“See? Harper totally agrees with her auntie Ashley.”
“Hint taken. I know when I’m not wanted.” I chuckle as I head toward the door.
“It wasn’t a hint. It was an outright statement,” Ashley grumbles.
Before I can reach the door, it flings open and Ren stumbles through. “Found him!” Ren shouts over his shoulder before turning back to face me. “We’ve got something. You definitely want to get your ass into the study.”
“Language!” I exclaim. “Poor Harper is going to have the mouth of a sailor thanks to y’all.”
Ren cringes. “Sorry, man. Not used to little ones being around.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just show me what you found,” I mutter and follow him out of the playroom.
The entire team is huddled around me as I click open a thread, exposing the other party as one Shannon Daugherty. I’ve never heard of her before. It looks like she’s been in constant contact with Heather, with their conversations getting lengthier on the dates of my divorce proceedings.
“Look here.” Ren points to a particular thread. “This Daugherty chick is basically assuring Heather she will win her hearing. Wasn’t this the date your first case was dismissed by the judge?”
“Fuck me. It sure is,” I say, sucking in a deep breath. This is it. This is the link we’ve been looking for. “Titus and Ren, I need you to search for anything you can find on Shannon Daugherty. Where she lives, who she’s associated with, and what her damn schedule is like. Hudson, you and I keep searching through the threads and see if we can dig up any additional information that could help us possibly reverse the court’s rulings thus far.”
“Ten-four,” the team responds all at once.
“Great job, men. I’m so fucking happy, I’m getting every damn one of you a bottle of your favorite liquor!”
Hoots and hollers are heard across the study before the men buckle down, digging for the rest of the information. The information that will finally let Bella and me just be.
Thank fuck. Despite my best efforts to reassure Bella everything will be okay, I’ve felt a notable distance growing between us.
Between Heather’s threats, Bella’s preconceived notions of not deserving love, and dreading her father’s disapproval and relapse in recovery, it’s safe to say this relationship has been an uphill battle.
Despite all that, I know the reward will be worth it. She is, without a doubt, the love of my life and I can’t ever see myself without her.
“Found something!” Titus shouts. “It appears our Shannon Daugherty is constantly mentioned as the companion to one judge in particular, the Honorable Andrew Dawson. Isn’t this the first judge who ruled on your case?”
“It sure as fuck is.” I close my eyes and send up a silent thank you to the powers that be. This bitch is going down.
“I can’t find any actual images of her, though.” Titus narrows his eyes as he continues to scroll through information on his laptop. “I’m going to see if I can find her on one of the society pages in the local newspaper. She’s bound to appear at some charity function, seeing as how she’s the arm candy for a prominent Dallas judge.”
“That’s a great idea. Ren, how about you search for any social media presence?” I suggest, rubbing my palms together in anticipation.
“Already on it.” Ren waggles his brows while shooting me a face splitting grin. “These ladies are going down.”
“Between the damning emails assuring a courtroom victory, and the social ties this mystery woman possesses, they better go down.” I sour my face in disgust. “Heather’s balls never seem to amaze me. They seem to be bigger than an elephant’s. Who in their right mind would go up against someone who owns a private security firm?”
“Someone with nothing to lose,” Hudson adds, raising a brow.
“I suppose you’re right.” I nod once, agreeing but not fully understanding. I still think the bitch is crazy.
Ren cuts into my thoughts, “It looks like Shannon Daugherty didn’t exist beyond three years ago. She appeared out of thin air and has managed to stay out of the media since. All of her social media accounts are active but her profile image is always of some generic outdoor scene and her posts are never of her, just random shots of Dallas. Nothing with her face on it.”
“Keep looking. Try and see if you can find anything where she’s been tagged or appears in the background. Look at accounts for people who run in the same circles and see if you spot a woman repeatedly by the judge’s side,” I urge, knowing there has to be a way to uncover this woman’s true identity.
The whole team nods in agreement before looking back down at their laptops and resuming their search.
Hours later, I find myself rubbing my tired eyes and looking around the room. The men have been working since five a.m. and everyone looks exhausted. I’m about to call it a day when someone clears their throat.
“William?” Titus questions, sounding apprehensive. “I think I found Shannon Daugherty.”
“Okay, why do you sound like you’re about to deliver an apology with that?” I bring my brows together in confusion.
“Yeah. About that… do you happen to have any pictures of your mother lying around? I could be wrong, but the woman who keeps appearing by the judge’s side bears a strong resemblance to the woman who used to live in your home and threw back martinis like they were alkaline water.”
My entire body goes rigid and a cold sweat begins to form down my back. That was the last person I expected when discussing Heather’s source… my mother.
