Unnatural Relations (Lust and Lies Series, Book 1) (30 page)

Decker was silent for a moment, then responded in a more controlled voice. "The Hamiltons will do whatever has to be done. And when it's all finished, your precious son will belong to them, and you'll be nothing but a bad memory to him."

She sat there with the phone in her hand for some time after he hung up, partly because she didn't have the strength to move and partly because she wasn't prepared to leave her bedroom and face Matt until she knew what she wanted to say to him.

All these years, she had successfully avoided telling Matt the whole truth without actually lying to him. He knew that his father had died and his parents had loved each other very much. So far, he had accepted her refusal to speak his father's name or talk about him at length, but she knew the day was coming when saying it made her too sad would no longer end his questions.

She had been planning to tell him everything when he turned twelve. Somehow that had sounded like an age when he would be able to understand. But now she was worried that she had waited too long. What if he learned it from someone else first? What would he think of her if Decker fed him the Hamilton version of the past?

They might be able to turn Matthew against her if they were determined to. If Howard, a grown man, could be fooled by their tricks, wouldn't it be that much easier for them to convince a nine-year-old boy that she wasn't who or what he thought she was? Then again, how hard would it be for them to prove she was an unfit mother without any lies? Had she ever provided her son with a stable, secure environment?

On the surface she was a flighty creature, bouncing from city to city, job to job, constantly uprooting her child. She recalled Decker's comments about having her investigated. He knew about her moving around and the police reports. He hadn't brought it up again but if it came out that they were victims of a crazed stalker, how hard would it be to prove that Matthew would be safer with the Hamiltons?

How ironic that the man they had paid to destroy her relationship a decade ago was still in a position to help them destroy what was left of her life now.

The enormity of the threat Decker had just made countered the fact that she had recorded it. That was probably why he didn't worry about what he said to her. The truth put her in deeper jeopardy than it did him.

"Maw? Is something wrong?"

She was shocked to see Matt in the doorway. How much had he heard? She was about to lie, then decided the time for total honesty had come. "No, I'm not okay. There's something very important I have to tell you. Come sit down with me."

Matt's eyes were wide and filled with worry as he went to her side. "I wouldn't have listened in if it was Kyle, but I heard you say Mr. Decker, and you told me he was a bad guy, so—"

"It's okay, honey, I'm not going to scold you for eavesdropping."

"Who were you calling monsters? What did you mean about us not being for sale? People can't really buy other people, can they?"

She pursed her lips and tried to find a beginning point that he'd understand. "Some people have so much money, they think everything's for sale, even people."

"That's really dumb. You'd think they'd be smarter if they got that rich."

His logic made her smile despite the sadness she felt. "Sometimes people don't have to be all that smart, because they're born rich."

He nodded. "You mean they inherit it."

"Yes,
that's right. Where did you learn that word?"

Making a face, he tried to remember. "Oh, yeah, Tammy was telling me a story, but I didn't really understand it."

"Well, the story I have to tell you has to do with inheriting money too." She screwed up her courage, but the doorbell rang before she could begin.

Matt jumped up. "That's probably Tammy." He stopped at the doorway. "Is it okay if you tell me that story later?"

She forced a half smile. "Sure, kiddo. Later."

The visitor was Tammy, as Matt had hoped, but she was too upset to give the boy more than a brief greeting. Barbara was shocked by her pitiful appearance. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, with smears of mascara beneath them; her hair looked as though she'd been trying to pull hanks of it out. Whatever had happened was no minor squabble.

Barbara placed her hand at the small of Tammy's back and guided her toward the kitchen. "Matt, honey, go on to your room and study your spelling words."

Before Tammy could begin, she asked for a hug, which Barbara gave without hesitation. Then Tammy used a paper napkin to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. Eventually she pulled herself together and murmured, "Michael broke up with me."

"Oh, Tammy, I'm so sorry. Did you have a fight?"

"No. That's what hurts so much. We'd been talking about getting married. Then all of a sudden this afternoon, he just says it's not going to happen. He wouldn't even give me a reason."

Tears started to fill Tammy's eyes again and Barbara got her a box of tissues from the bathroom. Michael's departure on top of losing her job was a lot to handle in one day. Barbara had plenty of her own problems tonight, but she temporarily shelved them and tried to think of how she could cheer up Tammy.

"You know, sometimes things that look horrible turn out for the best. Maybe there's a wonderful new man, even better than Michael, waiting right around the corner. Maybe you'll meet him when you find a new job."

Tammy shook her head. "I'll never find anyone better than Michael." She blew her nose again. "I bet his mother was behind this. She never liked me."

Barbara couldn't remember Tammy ever mentioning Michael's mother in any previous conversation. She couldn't help but think of how it sounded similar to her experience with Howard. She was tempted to talk about how she survived his abandoning her, but she always hated it when a person insisted on telling his or her story when she was trying to relate her own. Even when Tammy asked her if she had ever had her heart broken by a man and how it felt when Matt's father left them, Barbara refrained from focusing the conversation on herself.

She did her best to lift Tammy's spirits in spite of all the madness going on in her own head, but nothing worked. Even worse, by the time Tammy went home, she actually seemed irritated with her and even snapped at Matt on her way out. Barbara decided to give the girl a couple days to adjust on her own before offering any more advice or sympathy where it wasn't appreciated.

Shortly after Tammy left, Barbara got Matt off to bed and finally had a moment to call Kyle again. As soon as he answered she starting gushing apologies and excuses. "You have every right to be furious with me. I should have realized you'd be worried. First there was the note from Russ, then I had to go to the county courthouse for the restraining order, but it could take three days before they serve him, but that made me late for work so I didn't get a break, then Matt needed shoes and Decker called with an insane offer and threatened me, and Tammy just showed up—"

"Whoa! Could we run through all of that one more time, a little slower maybe?"

She took a deep breath and summarized her day for him. When she finished, she apologized again. "I really didn't mean to dump all that on you."

"That wasn't dumping. That was sharing. I just wish I'd been there to help. I miss you so much, love."

That one sentence somehow balanced all the negatives and she found she could take a full breath for the first time all day. "I miss you, too."

"I hope you're thinking about everything I said the other night. You don't have to go through this alone. I know I could make it all easier for you if you'd let me."

"I know. It's just that I wanted so badly to do it on my own."

"And you did. For years. Now it's time to relax and let someone love you again."

She hesitated a moment before answering. It was almost too tempting to resist, yet her common sense made her hold back. "I'll try." A yawn slipped out before she could stifle it.

"You've had a long day and I'm making it longer," he said with a smile in his voice. "Get some sleep and I'll see you when you get home from work tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? I thought you said you wouldn't get back here until Wednesday."

"Your situation requires a change in my plans. I don't want you staying there alone until the restraining order goes into effect."

"But—"

"No arguments. Say good night, honey."

Barbara chuckled. "Good night, honey."

"I love you."

He ended the call and she sent him a mental thank you for not insisting on a response to his declaration.

Another yawn overtook her. As Kyle had said, it had been a long day. She had meant to call Dani about Russ's note and the restraining order as soon as she got home, but the evening had flown by, and now she could barely keep her eyes open. She supposed tomorrow would be soon enough to update her.

As tired as she was, however, the conversation with Decker kept replaying in her head.

He was right. She couldn't win. Not if they wanted her to lose. After all, the Hamiltons had watched their own son drink himself into a grave rather than allow him to lead his life the way he wanted to.

She had tried to survive on her own, do everything without depending on any man's help, and where had it gotten her?

Nowhere. She had no home, no husband, no close friends. She rarely saw her parents. And now she could lose her son. Perhaps the time had come to try a different path.

Kyle's words echoed in her mind and wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Perhaps it really was time to share the burden with someone who loved her.

* * *

Only once in his life had Kyle been this frustrated. His plan had started out so simply, but with every day that passed, more complications were piled on. The lies were eating at his gut, yet he didn't know how to undo them without destroying himself.

He should have guessed that Russ wouldn't be pushed aside with something as incidental as a death threat. Obviously, only action was going to get through to him.

One thing at a time. First he had to rearrange his schedule so that he could get back to Barbara. He dialed his executive assistant's home number. Her sleepy hello increased his guilt. "Carol, it's Ham. I'm sorry to call you so late, but I've got an emergency. I need you to cancel tomorrow afternoon's board meeting."

Carol groaned. "Mr. Ivanovich will have a cow if he flies in and you're not here!"

"That's why I want you to call him tonight. He'll still have a cow, but he'll have it in Chicago."

"I know how anxious you've been to get the board's approval on the new stock option. What happened?"

"I can't explain now, but I will soon. I have to be in Richmond tomorrow."

"Richmond again, huh? Boy, whatever deal you're putting together down there must be pretty damn big."

Kyle sighed. "It's the biggest deal of my entire life."

Chapter 15

There was no note on her car's windshield the next morning, nor did Barbara get any sense of being followed on her way to work, yet she knew better than to let her guard down. Though Russ wasn't behaving in his usual manner, that didn't mean they were safe.

She had just finished opening an account for a new customer and was about to call for the next person on the sign-in list in the front of the bank's lobby when Russ suddenly stepped in her path. Her heart slammed against her rib cage, but there was little she could do without creating a scene.

"Please go away," she said in a low voice that quivered from the fright he'd given her. "I have a lot of people waiting for help."

He gave her his most innocent smile. "I know. I'm one of them. I came by to take you to lunch."

Barbara glanced around the busy lobby until she caught the eye of the security guard. At her nod, the man casually began moving closer. To Russ, she said, "I'm busy for lunch. Just say what you want, then leave."

"I told you before," he replied, still smiling. "I need your help. And I have some important facts you should know about." He walked over to her desk so that she was forced to follow.

His phony smile vanished as soon as they were seated across from each other. "I wouldn't have had to come here if you had called me like I asked you to. I waited all last night, but you never called. I'm starting to get the impression you don't want to help me with my recovery."