Page 125 of Reckless Love

“Stephen,” I cry out, clinging to him, barely coherent with the blaze of emotions burning through me. “I love you. I’ll never love anyone else the way I love you.” And then I can barely catch my breath as wave after wave of my orgasm crashes over me, and he chases his own, keeping us so tight that I don’t know where I begin and he ends.

My siblings respond to my meeting request about Mom faster than I expect. Up until now, I’ve kept Landon’s paternity between me, Stephen, and Caitlin. And I guess Stephen told Vanessa. Before we figured out how to deal with our situation, I wasn’t sure I wanted everyone to know. Pity isn’t an emotion I want to inspire. But I’m ready to dig into the truth.

Once we’re all seated in the main living room of my mansion—including Caitlin, who I brought for legal advice—I take them through everything I’ve discovered about Landon’s parentage, about the cover-up, about Raul refusing a divorce, about Mom refusing to help, about Stephen blackmailing her, and then about her threats against him in return.

“She fucking did it to you too,” Nathaniel says, an edge of rage in his voice. “Destroyed your happiness because she thought she knew better. I’m so tired of her god complex.”

“What does she have on you?” Maren asks, turning to Stephen.

“I could guess,” he says, tilting his head back and forth. “Could be wrong.” He releases a deep sigh. “If it’s the worst of the worst”—he glances at me—“most of what she has will be tied to various laws around intimidation, manipulation of evidence, assault, accessory to many, many crimes.”

“Murder?” Maren asks, no hint of judgment in her voice.

“Not knowingly, no,” Stephen says.

I reach for his hand and squeeze it.

“If the police go in and seize her quickly, she may not have time to form her retaliation,” Sawyer says. “That’s what happened with Dalton. Everything was done fast for that reason.”

“Dalton didn’t have police and judges in his pocket,” Stephen says. “Celia does.” He glances at me. “Raul probably does too.”

“Do you know who?” Gage asks. “Maren, could you talk to Alex? Can he make sure they both go in front of people who aren’t corrupted?”

Getting King Alexander involved would be a big deal. He tries to stay out of things that are politically dicey. Putting Raul Santos and Celia Tucker in jail is a big statement.

“If he’s presented with all the evidence you’ve just explained to me, I think he’d be happy enough to spin that in the press. The fat cats going down for their crimes. Sell that not everyone with money can do whatever they want with no consequences.” Maren takes a deep breath. “Obviously a harder conversation for Brice and I in the press—since she’s my mother.”

“It’ll be a hard conversation for all of us,” Gage agrees. “A lot of my real estate clients might get antsy that they’ll be next.”

“Hopefully that includes my brother, Hugh,” Caitlin says. “Many of the people we’re talking about have been making questionable decisions and alliances for years. Taking those two out might prompt a bit of a reset with the wealthy class.”

“That’s great,” I say, feeling impatient. “But can we protect Stephen from the fallout? Awkward conversations are nothing compared to my son growing up without his father, not to mention me losing…” I hesitate for a beat. “Me losing the person I love.”

“It’s about fucking time you admitted that,” Gage says.

“I’ll talk to Alex,” Maren says.

“Deal with Raul first,” Nathaniel says. “It sounds like that move has Mom’s approval. Once he’s dealt with, we can go after Mom. She’ll never see it coming.”

“I’m not playing fair with him,” I say. “I’m getting him to sign the papers, and then I’m turning over all the evidence to the police. All of it.”

“You should,” Sawyer agrees. “And we’ll all stand together against Mom. We won’t let her win this time.”

In Boston, I grip Caitlin’s hand as we head toward Raul’s hospital room. Stephen insisted on coming this time, but I made him wait at the airport with the plane. If Raul saw him, it would only draw out this ultimatum even more, and it might make Raul feel as though he has some say in matters. Raul is trapped by his own machinations, and I want him to feel the pinch.

As soon as we get these documents signed, I’m going home. I’m starting over.

And this time, I’m doing everything the way I should have done it the first time. No lies or regrets. No bad decisions. No forced hands. I’m walking into the next phase of my life with my heart open and with a true certainty over the direction I’m taking. I know exactly what I want.

When I’m at his door, Raul looks up from his tablet, and when he sees Caitlin step into the room beside me, his frown deepens.

“This is unexpected,” he says. “I told you we’d discuss everything when I was back in Bellerive.”

“I decided I’d rather make my own terms,” I say. “Caitlin?”

Caitlin goes to Raul’s bedside, and she removes documents from her purse, setting them on the table across his hips. When I asked Caitlin if we could record this conversation, just in case he says anything we could use in court against him, she said we couldn’t. Neither Massachusetts nor Bellerive allow someone to be recorded without their consent.

Raul scans the photos, and then he flips through the pile of documents. “Where did you get all this?” His tone is amazed, and then he grimaces. “Your mother. I suppose she’s decided our partnership no longer serves her. Is that what this means?”