Page 99 of Heated Takeover

“It was a poet at a coffeehouse,” I say, almost smiling. As you can see, my dad is the culprit of a lot of almost smiles and almost laughs, all when I feel the least joyous. He’s good at that. He always has been. “And he’s not real.”

“Not really Jamie’s father or–”

“No. Not real. I made him up,” I admit.

“Why?” he asks.

“Because I didn’t know how to tell anyone that the father was actually the CEO of Ashford Hospitality and that it happened at the charity gala five years ago,” I say, and my dad’s eyes flutter in surprise. It’s obvious he feels like that was more than he needed to know.

“Well, this is…a lot,” he says, scratching his chin. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just didn’t feel like the truth was acceptable,” I tell him.

“A one-night stand is a one-night stand. The logistics of it don’t really matter,” he tells me casually, and this time I do chuckle.

“I know. But I also didn’t want Marcus to know. I was afraid of what he would say or do. I didn’t want to risk losing my baby.”

“Why would you lose your baby?” he asks.

“I didn’t know what kind of man Marcus would be if he found out. I know it’s messed up but–”

“You’re his mother,” he finishes the sentence for me.

“Exactly,” I say. “I had to protect him.”

“Does he know?” my dad asks after a moment of processing.

“Yes,” I say. “As of very recently.”

“And how does he feel about it?”

“We haven’t fully had the chance to discuss it,” I say.

“And how do you feel about it? About him knowing? What do you want?”

“I want to be a family,” I blurt out. “I want the relationship we have been building since he hired me, not the professional one, but the real one, to be more. He’s amazing with Jamie and Jamie loves him and–”

“And you love him too,” he says, and I don’t say anything. Which says everything.

“Well then, I think you’re going to have to tell him that,” he says.

“And if it’s not what he wants?” I ask fearfully.

“You have to know the truth either way,” he says, and unfortunately, I know he’s right.

Chapter 38

Marcus

“How’s the feed?” I ask Tuck from inside the mobile command van.

“Stable. The FBI has the exterior and common-area cameras. Reese and Garrett are arguing in the kitchen. Jamie is asleep in the corner of the living room.”

I lean closer to the screen. For once I am not wearing a vest or pretending that training with Tuck on boring Saturdays makes me part of a tactical team. Every nerve in my body wants to ignore Agent Chen and go straight to that cabin. Instead, I am exactly where she ordered me to stay, surrounded by people whose job is to bring my son out alive.

It is not fear for myself that keeps twisting my stomach. Reese and Garrett are reckless, cornered, and stupid enough to believe kidnapping a five-year-old will solve their problems. I am afraid of what they might do when they realize every road out has closed.

Tuck clicks through the authorized feeds and adjusts the speaker. Jamie is curled under a blanket, his breathing steady. In the kitchen, Reese and Garrett pace and argue. Seeing Jamie afraid and sleeping in a strange room makes me want to storm the place myself. I will not. Making his rescue more dangerous would not be protecting him.