“Don’t give up your career. Not everyone has the luxury of doing something they love.”
I tilted my head. What would Lincoln choose for himself if he could? As awful as it must be working for our father, I couldn’t imagine him doing anything else. He’d never once mentioned a dream, even when we were kids.
Had I taken that option away from him?
He’d sacrificed all these years for me. It was time to return the favor.
“Take Me Home” by Cher blared from the pocket of my jeans. I hurried to silence it.
Burke’s name flashed across the screen. I guessed he’d somehow gotten in one last ringtone change. All these years, and I still had no idea how he did it.
I’ll have to call you back later, dude.
Lincoln glanced around and seemed relieved we hadn’t attracted any attention. It was almost five. The office was mostly deserted. I was surprised my father allowed anyone to leave.
I pointed at him. “Don’t even think about taking over ringtone duty.” I had to do something to lighten the somber mood. Hearing my phone ring was like a gut punch reminder that everything was changing.
Everything.
“I wouldn’t dare.” Lincoln released me, a sign of acceptance. It wasn’t the support I’d hoped for, but if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t support me either.
“I better get this over with.”
“Stop by my office before you leave.” He motioned behind him. “It’s at the end of that hallway.”
I nodded once. My steps were heavy as I trudged in a direction I didn’t want to go.
This is for Pepper. And hopefully for Lincoln and Beau.
Would my father always win? Would this be enough?
Something I could stand to learn from him was patience. He’d been waiting a long time for this day. One I swore would never come.
Turned out he was right all along.
The reception desk was empty. Thank God for small mercies. The fewer witnesses I had to this farce the better.
One foot in front of the other, Hollingsworth.
I’d been less apprehensive the first time I’d gone into a burning building.
A fresh wave of anger shot through me. Up to this point, my life had had meaning. Purpose.
In the blink of an eye, it had all been taken away.
Or had I allowed it to be stolen?
I hesitated.
I’d been so busy playing the blame game. My father. Captain.
Had I ever really been in control at all?
Was it always leading to this?
Could I have done something differently?
I didn’t know, and there was no time to figure any of those things out. Maybe they didn’t matter anyway.
If you do this, you get to keep Pepper.
No one had ever said that was a component of the deal. And that was a big assumption on my part. Besides, she wasn’t even mine to keep.
But there was something there. My father knew it better than I did. Which meant I’d eventually have to give her up too. Damn it.
I pushed the heavy door to my father’s office without knocking.
I opened my mouth to speak but quickly shut it.
Did I believe in signs? If I did, this would be a big one.
The office was empty.
Chapter Eleven
Pepper
“I’m sorry to bother you.”
I paced in the back room of Grey Paws with my phone pressed to my ear. A gaggle of dogs followed my every step. They’d been as restless as me all day. I’d tried to get control of my emotions, but they felt every ounce of my anxiety.
“Pepper, you never have to apologize for calling.” Vivian’s kind voice came through the speaker. “Although, you can’t get mad when I always answer with some version of the dogs are fine.”
She laughed, and I gave a half-hearted one in return.
“They aren’t causing any trouble, right?” I worried my bottom lip between my teeth.
“They’re inspiring new ideas. Ones we need to talk about soon.”
I wasn’t sure I liked her tone. The last time I heard it, I’d agreed to a fundraiser.
“I’m a little scared.”
“Did I tell you we own the whole apartment building now?”
I gulped. It was massive. And undoubtedly expensive. Apparently the Elliotts had more money than I thought, not that I’d considered it much. They never treated anyone as if they were less than them.
“You said you knew several of the tenants,” I said, still a little dizzy that they owned an entire building in Tribeca.
“Pretty much our whole family lives here. Except the ones out in Texas, but I’m working on getting them to move to New York.”
“Not a snowball’s chance in hell, V,” Stone called from the background.
“He has no idea how convincing I can be,” she said low into the phone.
“Yes, I do,” he yelled.
“Pshhh.” I could picture her waving him off. “By the way, I think we should cancel the adoption event.”
I abruptly stopped pacing. Muffy ran into me.
Relief I hadn’t expected ran through me. “You do?”
“I want to keep all of them. I’m too attached,” she wailed. “You could’ve warned me I’d fall in love.”
Was she serious?
“I haven’t exactly talked it over with Daniel, but he’ll figure out they aren’t leaving eventually.”
I leaned against the counter. She wouldn’t joke about that, would she? That was a ton of responsibility. They’d had time to see just how much, but still. I—I didn’t know what to think.
“Pepper? Are you there?” Concern came through the phone at me.
“I’m here,” I said quietly.
“We should’ve had this conversation in person.” She sighed. “Sometimes I get ahead of myself.”
“Sometimes?” I heard Muriella in the background.
Something that sounded like paper crumpling and then landing on a hard surface came through the line. A knot of the tension in my chest eased.
“We can discuss it further when I drop by if you’re serious.” The idea of Daniel and Vivian having the dogs wasn’t so bad.
“Sure thing. I’m going by Paths of Purpose in a bit. Mrs. Quinn is totally on board with a resident and dog program. But we need to get your expertise on that. Assuming you want to partner with us,” she said in a rush.
“Umm, yeah. We can talk about that too.”
Paths of Purpose was an abused women’s and children’s shelter Vivian and Muriella worked closely with. I liked the idea of incorporating our dogs into their program in some capacity. It could be therapeutic for both their residents and ours. The dogs couldn’t become service dogs without a lot of training, and given how they needed loving and a place to heal, they wouldn’t be ready for that anyway. But they could certainly be used to provide a soft pelt to pat, a warm, if slobbery, hug for a woman needing that.
Those potential plans seemed like getting ahead of myself. Every moment felt like borrowed time. I had no idea where Teague was now, but I could admit I was scared. And clearly, given how calm Vivian was right now, she had no clue that I’d been kidnapped. Well, no one knew, because I didn’t tell them. But from what Teague said, they already suspected their dad.