“That was the wrong way to go about it.” Lincoln pulled her into his arms. “No more secrets, please.”
She squeezed him. “Same goes for you too.”
He sighed but nodded. “I’m assuming you didn’t go to the authorities about this.”
“No.”
“Do you have a plan?”
My respect for Lincoln ramped up a notch. He didn’t try to run all over his sister—not that he could. I liked that he asked her thoughts, that he seemed to want to move forward as a team.
“My gut tells me we should all act normal until we figure out what to do,” she said. “We need the element of surprise. Or any advantage we can get.”
“I say we just end it now. You still have bruises on your face. We can prosecute the hell out of Davenport and disown that spawn of the devil we’re lucky enough to have as a father.” Teague moved to the windows and stared out at the park across the street.
“Kane Zegas will help us.” Lincoln pulled out his phone.
Beau placed a hand on his arm. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but what about the company? The people who work there are innocent, and we’ve sacrificed everything to build it to where it is. What Alex did won’t hurt us, but if we go rogue on Father, Hollingsworth Properties could take a serious hit. We’ll look unstable.”
“If it keeps all of my family safe and gets rid of him in the process, I don’t give a damn about the company.”
My brows shot up at Lincoln’s statement.
“Take a minute to think that through,” Beau said quietly.
“I don’t need it. Recently, I’ve been shown what’s truly important. I love our work, love working with you, but I love our family more.”
As I’d ridden up the elevator on what might as well have been another planet, I’d thought there was nothing I could have in common with these people. I should’ve known better, considering Teague was one of them and we’d always been friends.
But now, I realized we had a lot more in common than not. Our biggest differences were the size of our bank accounts . . . and that was irrelevant.
These three cared about each other the way I cared about my brothers and Ma. We all had moments of poor judgment in the name of protection, but it came from the right place.
“Pardon me for the interruption.” Daniel’s large form took up the entire doorway. “Your father is here, demanding to see you.”
Chapter Eight
Beau
“Send him away.”
My tone sounded feral when I spoke.
“I’ll let security downstairs know.” Daniel turned on his heel.
“Wait,” Teague said almost desperately. “Is he in the building?”
He twisted back around. “Just in the lobby.”
“I’ll be back.” Teague hustled toward the door. “I have to go check on Pepper and Miss Adeline.”
Panic swept through me. “You should call Lexie. Have them come here since Father can get in your building.” I tried to put on a brave face. “Do you mind, Daniel?”
“Of course not. Let me know her location, and I’ll have someone escort them.”
Lincoln was already on the phone, murmuring.
And there was Cal. Still leaning against the desk. He hadn’t intruded on our discussion. He’d simply been there for support.
Who was I gonna move on to? There is no one better than you.
I needed him. Needed the safety and comfort of his strong arms.
If I was going to get through the next few days, I had to have all the strength I could muster. And even if my emotional state was in tatters when it came to him, I had to take it moment by moment.
I shimmied between the two chairs.
His eyes flashed with heat as I moved to him with more confidence than I felt. I slid my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest.
Those arms I wanted so desperately banded around me like a cocoon.
“You made the hard part look easy, baby sister.” He spoke against my hair with a reverence that weakened my knees.
I didn’t say anything, simply clung to him like he was the only thing anchoring me to sanity. He rubbed his big hands up and down my spine.
Like a support.
A partner.
A husband.
“You rescued Eric.” Lincoln’s stern voice was right behind us and I stiffened. “You’ve helped Beau in some capacity when she wouldn’t come to us. But you clearly hurt her at some point.”
I turned in Cal’s arms and faced my brother. In typical Lincoln fashion, he was hard to read, but it was impossible to mistake how much he cared for me.
“All I’ve ever wanted is what’s best for Beau.”
There was no uncertainty in Cal’s words. No apology or hesitation. I would have previously thought that that statement totally contradicted how he’d ended things all those years ago. But this was a lot easier to accept knowing what I did now. He’s shown you over and over since you’ve been back.
“As long as you give that to her, we’ll have no problems.” Lincoln extended a hand to Cal.
I gaped.
This was the equivalent of a blessing. One I hadn’t realized I’d want from my brothers because I never thought I’d be in a serious relationship again.
You’re not in one now.
Maybe it was pretend, but it didn’t feel that way.
Lincoln turned his gaze to me. “You don’t have to hide what makes you happy.” He reached for my hand. “You don’t have to hide anything at all.”
“We’re married,” I blurted.
Cal jolted behind me but kept a steady hold on my hip.
Lincoln’s brows shot up.
“Just since this morning,” I rambled. “I couldn’t see any other way out of marrying Alex. And obviously, I can’t marry him if I’m already married.”
Understanding dawned in my brother’s eyes, but as he scanned the way Cal held me, I wondered what he saw.
Did we look like we’d been forced into holy matrimony?
“He’s threatened Cal’s family too,” I whispered.
Cal went rigid behind me.
Lincoln drew in a long breath. Looked at Cal with intent. He knew Father well, so he understood that Cal threatened something Father wanted to achieve. In this case, controlling me. And making money in another business venture. “Then I suppose Father has further threatened our family too, brother.”
The last thing I’d expected was his easy acceptance of Cal. Maybe Lexie and Eric had had more of an effect on Lincoln than I’d realized.
“It’s petty, but I want to humiliate Father and Alex by not showing up at the wedding,” I said quietly.
That would send our father into a tirade. A well-deserved fit.
But nothing could repair all the damage he’d caused.
“And to do that, we need to act normal.” Lincoln pressed his lips together. He glanced at Cal, then focused on me. “Do you trust him implicitly?” He flicked his chin at Cal.
As our entire history flitted through my mind. Yes, he once shattered my trust and everything we were. Every single other thing he’d done had spoken of protection, of putting me first, of lo—nope. Wasn’t going there. Not now.