Page 23 of Scythe's Salvation
“She definitely knows who you are, and that’s not all, but until I do a little more research, I don’t wanna say anything. Just get her out of there and don’t say or do anything else in your suite until Beast and I check it out. She likely bugged your therapy room.”
“Okay, let me get her out of here.”
I walk back over to Portia, a smile plastered on my face even though I’d love to smash her face against my desk. Instead, I hand her one of my cards and say, “The website information is on the back. Thanks so much for coming in today. I hope to see you again soon.”
Portia leaves and I slump against the desk in my front reception area, thoughts swirling around so quickly I don’t know what to do first. Taking a deep breath, I shoot a text to Selah and let her know that I’m heading out. I have no clue why she was monitoring my place, but I’m grateful right now because it kept me from sharing anything about my son. Information I know she would take and tell Tim to use against me.
Once I’m in my car, I call Selah back. I’m somewhat curious as to how she knew who was in my suite. “Hey,” I say once the call connects. “So, how did you know who was with me?”
I hear her huff out a small laugh before she says, “After breakfast, Brick pulled me aside and asked me to set up audio and visual surveillance in your business. He was worried that Tim might come back and try something, and he wanted to make sure that there would be evidence if that happened to present to the lawyer. That way, he could use it in court if need be. While y’all were talking to the attorney, Beast and I went and tapped into your Ring security system so I could monitor things when you were working. We didn’t monitor your actual therapy room so we wouldn’t violate anyone’s privacy, just the main room and your office. When I saw who was there, I recognized her from somewhere, then realized she was the woman who married your ex. I don’t think it was a coincidence that she was there, which iswhy I’m going to head over and check to ensure she didn’t leave any bugs behind.”
“You mean I worked on hiswife?” I ask, confirming what I already knew but it’s still a shock the woman had the audacity to portray a client and dupe me. “And I have no idea what you just said because I’m dumb when it comes to technology, but whatever it takes to protect my son from Tim’s machinations, I’m agreeable, just so you know.”
“There’s more, but I need clarification on what I can share. Just know that she’s not who she’s pretending to be and keep yourself safe.”
“Thanks, Selah.”
“Later, doll.” With that, she hangs up, leaving me to my own thoughts.
Why would his wife come to see me? Does she feel threatened by my presence? She can rest assured that I don’t want him, she can have him free and clear without any interference from me. I can’t understand why she’d be insecure when it comes to me since he leftme, not the other way around. Any feelings I had for him died a long time ago, probably while my head was hanging over a toilet bowl as I spewed my guts out thanks to the morning sickness that never seemed to end.
With more questions than answers, I head over to Amara’s to pick up Chance. There’s still homework to be done, but thankfully, no practice today, so I can wash a few loads of laundry while we wait for Scythe to come over for dinner.
I still can’t believe I shared so much with him; but it’s as if I want him to know me, all of me. My insecurities are still there, I just keep them tightly wrapped these days. Because at the back of mymind, I have to wonder, why would any man willingly take on a woman who already has a child.
Scythe would, my brain whispers.
Yeah, he would based on how he’s already acting as far as me and Chance are concerned. I get the feeling, even though he hasn’t said it, I’m his and so is Chance. The thought isn’t as terrifying as I expected it to be, either, considering that up until he walked into my life and got a massage, I only had Amara and her family.
I pull into her driveway and grin, seeing that she and Chance are outside, blowing bubbles. As I get out of the car, Chance comes flying toward me, yelling, “Mommy! We’ve been having a good time. Auntie Amara helped me with my homework, too!”
As I settle next to her, my boy clinging to my hip as though he’s still a toddler, not an eighty-pound little boy, I nudge her shoulder and say, “Wait until I tell you what happened today!”
Memaw, whose hearing rivals that of a bat, pops out of the front door with a tray holding lemonade and some cookies. “Here y’all go. Chance, you can have some after you help me feed the hogs, okay?”
He nods and lets go of me before running up the stairs and onto the porch. “Do we have any fruit to give them today?” he asks as Memaw takes his hand and leads him inside.
I miss her response as Amara says, “Spill the tea, girlie.”
“Okay, so you know I met with an attorney this morning,” I start, then fill her in on everything he said. “Well, after lunch with Scythe, which was too short by the way, I went in because I had a new client, a woman. While I was talking to her after herappointment, one of the women from the club called me, Selah. Anyhow, she told me that the woman I had just worked on was Tim’swife!”
As I could’ve predicted, Amara loses her shit, vowing personal harm to both Tim and his wife, who was actually quite nice, if a bit shy. “We can feed them to the hogs,” she murmurs, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Chance isn’t around. “Yeah, I think they’ll eat almost anything. I’ll go to the library or something and do a search to make sure.”
“Amara, I’m not going to let you go to prison on my behalf!” I exclaim. “Let’s try the legal channels first, okay?”
She snickers then nudges me again just as I’m about to take a sip of my lemonade. “But it’s a good backup plan, don’t you think?”
Shaking my head at her antics, I say, “Selah and someone else are at my place now checking to make sure that Portia didn’t leave any bugs in the therapy room.”
Her eyes widen and she asks, “I’m presuming we’re not talking about bed bugs, are we?”
“Uh, no. The kind that people use to spy on others,” I retort. “This is almost surreal, isn’t it?”
“It is, but maybe they’ll be able to figure out the real reason he’s back, Tam. In the meantime, let’s talk about that delicious hunk of biker who’s interested in my best friend.”
“Um, he’s bringing pizza and dessert over for dinner tonight,” I admit. “And outside of holding my hand, there’s nothing else to report.”
I’m kind of disappointed. I’d like to feel his close-trimmed beard against my skin as he kisses me senseless. But he’s probablytaking things slow, so I don’t get scared away. Not that I would; he captivates me, and I honestly can’t wait to see what the future brings for the two of us.
