Page 40 of Mistaken Identity
Creole nodded, then started in on her story.
“So we’re going to start with the whole story of Laney, Audric, and me. Okay?”
Webber waited, holding true to his word not to interrupt.
“Do you know why Laney and Audric married in the first place?” she asked.
Webber stayed silent.
Creole’s lips twitched. “I knew I liked you.”
That got a smile from Webber.
“Okay, maybe you’ll have to talk.” She snickered. “Do you know that Audric’s mom tried to kill herself?”
Webber’s eyes came to me. “Yes.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “So you know that they had a shit ton of medical bills?’
“Yes,” Webber continued.
“Laney, to get her inheritance early, had to be married. She chose to marry Audric, though she would’ve been fine with me, too. She married Audric, she got her inheritance, and she paid off all of Audric’s medical bills. The only thing was, Laney was one hundred percent in love with Audric, and Audric didn’t feel the same.”
“That I didn’t know.” Webber glanced at me.
I nodded, agreeing that it was true.
“She felt that way, and I never did. I’d known for a long time, but she was my best friend, so I never made a big deal of it,” I explained. “When she asked me to marry her, I agreed. The medical bills were drowning me and Dad, and Laney’s inheritance was so much that I knew it wouldn’t even put a dent in it for her.”
“They were only supposed to stay married for a few years,” Creole explained, “but Audric is too nice of a person, and let Laney continue to put it off. She managed to procrastinate for three years. I think that she knew that her time was coming to an end, though. Audric had never intended to let it go on that long. And I was really putting the heat on her from my end, because she was keeping him from his life. Then one day, she had this bright idea to get pregnant.”
Webber’s eyes came to me.
“Lottie’s not mine,” I admitted.
“Fuck,” Webber murmured.
“Even worse, she got pregnant by one of the club members.” Creole winced. “She told me it was Cakes.”
Webber’s mouth dropped.
“Holy fuck.” He shook his head. “This is why you were acting so weird around him at my wedding. You kept looking at him like he was a car wreck you couldn’t stop looking at.”
Creole scrunched up her nose sheepishly. “We think she’s Cakes’s baby, yes.”
“But you’re not sure,” Webber guessed. “And you want me to help you figure out if she’s really his?”
“I took his bottle while we were in Hawaii. I sent his DNA, along with Lottie’s, off to the lab in Dallas. But it’s been two weeks, and I’ve not heard anything back yet. And now Lottie’s sick, and she’s going to need surgery, and I think he really needs to know. But I don’t want to tell him unless I’m sure. This is really big.”
“Agreed,” he said. “Can I link Apollo in on this? I can get the information tonight.”
“Sure,” I agreed instantly, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from my chest.
Webber started to pick up the phone, but Apollo walked in at that moment and plopped a piece of paper down on the desk next to Webber’s hip. “Cakes is not the father!”
I looked at Apollo. “You knew?”
“I hope you all know that there’s nothing that goes on in this club that I don’t know about.” He leveled a look at Webber that had me wondering what else he knew and didn’t share. “But that’s neither here nor there. Cakes is not the father. However, you’re never going to believe this!” he cried out.
