Page 154 of Sins of the Father

“Good.”

“Sorry to end your trip short.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ethan assures me.

“I’m assuming I’ll be back in a day or so anyway,” Claire says.

“I’ll have Ted take you back to your hotel and keep him on standby for the airport. Text Jamison whenever you need to come back, and he’ll send his plane,” I instruct.

The car stops outside my building.

“Steven, I know this is hard, but don’t do anything stupid,” Ethan advises.

“Don’t take any more of his calls. And if he’s been in your condo, it might be bugged, so don’t talk about the case there, either,” Claire says.

“You think he’s recording us?” Harper cries out.

Claire raises her eyebrows. “Do you put it past him?”

“So, he would have...” Her face turns red. “Oh, jeez.”

My gut drops, and I pull her closer to me. “No. I don’t put it past him at all.” I turn to Harper. “We’re staying at a hotel or Quinn and Jamison’s until this is over. There’s no way he could have gotten into their place with their security. There’s video footage as well as personnel everywhere.”

She nods.

“Okay. Then stay there or a hotel if you prefer. Just be careful of where you discuss anything. As soon as I talk to Agent Creedie, I’ll text you a day and time. We’ll meet at Jamison’s for everything unless I feel we need to move locations,” Claire instructs.

“What if Monday comes and you haven’t gotten a hold of him yet?” I ask. “Do I go start work for the sperm donor or what?” I swallow the bile rising in my throat. Being anywhere near Maximillion makes my stomach churn. The thought of having to record a conversation and get him to admit what is needed to clear my mom’s name accelerates the spinning. I’m a horrible liar. Ever since I was a child, I never could get away with it. My face would turn red and I would stammer instead of pulling it off the way other kids could. So I learned quickly that telling the truth is the way to go.

“No. Stay away from him until we’re able to create a solid plan. Whatever you do, you can’t be around him unless you’re wired. His ego is so big, my guess is he’ll spill whatever we need him to.”

My fear I’ll fail and my mother will be locked in a cell the remainder of her life grips me. “And what if he doesn’t admit to what we want him to?”

Claire looks me in the eye and sounds confident, but I feel nothing but anxiety. “Then we’ll have to come up with a plan B.”

26

Harper

Steven tossesand turns most of the night. I can’t seem to calm his nerves or anger. When the darkness of the night becomes lighter, creeping into the morning, he rises.

I stir. “What time is it?”

“Shh. Go back to sleep. I need to work out.” He quickly kisses me and goes into the closet, coming out in shorts, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes, then leaves.

He’s going to hurt himself again.

No, he won’t.

Yes, he will.

For a good twenty minutes, I debate in my mind what to do. I finally get out of bed, throw on my robe, and go down the hall to his gym.

Music is blaring. Sweat stains his clothes and shines on his skin. The squat press machine he’s on has no more room for the thick, black plates.

“Ahhh,” he grunts while slowly moving his legs back up.

I go to the control switch and flip off the music and trot over to the machine he’s on. His wet, contorted face is red, and he locks the bar in place.

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