Page 62 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Good.”

“There’s someone else your connections need to look into as her stalker. A few of the vet techs that she works with have always been too close to her. A couple have known her for years. I’ve tried telling Corey, but he said he looked into all of them, and they check out.”

I nodded and pulled out my phone to send the tip to my private investigator and the FBI agent. Even if Corey had already cleared them, he could have missed something.

“Is there anything else I need to know?”

“A couple of men she dated before she had Trinity was less than amazing. When she was with one of them, I had gone to pick her up from his house more than once in the middle of the night. She always went back to him and never wanted to file a report, though.”

“She kept going back to this guy?”

“Yeah. He had some addiction problems, and as much as she wanted to continue traveling, she felt like he needed her, no matter how horrible he was to her. The last time I picked her up, I told her that the choice was between me or him.”

“You probably saved her life.”

“I’d really rather not think about that.” He sighed. “There’s more.”

He launched into a story about this boyfriend and a few others, mentioning things Haley had never told me. I wanted to be mad at her, but I was sure she had pushed those memories so far from her mind that she never considered them again.

After a few more minutes, he left, and I was left wondering why none of this information was getting us anywhere. Bret was open with everything he knew, but no advances had been made.

Once Bret was gone, I considered heading back into the laundromat to finish work, but my stomach was tossing and turning. I needed to see Haley and Trinity.

Even though my security team was following them, I was worried. Despite Haley thinking it was safe enough to continue going about her normal life, I had a lingering feeling that everything was about to implode.

With that in mind, I said goodbye to Roy before heading to Haley’s house. Even if they weren’t home, I wanted to be there and waiting for them.

25

HALEY

Reportersswarmedmyfrontporch as I closed the curtains. I had gotten off work early and pulled Trinity out of preschool to spend some time with her before our lives changed forever. I was done keeping any distance between Tyson and us. We were going to live together and be a happy family.

At least, I hoped that we would be.

Still, I wanted one last day where it was just Trinity and me. I wanted to pretend that this was before Tyson and the stalker had shown up and changed everything.

I should have known better.

I had seen the paparazzi and the reporters lingering around town. I knew that they would be looking for me and Trinity, wanting to dig up the best story on Tyson’s secret family, but I thought that he was handling it.

Things take time,I reminded myself as I peeked out of the curtains and saw Tyson storming up the driveway as the police came screeching down the road.

It took Tyson a moment to fight his way through the crowd before he knocked on the door. I sighed and went to the front door to let him in.

“What the hell is happening?” I asked as soon as the door shut behind him. “I thought you were handling this, but instead, there’s more of them out there than ever.”

“News broke about the secret family. They’re tying stories in with the embezzlement case and saying that Crestwood Capital is filled with secrets. It’s absolute bullshit, and Camille is working to handle it.”

I took a deep breath, trying to still my shaking hands as I ran them through my hair. “How am I supposed to do this, Ty? How? I love you, but I don’t know if being hounded by people with cameras is worth it.”

“Hales, this wasn’t supposed to happen. I drove back here to keep my destination a secret. I didn’t think this would blow this much out of proportion.”

My heart was hammering in my chest as I shook my head. “What happens every time you go back to New York? Does it remind everybody that you have a secret family hidden away in your hometown? Will it send paparazzi flying back here to see what pictures they can get?”

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. I could hear the beating of his heart, and it was nearly as rapid as my own.

“You’re here, and Trinity is here. That means that my home is here. I know there’s no way to keep the paparazzi out of town, but if you think me staying away from both of you is safer for everyone, I’ll do it.”

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