Chapter 35
Christian barely contained the urge to punch his hand right through the plasterboard wall of his hotel suite.
Frantically pacing from one side of the lounge area to the other in an attempt to work off some of the fury and frustration he was feeling, he stilled, let out a fierce, frustrated growl, and rubbed his hands harshly over his face before tunnelling them into his hair and fisting them tight.
The unrelieved pinpricks of pain went a little way to easing his rage, but nowhere near enough. He huffed out an audible breath then sucked it all back in again in an attempt to calm himself.
He knew he hadn”t treated Trinity with the care and respect she deserved when he”d cut their night short and dumped her outside her apartment building before tearing off. But at the time, he hadn”t been thinking straight.
His mind had been one thick blur of red rage and molten lava that was straining to erupt, and he hadn”t wanted to put Trinity in the firing line when he knew his temper was right on the tipping edge of pure fury. Better to get her out of the way and deal with those consequences later…and pray to God that she was prepared to listen.
Christian grabbed his phone and tried his lawyer yet again. Must be the fourth or fifth time tonight already. He knew it was late, but goddamn it, he was desperate! He barely avoided launching the handset and smashing it into the ground when his call went to voicemail yet again. The only thing that stopped him was the chilling knowledge that he desperately needed to contact his bloody lawyer, and he wouldn”t be able to if his phone was smashed to pieces.
Hanging his head and pausing to try to get his brain into gear, Christian struggled to think of an alternative avenue of counsel.
Hitting upon another idea, he scrolled through his contacts with renewed hope. Maybe his friend, Logan Thornton, could help. True, he wasn”t a personal lawyer but a corporate one, but he”d had to train for every eventuality before he specialised. Surely, he”d at least be able to point him in the right direction. There must be some kind of central register, some way of checking the authenticity of Bianca”s outrageous claims. Although knowing the woman as well as he did, Christian wasn”t na?ve enough to put anything past her.
Goddamn it all! His anger swelled as the memory of what she”d told him earlier this evening threatened to erupt all over again.
He”d never felt violent toward a woman in his entire life, and he wasn”t proud to admit that if the conniving bitch was in the room with him right now, he”d have a hard time not clamping his hands around her neck and squeezing until she ceased to be a thorn in his side. The vividly gruesome and rather bloodthirsty pictures running on a loop, like a film reel, in his head brought him up short.
Shit! What the hell was he thinking? He wasn”t this person. He just needed to calm the fuck down and start thinking logically.
This wasn”t the end of the world. It was just the shock and the threats that had him on edge; had his temper spiking precariously, causing him to behave like a bloody uncivilised caveman.
But, Jesus, surely, anyone would have the same kind of reaction to that kind of immoral and malevolent provocation.
Sucking in another steadying breath, he tapped the screen to call Logan with shaking fingers and rubbed a sweaty hand across his mouth. He needed to get his shit together, so he didn”t babble like a madman when Logan answered.
Christian couldn”t help the groan of relief when the call connected.
”Hey, man, are you okay?” came the disembodied voice at the other end of the line.
”Hell, no!” Christian replied honestly, forgetting even the courtesy of a greeting in his current turmoil. ”I really need some help!”
”No offence, but you sound like shit, buddy,” Logan returned seriously. ”What”s going on?”
”It”s Bianca,” Christian told his friend in a strained voice. ”She turned up at the charity gig I took Trinity to this evening.”
”Damn, they didn”t get into it, did they? Is Trinity all right? She doesn”t deserve that kind of crap from your ex. How did Bianca even know you”d be there?”
Christian shook his head at the deluge of questions. ”I don”t know, and I don”t care, right now. I have bigger issues to worry about.”
”Lay it on me then, and I”ll do what I can to help,” Logan offered with genuine generosity.
Christian finally dropped the bombshell, his voice strained, as if saying the words out loud had the ability to confirm the awful truth… Hell, they might already be true, but speaking them just brought it all into glaring reality.
”She claims we”re still married. She says the decree absolute was never filed.”