33. Chapter 32
How you make others feel about themselves, says a lot about you.
“Hey, Mia.” Hope answered her phone on the third ring as she hurried out of the bathroom. She’d woken up twenty minutes ago and Bradford had been gone. She knew he wouldn’t have left without telling her, but she still wanted eyes on him.
And you know, also her hands and mouth. Especially after what they’d shared a few hours ago in the shower.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him—and she would. But not until this mess was behind her.
Behind them .
He deserved all of her, and not when the pressure was on.
“Hey, are you okay?” Worry tinged Mia’s voice.
“Um. Yes. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I mean…I saw that video at your dad’s place. Your place, I mean. It’s all over social media with a lot of speculation but no real answers.”
Oh right, the video. She’d sent it to people she worked with, then basically fallen off the face of the earth once Bradford had gotten back bleeding.
As she sat on the bed, she pulled up her email account and winced.
She also had a handful of missed phone calls, but not many people had this number outside of her work. And they knew she was somewhere safe.
Chelsea and Kim had called. The sheriff too. Okay, so this thing was definitely making the rounds. Good .
“I’m fine. I promise,” she said as she pulled up various social media outlets and saw that oh…
the video was trending on one of them. And her name was trending on another.
Ooookay. That made sense that Mia was calling.
“I’m somewhere safe,” she added, because she wasn’t going to get into all the details.
“You’re sure? That video was terrifying. Those masked men breaking into your place… Is it… Do you think it has anything to do with my story?” she whispered.
Hope blinked. “What? No! No, no, no. I know what this is about, and while I can’t give you any details, I promise it has absolutely nothing to do with you.”
“You’re absolutely sure?”
“A hundred percent. I have no reason to lie,” she added. “Now, how are you doing?”
“No, no, we’re going to talk about this. I’m worried about you.”
Hope tried to scan through some of the comments, but gave up so she could focus on Mia. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve got people in my corner.” That knowledge had a ribbon of warmth curling through her.
She really did have people now, and they all had her back. It was a heady, surreal feeling.
“Okay, good. I’ve been so worried… Also, I think we should release the video.”
Hope held her breath for a beat, unsure she’d heard right. “The one you sent me? Of him attacking you?” she added, because she wanted to be crystal clear.
“Yes. I don’t know that I’m ready to tell my story yet, but…I want the video out there. He’ll be running for reelection in a few months, and screw him. I’ve already talked to my new boss and they support my decisions. I don’t think they care if there’s any blowback.”
“Okay. I love this, but I’m going to wait a couple days.
Is that okay?” Hope wanted to give Mia time to think it through, and she also wanted to wait until the dust settled on her own bullshit.
She didn’t want anything to distract from Mia’s story once she told it—and she didn’t want the wider public to think there was a correlation between the governor sexually harassing Mia and the men who’d broken into her home.
“Definitely okay. And thank you…for everything. You’ve been so patient with me.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“Well, I am. Because I appreciate it and you.”
“You’re welcome, then. And I’ll give you a heads-up before I post anything,” she said as the bedroom door opened.
Just like that, she could pull in a full breath without pressure on her chest. Bradford stepped in carrying a mug of what had to be coffee for her. She wanted to tell him not to strain himself, but knew how that would go over.
And she didn’t really have a leg to stand on since they’d had sex in the shower not too long ago.
“Thank you. I’ll talk to you soon,” Mia said.
Once she said her good-byes, Hope set her phone down and smiled at him. “Hey, how are you?”
He rotated his injured arm as he handed her the mug. “Barely feel it.”
She stood as she took it, gently kissed him in greeting. “Somehow I doubt that. But thank you for the coffee. So…the video has gone viral, ap parently?”
He nodded, his expression neutral as he motioned for her to sit with him on the bed.
Inhaling the rich breakfast blend, she crossed her legs as she sat, enjoying the way he casually laid his hand on her thigh. “So…what’s your expression about? Something else happen?”
Bradford shook his head. “No, but we got a lot of intel from the phone we took last night. And from the fingerprints we took.”
She nodded slowly. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re about to go do something to someone, somewhere, you don’t want to give me details on?”
He laughed in surprise, but leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. The bed depressed slightly with the movement. “Pretty much,” he murmured.
“Okay. I mean, I don’t want you to go, but at this point I don’t want any of this. And we need to finish this thing, see it through.” Because it was the only way they’d have a real shot at a life and a future together.
“I expected an argument.”
She shook her head as a yawn escaped. Yep, she needed a lot more coffee than this. “You’re skilled and prepared and smart. And I know your people have your back.”
He gave her a soft smile. “They really do. Ezra will be staying behind because Magnolia hasn’t been feeling well. So the house is covered… Have you looked at any of the comments online?”
“Not really. One of my contacts called and was worried about me. She alerted me that the thing took off.”
He nodded. “In that same vein, according to Berlin, Killeen’s wife saw the video she emailed her, but hasn’t said anything to her husband yet. But she has been moving some money around. And she and her son are still in New Orleans. ”
“That’s interesting.”
“Yep. And Killeen is pissed about that video at your place. He’s been on the phone all morning putting out fires with people worried they’re not going to get their ‘product.’ According to Hailey and Berlin he’s also trying to figure out if you’re actually writing a story on him.
He didn’t think you were before, but he’s fully lost his shit at this point.
Though that’s mostly over all his destroyed product.
He suspects a cartel with a heavy presence in Texas of making the strike against him. ” Bradford looked very smug at that.
As he should. The strikes against Killeen last night had been damaging.
“He’s got a couple meetings set up today and it doesn’t sound like he has any plans to go after you. Yet,” he added, his expression darkening. “And we’re going to stop him before he comes after you again.”
“I know you will.” She’d been taking care of herself for so long that having someone else in her corner was going to take some getting used to. “Do you have to go now?”
“Yeah.” She could hear the regret in his voice.
“I’ll be safe here, so go and don’t think about me. Just…be safe. Take care of my husband.”
He paused for a long moment. “Your husband?” he rasped out.
“That’s right.”
His jaw clenched tight, but he leaned forward and claimed her mouth in one hard kiss, before he stalked from the room.
She sat there for a long moment, trying to catch her breath, but when her phone buzzed again, she snapped it up. He was going to take care of things for her; she needed to take care of her own business. And that meant returning all the missed calls and emails.
When she saw it was Kim calling, she answered immediately. “Hey, Kim. ”
“Hey, you’re okay!” She sounded out of breath or close to tears.
“I’m fine. More than fine. I take it you saw the video?”
“Oh yeah. The whole town is buzzing about it,” she whispered. “I’m currently hiding in the cooler to call you. I think I can guess who broke into your daddy’s place, or at least who sent those guys?”
“Your guess is probably the same as mine.”
Kim sighed. “That’s what I figured.”
“What’s everyone in town saying?”
“Mostly just wondering what the hell the world is coming to. Everyone’s worried about you. I heard the sheriff say he’s sending a deputy to your place to check on you. But…I assume you’re not there?”
“No, definitely not at home.” She read the first post, saw an outraged blurb from one of her favorite colleagues lamenting that a fellow journalist wasn’t even safe in her own home.
“Well, good. If you need anything, you let me know.”
“Of course. And if you hear anything worth knowing, you better let me know.”
“Absolutely… And since we’re on that topic, an old friend of Hank’s reached out. Nestor Rivera.”
“Oh yeah, Mr. Rivera.” He was on the list of her dad’s friends she’d been planning to talk to. He’d sold his farm and moved to Florida to be closer to his kids and grandkids. “How is he?”
“Good enough, but he wants to meet up with you. He was in New Orleans with his church group for some choir thing and saw the video.”
“Jeez, really?”
“It’s at thirteen million-plus views and growing. Someone from town had to have told him about it or he just saw it himself. Anyway, he wants to meet with you and had no idea how to reach you.”
“So he contacted you? ”
Kim sniffed slightly. “Course he did.”
“You trust him?”
“More than most. About a decade ago, we had a rough couple years and he helped us out. No strings attached either. Just pitched in and told us to pay him back if we could. Eventually Andrew and I did and I never forgot that kindness. So yeah, I do trust him.”
Hope leaned back against the headboard, taking a sip of her coffee. “I actually remember him stopping by the farm occasionally to check on my mom. I think he gave her money sometimes.”
“He did,” Kim said bluntly. “And Hank thanked him for it later. I think that’s why Nestor wants to see you now. He’s worried, says he needs to talk to you.”