Chapter 11
Miles blinked his eyes open.
This was not his bed. Or his bedroom.
Liberty’s body was sprawled out next to him with her hair pooled over his chest. It was still dark, so maybe it wasn’t morning yet. He reached for his phone.
Fuck. It was five.
“Liberty,” he whispered, shaking her shoulder. “We fucked up.”
“What?” She brushed her hair from her face and blinked. “Oh, no. What are you still doing here?”
“No time to get into that discussion. Just go see if Gabriel is awake. If he’s not, I’ll sneak out as fast as I can.” He jumped from the bed and hiked up his jeans. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” She fumbled out of bed and snagged her robe.
“Hey. You fell asleep too.”
“Maybe. But you were the one… never mind. I’ll be right back.” She ducked out of the bedroom.
Miles couldn’t remember a time when he slept past four. It was like he had a fucking internal clock and his eyes automatically opened at that time. He would always try to sleep at least one more hour and sometimes he’d be able to doze off here and there. But not always.
Last night, he’d slept like a fucking baby.
Never happened when he shared a bed with a lady.
He liked his space and inevitably, a woman always invaded it, reminding him he wasn’t alone. And Liberty was right. He always had one foot out the door long before anything got too complicated. He wouldn’t dare call Liberty a complication. Far from it. If anything, her presence helped him make sense of his life. As if all the pieces of a puzzle fell into place. Only, last night, when his emotions got the better of him, he got scared.
More frightened than he’d ever been, even when he’d been with Trixi and that relationship had freaked him the fuck out.
Liberty tiptoed back into her room. “He’s not up yet. Now go.” She gave him a good shove.
“Okey dokey. But not before this.” He cupped her face and planted a wet one on her lips.
“Stop that.” She pushed him away.
He cocked his head.
“Not because I don’t like it.” She pointed toward the door with a sleepy smile.
“Fair enough.” Miles tossed his shirt over his shoulder and snagged his boots. He raced out of the bedroom and through the front door, skidding to a stop at the top of the steps. All the air in his lungs flew out like a jet taking flight. What started out as a semi-fantastic morning turned to shit at the sight of Charlie and his fucking stupid Porsche.
Miles dropped his boots to the wood floor and leaned against the railing while he watched Charlie slip from the driver’s seat. A million and one things floated through his mind, including punching the asshole in the nose.
But his mother hated it when it was his fist that went flying first.
For now, he’d see what this jerk-off had to say before reaching for the phone and letting the family full of cops and lawyers deal with the situation. Hopefully, Gabriel and Liberty would stay tucked inside.
“Isn’t this an interesting surprise,” Charlie said.
“The sun isn’t even up yet. Not to mention you’re not supposed to anywhere near Liberty.” Miles raked his fingers through his hair. The way his blood boiled, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his cool. Time to call in the cavalry, only when he went to pull his cell from his back pocket, it wasn’t there.
Fuck. He’d left it in the bedroom.
“I’m not here to see her.” Charlie inched closer. “I came for Gabriel.”
“That’s not happening either. Kindly leave.”
“Sorry. The only person who’s going to tell me to take a hike is Gabriel. Not some stupid-ass grease money Liberty’s made her pet project.” Charlie laughed. “So typical of that woman.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Before we got together and when she was in her rebellious stage, she always went for your kind. Guys with long hair, tattoos, and no direction in life. When I first started courting her, she was dating this guy who ran fishing charters.” He shrugged. “He wasn’t a bad guy, just didn’t have any ambition.” Charlie tapped his temple. “Not too bright either. Lucky for her, I took her away from having to struggle paycheck to paycheck.” He waved his hand out in front of him and sighed. “Only, now she’s back at it again and slumming it with the likes of you. It won’t last. She’ll get bored and come home where she belongs.”
A switch went off in Miles’ brain. The same one that landed him in the back of Nathan’s patrol car when Trixi’s father and brother got in his face.
He took the steps two at time with his fists clutched at his sides. His shirt flew off his shoulder and landed on the grass.
“Miles,” Liberty yelled, yanking his mind—and body—out of the insanity that would surely land him in his mother’s jail cell.
He stopped dead in his tracks, six inches from Charlie’s face. “If she hadn’t come out, you’d be face down in the pavement,” Miles whispered. He took a step back, shaking out his hands, but no fucking way would he turn his back to this asshole.
“You forgot your cell,” Liberty said with a shaky voice. “Charlie, if you don’t leave, I will call the police. Don’t make me do that. Gabriel doesn’t need the drama.”
Charlie raised his hands, showing his palms. “I didn’t come to see you. I’m here because Gabriel asked me to meet him for breakfast.” Charlie looked Miles up and down. “Although, I’m not sure Gabriel would appreciate this idiot sneaking out of your bedroom, like the lowlife he is. Gabriel doesn’t like secrets or surprises.” Charlie lowered his chin. “And this one is beneath even you.”
“How dare you.” Liberty leaped off the porch.
Miles curled his arms around her waist, stopping her from lunging at Charlie. She’d been the voice of reason with him five minutes ago, now it was his turn.
“Don’t you lecture me on my brother.” She tried to shove Miles out of the way. “And seriously? Gabriel isn’t even up yet. I don’t know what you think you’re accomplishing by showing up here this early. I doubt he’d contact you. And do you know why? Because I told him the truth. Every last ugly bit of it and honestly, it felt fucking good to finally be honest with my brother. For him to know what a prick you are.”
The sound of the front door screeching across the floorboards caught Miles’ attention. He turned his head. Shit.
“Me? Are you kidding. You’re a liar. I can’t believe you’d do that to your brother,” Charlie said with a shitty grin. He knew Gabriel was standing there and he played into it.
Gabriel stepped outside with tears in his eyes. How much he’d heard, Miles had no idea, but Charlie certainly wanted his side to be the one Gabriel believed.
“The only mistake I made was not telling Gabriel the truth sooner,” Liberty said.
“Liberty.” Miles took her by the shoulders. “Gabriel is standing on the porch.”
She spun on her heel. “Shit.”
Gabriel hugged himself and rocked back and forth, mumbling a few choice words.
“I’m so sorry you had to hear that.” Liberty raced to her brother.
“Me too, especially all the lies your sister just tossed around about me. I can’t believe you, Liberty. I don’t know what you told Gabriel, but lying to make me out to be the bad guy instead of taking responsibility because you’re mad at me for some ridiculous reason isn’t right.” Charlie inched closer. “Gabriel, I’m sorry she’s putting you in the middle of all this.”
“You shut the fuck up.” Miles stepped in front of Charlie. “One phone call and you’ll be in cuffs in four minutes. Up to you.”
“I. Want. The. Fighting. To stop,” Gabriel yelled.
“I’m going to speak to him and you’re not going to stop me.” Charlie glared, taking one small step to the side. “Hey, Gabriel. Why don’t you come down here and we go for a drive.”
“No!” Gabriel stomped his foot. “I asked you to wait until I texted, but you showed up early. I don’t like that. I only wanted to ask you a couple of questions, but now I don’t need to. I know the answers.” He raced down the steps in his pajamas and barefoot and ran toward Miles’ house. He punched his finger against the garage code until the motor roared to life.
“What the fuck is he doing?” Charlie narrowed his stare.
“None of your business.” Miles swallowed as he watched the garage door go back down with Gabriel safely tucked away inside. “In three seconds I’m calling the cops.”
“You mean your family,” Charlie mumbled. “Liberty, this isn’t over. I don’t know what kind of bullshit you’re feeding Gabriel, but it’s got to stop. It’s not good for him and it’s not doing you any favors.” Charlie climbed behind the steering wheel and backed out of the driveway.
“Well, that was a shitshow.” Miles smiled and waved to one of the neighbors who had stepped outside with the ruse of drinking their morning coffee. Two others were pretending to look for the newspaper. One even opened the mailbox, which was almost laughable. He let out a long breath and strolled across the lawn. “What do you want to do about Gabriel?”
“I need to go talk with him. Alone.” She leaned against the railing. “I seriously thought you were going to deck Charlie.”
“If you hadn’t called out my name, I would have.” He kissed her cheek.
“Why?”
“I didn’t like how he talked about you.”
“If you’re referring to him all but calling me a slut, that’s stupid and not worth getting into a fistfight over.”
Miles rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe, but let’s not forget I had to step between you and him too.”
“I wouldn’t hit him. I wouldn’t have even gotten in his face. But I did want to see his reaction to me responding differently.”
“I don’t know. I stepped in front of you when you were only five feet away.”
“Yeah,” she said. “And by that time your back was to him and he was grinning like the devil.” She wrapped her arms around her middle and shivered. “Right about then, I would have halted in my tracks. He was baiting me. He wanted me to come at him. He wanted to have to put his hands on me all in the name of calming me down. I wasn’t going to fall for it. But you let him get in your head. That wasn’t about me or defending my honor. That was Charlie hitting the right nerve.” She lowered her chin. “He had to have been checking into your past to learn that would have set you off. But how did he know you were here?”
“Gabriel?” Miles cocked a brow.
“It’s possible, but the only way for me to find out is to have a conversation with him. Mind opening up your garage for me?”
“I’ll make us some coffee while you two chat.” He pressed his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward his house. He punched the code on the keypad and waited patiently while the door lifted.
But Gabriel wasn’t in the garage.
“The door to the house is open. He must be inside.” Miles took her by the hand and stepped into the kitchen. “Gabriel, where are you?” Miles’ heart dropped to his stomach like a brick when he saw the back sliders were open.
Liberty raced through the open doors. “Gabriel!” She stood on the back deck and did a three-sixty. “He’s not out here.”
Miles tapped his cell. “Dammit. He turned his tracking off.”
“You’re tracking my little brother?” She glared. “He barely agreed to let me do that.”
“He said I could and for the record, he can track me too.” Miles let out a long breath as he pulled up his mother’s contact information. He put his phone on speaker. It rang once.
“Hey, Miles. This is early, even for you. What’s up?”
“Charlie showed up Liberty’s this morning. He left, but Gabriel took off out my back door. On foot. In his pajamas. He couldn’t have gone far, but with Charlie around, it’s got me worried. I’m getting in my truck now to go look, but I wouldn’t mind all hands on deck.”
“Sending a text to Nathan, Emmett, and Chris right now. I’ll be out the door in five. We’ll find him,” his mom said.
“Thanks.” He tapped the red button.
“I’ve got to go put some clothes on.” Liberty raced past him in a flash.
“I’ll meet you by my truck.” He closed the back door and snagged his keys. His boots and shirt were outside.
What a fucking nightmare.
He tried calling Gabriel, but it went straight to voicemail.
Shit.
The poor man. His entire world had been turned upside down and Miles was partly responsible for that.
Something he couldn’t deny.
For all he knew, Gabriel had known he’d spent the night and it had upset him to the point he reached out to Charlie. If anything happened to Gabriel, Miles would never forgive himself.
Liberty slipped from the passenger seat of Miles’ truck. Tears stung her eyes. It had been hours since her brother had gone missing and there was absolutely no sign of him anywhere. He hadn’t shown up at any of Miles’ brothers’ homes.
Or at the auto shop.
Or the park.
Or the diner.
No one had seen him.
And Miles’ mother didn’t think it was a good idea for her to go to Charlie’s house or his place of business and ask him where the fuck her little brother was. Rebecca believed that was a police matter.
Miles agreed.
Liberty wasn’t sure if she was on that same page. There was a small part of her that couldn’t believe Charlie would do a single thing to hurt Gabriel. Only, Charlie had proven time after time that he was a manipulative son of a bitch who would do anything to get what he wanted.
And for whatever reason, he wanted her.
But she couldn’t understand why and pitting Gabriel against her wasn’t the way to do it. Not anymore.
“Maybe he came home.” Miles wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
She shrugged it off. “I’ve tried texting and calling. He’s not answering. He hasn’t done that in a long time.” She jogged up the steps of her porch and unlocked her front door. “Gabriel? Are you in here?” She searched every inch of her house, but there was no sign of her brother.
He wasn’t even in his room playing video games, which often calmed his nerves. She ran her fingers over her brother’s unmade bed. Gabriel was a creature of habit. He liked things to be neat and orderly. He never left his room without pulling his comforter over the mattress. She tugged it toward the pillows and something fell to the floor.
His phone.
She reached over and picked it up. That cell was his lifeline. He liked to have it with him at all times. Mostly because he liked to text her about everything he learned at the shop. Sometimes he texted her fifteen or twenty times a day. It warmed her heart.
But then there was Charlie. Cutting her brother off from him had been difficult, but necessary.
She barreled down the stairs, wondering where the hell Miles had gone since he hadn’t followed her inside.
She opened the front door and slumped into one of the chairs.
Miles emerged from his garage. “He’s not at my place.” He held his cell in his hands, tapping away on his screen. “My mom and Nathan should be at Charlie’s house and Emmett and Chris texted that they just pulled into his place of business. We should know more about that within the half hour.”
“I found Gabriel’s phone. He didn’t take it with him.” She set the cell on the table. “It’s locked and I don’t know the passcode.”
Miles lifted it and ran his finger over the top. “I can see all our calls and texts, but there are some here from a number I don’t recognize.” He held it up. “Is this Charlie?”
She glanced at it. “Yeah. That’s him.”
“We’ll need to give this to my mom,” Miles said. “I doubt she’ll be able to legally hack into it, but she might let Rhett give it a whirl unofficially, and then maybe we can read the communication.”
“We’ve only lived here for two and a half months. He doesn’t know his way around that well. Only through town and maybe to Emmerson’s place.” She hugged her knees. “I should have never told him the truth.”
Miles sat down next to her and took her hand.
“Don’t touch me.” She jerked it away.
He raised his hands. “I’m only trying to help.”
“If you had left last night, none of this would have happened.” She dropped her head to her knees and groaned. Deep down she didn’t mean those words, but she needed to blame someone and Miles was right there. Only he didn’t really deserve it. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean that.”
“No. It’s okay. I’m sure me strolling outside half-naked didn’t help matters and I did lose my shit when your ex-husband called me a grease monkey, stupid, and your pet project all in one breath.”
“He’s an asshole and none of those things are true, except maybe one, but I don’t see how that’s an insult. You’re the best at what you do and there’s nothing wrong with your profession. Charlie doesn’t know shit about cars. Hell, he can’t even change a fucking tire.” She dropped her feet to the floor. “Gabriel knew my old phone number by heart. And he is good with numbers, so I feel confident he knows this one. But if he’s frightened, people won’t know how to respond to him.”
“He couldn’t have gotten far on foot,” Miles said. “Half the town is looking for him. We will find him.”
“What the hell did he want to ask Charlie anyway and what did he mean when he said he had the answers now?”
“I don’t pretend to know Gabriel better than you, but if I had to guess, he wanted to catch Charlie in a lie. He wanted to take what you told him and try to see how Charlie would spin it. Gabriel has always been on your side and I think perhaps he saw through his shit.”
“Gabriel has never been on my side. Not when it came to me losing the baby. That one he has always blamed on me. And I let him.” She swiped at her cheeks and stood. “I can’t sit here and do nothing. I need to go back out there and look for him.”
“We’re going to wait right here until after someone in my family has questioned Charlie. If that turns up nothing, then we can talk about going back out, but we should consider being here in case he comes home. I’d hate for him to return and no one be here.”
“We could take turns.”
“My only worry about that would be if Charlie showed up and leaving you alone to deal with him. I wouldn’t want that for you.”
She opened her mouth but it was cut short by a ringtone.
“It’s my mom.” Miles tapped the screen. “Hey, Mom. What happened at Charlie’s place?”
“He says he didn’t know anything about Gabriel being missing and that he was on the way to a listing. Not much else I can do without probable cause, which I don’t have, but I’m working on it and we’ll keep an eye on him. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks, Ma. I appreciate it.” Miles scooted his chair closer. “I know it feels like we’re not doing anything by sitting here and waiting. But if Gabriel does come home, I think you should be here when he does and I don’t feel right about leaving you.”
Tentatively, she reached her hand out and palmed his unshaven cheek. She wanted to lean on him for support. God knew she needed someone right now. Charlie had never really been there for her, even when things between them had been decent. He only cared about himself and how he looked.
“I need to tell you something, but I’m afraid it will piss you off.” He kissed the inside of her palm.
She cocked her head. “Whatever it is, better to lay it on me than beat around the bush or lie to me.”
“I would never do the latter,” he said. “My brother Rhett is on his way over. I was supposed to meet with him this morning about something he found regarding Charlie.”
“What did he find? Is it bad and why was he digging?”
“I asked him to and I can’t imagine it’s good,” Miles said. “He wanted to meet with me alone, but under the circumstances, I’ve told him that whatever he has, you need to know.”
“Thank you for not keeping it from me.” She stared out across the street. A few neighbors strolled by with their flyers in their hands, holding them, nodding. No words were spoken, nor were they needed. The fact that everyone on her street kept wandering the town in search of Gabriel made all the difference in the world.
But it didn’t change the fact that it was approaching ten in the morning and her brother was still missing.
“But why would you dig into Charlie’s background?” she asked.
“I don’t trust him and there are a couple of things that don’t add up in my mixed-up brain.”
“I’m going to make you start paying me a dollar every time you put yourself down.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “There’s nothing wrong with the way your mind works. Only with how it processes words on the page.”
He blinked. “Trust me. There’s a lot wrong with how I handle information, but that’s not the point. I’ve heard you say you don’t understand why Charlie wants you back after everything you’ve been through. Him cheating. The baby. Even the differences in financial situations. It got me thinking that there’s always a reason for this shit and it’s often never what it appears to be on the surface.” He lowered his chin. “Like him telling everyone he loves you and Gabriel because we both know that’s bullshit.”
“You got that right, but if I wasn’t so interested in what your brother dug up, I’d be pissed.”
A very large, fancy dark SUV rolled to a stop in front of her house. Rhett, with his man bun, eased from the driver’s seat. He and Miles looked a lot alike. If Miles let his hair grow, they’d look like twins. Rhett tucked a folder under his arm and strolled across the front lawn. “Any news?”
“Not yet.” Miles stood and gave his brother a manly hug.
“I’m so sorry, Liberty.” Rhett leaned over and kissed her cheek. “We’ve got everyone combing the streets. Some friends of mine are walking the campsites and local parks, even out by where I live. We’re not going to leave any stone unturned.”
“I appreciate that.” She did her best to compose herself. “Miles tells me you have some kind of dirt on my ex-husband.”
“Dirt is one way of describing it and something tells me you’re not going to like any of it.” Rhett pulled up a chair and set the folder on the table, flipping it open. “I learned a lot about Charlie, but three disturbing facts stick out. The first one is his grandparents placed a contingency on his trust and his inheritance. As in he doesn’t get it unless he’s married. There’s also a timeline on having an heir and that caps out at forty.” He handed her a couple sheets of paper. She glanced at one before waving it at Miles.
Miles took it but didn’t even glance at it. He tucked it back in the folder, keeping his gaze focused on his brother.
“He’ll be forty next year,” she whispered. “Is something like that even legal?”
“It’s called conditional gifting and rich people do it all the time,” Miles said. “Trixi’s father has threatened her with that her entire life. When we were dating, he cut her off completely and told her if she stayed with me, she’d be cut out of the will. But even now, she has to do certain things to get her money when that crazy bastard dies. One of them is never marry a grease monkey like me. Not even if he’s rich.”
Liberty smacked her head. “What the hell is wrong with being a mechanic? It’s an honest profession and everyone needs a good one. Jesus, I don’t even know where that dip thingy is to check my oil.”
“I’ll show you that, and other things, because everyone should have basic knowledge.” Miles took her hand. “So, what you’re telling us is that within this next year, Charlie not only needs to be married, but he has to be expecting a child in order for his grandparents to give him money?”
“His grandfather died six years ago,” Liberty said. “And his grammy has been sick these last few months. She’s not expected to live much longer.”
“Were you close to either of them?”
“They were always kind to me. Nicer than anyone else. Even though they had the same expectations of me when it came to fitting in. And they enjoyed Gabriel’s company to the point they sought him out, not the other way around.” Liberty sighed. “Charlie’s grandparents were friendly with my parents. My folks were closer to them than they were Charlie’s parents. Though they all had business dealings together. My dad always enjoyed working with Old Man Livingston. Sometimes, when my dad and I weren’t fighting, he’d talk about how fun it was to work with him, but he didn’t trust Oswald. Once Gabriel was diagnosed, my dad worked even more and he stopped talking to me about it less.”
“That brings me to the second disturbing fact.” Rhett pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her.
“What am I looking at?” She stared at the document.
The names on the page tormented her soul.
Harvey and Robin Blue.
“What do my parents have to do with any of this?” Her fingers trembled as images of her childhood flashed in front of her eyes. When she’d been a little girl, she’d been the apple of her father’s eye. Every night, he’d tuck her in with a special Daddy story. He’d done the same for Gabriel, where her mother was more interested in the ladies who lunch and all the gossip. She would dress her children as if they were trophies, only bringing them out on special occasions.
Until Gabriel had been diagnosed.
That’s when her father began drinking at night and her mom continued on as if nothing had changed.
“I didn’t think too much about the business connection between the Livingstons and your parents,” Rhett said. “However, the second Gabriel went missing this morning, something tickled my brain and I went back to the paperwork.”
“My father was in real estate for many years, among other things. Merging his company with Livingston’s was a no-brainer. It made them the biggest, most successful company in all of Florida, but he completely sold it to Charlie’s father when he disappeared, freeing him up to do whatever he wanted.”
“That’s actually not true.” Rhett tapped his finger on the document. “As I went down a very strange rabbit hole, I found something odd. One is that your father is still very much a part of that company. As a matter of fact, he owns seventy percent, where the Livingstons only own thirty and he’s opened offices up in South and North Carolina.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Liberty drew the paper closer, trying to make sense of the information. “How is that possible? Why would they let people think they walked… assholes. They did it because they wanted a clean slate, away from their disabled child.”
“I’m still combing through all the paperwork,” Rhett said. “But it appears that the Livingstons were facing financial ruin before your father stepped in.”
“It was Charlie’s dad who helped me get a job when my parents left. He was part owner in that restaurant,” she muttered. “I can’t believe they were struggling. They’ve never wanted for anything.”
“Charlie’s grandparents have money. But Oswald does not. And what little he earns from Livingston Development, he’s mismanaged. So has Charlie,” Rhett said. “One more thing you should know about your parents before I continue with some other information is that they divorced three years ago.” Rhett arched a brow.
“No way. My mother would never agree to that. My recollection of their fights is that she signed a prenup and would get next to nothing,” Liberty said softly. “Unless my dad cheated.”
“I haven’t dug into that situation, but I will.” Rhett waved his hand over the folder. “Back to all of this, because I couldn’t leave well enough alone.” Rhett leaned back. “Your father, up until you divorced Charlie, has been sending your ex-husband a nice big fat check.”
“Why the fuck would he do that?” She blinked.
“I don’t know for sure,” Rhett said.
“But I could take a wild guess,” Miles mumbled. “Do you have the contracts for the business merger? And how it’s amortized for new offices through all the business partners? And is Charlie a full partner or an employee?”
“I need you to slow down.” She squeezed Miles’ leg. “I’m not following what any of this could mean and I’m staring at a piece of paper that should explain it, but I don’t understand it. How can you follow any of it and you haven’t even looked at it?”
“I don’t know anything.” Miles snatched it from her fingers and placed it in the folder. “I’m just asking my brother the questions as they fill my brain based on the information he’s given me.”
Rhett sighed, shaking his head. “Normally, I’d say my little brother is being humble, but in reality, he’s just being a dumb fuck.”
“I resent that,” Miles said.
“Really? Good. Because we get tired of you thinking and believing you’re as stupid as a rock, when you process verbal information faster than a speeding bullet. Even I can’t do that, and I have the IQ of a fucking damn genius.”
“Not the time or place for this.” Miles glared. “Answer my questions about the contracts and shit.”
“I’ve got them, but all I’ve been able to do is skim them. Shelby is reading them as we speak.”
Liberty shifted her gaze from Rhett to Miles. “I want to know what you’re thinking and I want to know now.”
“It’s a whole lot of conjecture based in little fact.” Miles pointed toward his brother. “He’s read the paperwork and his wife?—”
“Cut the bullshit,” Liberty said. “You have a sixth sense about this shit just like you do cars.”
“Damn, I knew I liked this chick, but now I think I’m kind of a little in love with her,” Rhett said with a chuckle. “Go on, tell her.”
Miles pinched the bridge of his nose. “There are a few problems with my theory. The first one is if Harvey wanted his children to be taken care of financially, why didn’t the money start rolling in to help her before she got married. Especially if this was all a setup before they left Palm Beach.”
“I’m going to fucking kill the lot of them.” Liberty bolted to her feet, knocking over the table. She paced in front of the steps. “Are you trying to tell me that my parents bribed Charlie and his family into…” She let the words trail off as she stared at Miles.
“What is it?” He raced to her side, wrapping his loving, kind, warm arms around her trembling body.
“What was the exact amount of those deposits?” She held Miles’ stare.
“Rhett?” Miles glanced over his shoulder.
“Fifty thousand a month,” Rhett said.
“That dirty rat,” she mumbled, covering her face. “And my father, why couldn’t he just tell me?”
“Okay, I’m not following.”
She swiped at her cheeks. “When my folks left, my dad did leave me with some money to start. I took it. I’m not a fool. But a couple of months later, fifty grand mysteriously appeared in my bank account. Charlie was already sniffing around and I told him about it and the idiot that I was, let him look into it for me. He told me it was a mistake. That the bank accidentally deposited someone else’s money into my account. He gave me something to sign.” She covered her eyes.
“Hey. You were young. Your parents had just abandoned you with a ten-year-old boy to take care of. Charlie was a family friend and you did what any of us would have done. You trusted him.” Miles kissed her temple.
“You know what that means, though, right, little brother?” Rhett asked with an arched brow.
“Yeah. That there’s an account somewhere with the name Liberty Livingston on it that her father’s been depositing money in that he thinks is going to his son and daughter.” Miles took her by the shoulders. “I need to call your father. You don’t have to be present if you don’t want to, but we need answers that only he can give and while it might not help us find Gabriel right now, it’s going to help us nail that fucking ex-husband of yours to the wall.”
“You’re not going to call him.” Liberty squared her shoulders. “I am.”