Chapter 4 #2
Which makes me realise I can’t treat Ace like one of the prospects who’s done something stupid.
He’s got a good brain. I’ve just got to use mine.
When we get to the compound, I’ll lay out my thoughts and reasoning as best I can.
He might only be fifteen, but I can’t simply lay down the law.
That’s not the way to treat him, not with his questioning brain.
What might win him round is critical thinking.
Let him analyse the situation as if it were a program he was decoding.
He’s quiet for the rest of the journey, which luckily is only a few minutes.
When I drive through the gates, I return the SUV to its parking place.
We both get out. I reclaim my cut and slide it on, then we walk forward side by side.
On entering the clubhouse, I’m fucking relieved when I see Pippa and Saint, plus baby Jade, holding court by the bar.
And even better, when she sees me, she disentangles herself from Saint, places Jade in his arms, and comes straight over. “Tempest said you were looking for me?”
After a brief moment of worry about whether I’m doing the right thing, then realising Ace idolises Pippa for her mad computer skills, I throw caution to the wind. “Yeah, got something for you to look at. Can we go to the tech room?”
Ace, who’d been looking downcast, brightens as I mention his happy place. While he’s so much better at social interactions than he used to be, he’s still got more affinity for machines. And being surrounded by monitors and computing equipment puts him at ease.
Pippa raises her chin, one of those masculine gestures I’ve become used to seeing from her, then leads the way into what is her, Genie’s, and often my son’s domain.
Guessing there’s a good reason why I wanted to have our conversation here, she boots up the computer she most often uses as soon as she walks in. Seating herself, she leans forward. “What can I do for you, Freak?”
Taking a deep breath, hoping I’m doing the right thing, I extract Antoinette’s birth certificate from my cut and hand it to her. “Can you check whether this is genuine?”
Ace intercepts me and sucks in air when he reads the document. “Dad, this is genuine. Her DNA wouldn’t have matched if she weren’t my relative.”
“And computers can’t be hacked?” I raise my brow.
“What have you been up to, Ace?” Pippa asks, with a half-smile on her face, as I take the certificate from Ace’s hand and place it into hers.
He looks up to her, so he doesn’t hesitate to come clean. The whole story comes out, ending with, “My aunt came to see Dad, and he won’t let me meet her.”
Pippa’s Secret Service background means she’s as cautious as I am.
“Your dad’s got a point, Ace. Any system can be hacked, as you well know.
” She pauses to wink at him. “Though I’m grasping for reasons why you should be targeted, if the DNA was faked.
” Her eyes are now firmly on me. I shake my head.
I’ve got no real justification, just a cautious gut feeling.
She studies the document, then starts clicking keys. It’s like watching a concert pianist. The way her fingers dance so quickly, I can hardly follow them. And as for the ever-changing screens, the flickering from one to the next hurts my eyes.
Ace is leaning forward, engrossed in what she’s doing. That the end result is to his benefit is evident from his spreading smile. I don’t really need Pippa to say the words, but she does anyway.
“It’s genuine, Freak. And there’s more. Antoinette Mordrake was born a twin. Her sister’s name is, or was, Josephine. Josephine was older by just seven minutes.”
“That’s my mom,” Ace interrupts, excitedly. “Josephine. That’s what my aunt said.”
“And this aunt wants to meet you?” Pippa might have asked Ace the question, but her eyes are on me.
I raise and dip my chin. “Yeah, she wants to make contact with Ace as apparently he’s her only remaining family.
” I pause, then add, “I’ve got questions about the truth of her being otherwise alone in the world, and also, wonder why she’s making contact now?
She said she only learned she was a twin shortly before her father died.
I’d like to confirm his death was recent. ”
Pippa’s eyes sharpen. “I can check. Give me a moment.” Again, her fingers fly over the keys.
And all the while I’ve got an increasingly excited son standing beside me. It takes Pippa a while. I sit first, then Ace, giving in, also takes a seat. Eventually, she does find answers.
“Antoinette and Josephine’s mother died years back from cancer.
She died in North Carolina, her dad three months ago in Flagstaff.
” She starts clicking again. “Both the mom and dad were only children, and the grandparents are deceased. So on the face of it, her story checks out.” She looks away from her monitor and up at me.
I can guess what she’s asking. “I never knew Josie had a sister. According to Antoinette, their parents’ divorce happened when they were both very young and was acrimonious.
Her dad took one girl, her mom another. Neither knew they had a sibling growing up until a deathbed confession revealed the sorry tale. ”
Pippa sighs and pushes her chair back. On wheels, it places a defining distance between her and the keypad, a sign she’s finished her delving, at least for now. “Are you worried about letting Ace meet her?”
Well fuck, that puts me on the spot. If Pippa can’t find anything wrong, all my gut feelings are null.
I’ve no rational reason to refuse aunt and nephew getting to know one another.
Other than it’s only been him and me for so long, apart from my mother.
And even to me, that sounds too damn selfish to admit out loud.
“I wanted you or Genie to check this shit out.” I shrug. “But if it all stands up, then, no…” I have to grit my teeth to finish. “I’ll withdraw my objections to them meeting.”
“Yes!” Ace raises his fist and pumps the air.
“But one more thing, Pippa? Can you look into her medical records? Especially any mental illness she might have been diagnosed with?”
“Dad,” Ace growls. “It doesn’t matter if she’s autistic like me.” He shakes his head and actually laughs. “It might be one more thing we can bond over.”
I don’t want him fucking bonding with anyone but me and his nana. But I’m sensible enough to keep that to myself.
Pippa shakes her head. “I’d need to know more. Where she lives for a start, and if she’s got a job. That information would help as it would point me to whatever insurance company she’s with.”
Ace shifts awkwardly beside me, casting me suspicious sideways glances.
I’ve made sure I’ve never shown him any inkling that I was bothered by his diagnosis, and can well understand why he’d think less of me if I were worried about Antoinette having a similar affliction.
But if she is bipolar, then giving my, and his, albeit unknown to him, history, that meeting won’t happening.
Not knowing, though, any meeting will be under my strict supervision.
Pippa shuts down the PC she’s been using. “I’m sorry, Freak, that’s all I can give you for now. I can only confirm she is who she says she is. I can understand how, with both parents gone, she’d want to connect with any blood family she can find.”
Pippa’s acceptance of the reason that Antoinette’s turned up now is the final nail in the coffin of my arguments.
It seems like aunt and nephew are going to be meeting. Whether I like it or not.