Chapter 15 Lynley #2
“Shut up!” The demand is a furious bark of sound. “You found out and immediately used it to your advantage. Don’t act like you’re some innocent party here.”
A pause before she lets out a low, simpering laugh.
I turn and peer through the crack of the door, finding him standing in front of the mantel, looking rumpled, with his hair tousled and suit creased.
Caroline’s back is to me, her hair is wild around her head, her hips swaying in a form-fitting black dress as she walks toward him.
“It’s not like I had to try very hard to get you into bed.” It’s a silky reminder as she touches him, reaching out to tug at his lapels. “You were quite happy to fuck me whenever and wherever I wanted. You remember Lynley’s birthday dinner?”
“I remember you hiking up your skirt and presenting yourself to me in the bathroom, like my wife and your husband weren’t just on the other side of the door,” Christopher says back, voice low.
He wraps an arm around her waist, yanking her into him, his other hand roughly cupping her ass.
“I remember you weren’t wearing underwear, sloppy and desperate for it. ”
I hurriedly edge backward, slapping a hand over my mouth as it fills with saliva, as if that’ll be able to stop the vomit threatening to come out. I suck in a deep breath, fighting the nausea, but then Christopher’s tone changes, distracting me.
“Of course, you weren’t too worried about using me, were you?
Threatening to blow up both of our lives if I didn’t keep your dirty secret.
” There’s a loud cry, and I can’t stop myself from looking again, shocked to find Caroline sprawled on the floor like he just shoved her.
“News-fucking-flash, Caroline. You weren’t worth the headache. ”
Staring up at him from her spot on the floor, she sneers. “Didn’t stop you from fucking me an hour ago, though, did it?”
“I’m goddamn stressed!” he yells. “What the hell did you expect? You came running as soon as you found out what Lynley did, and I know you weren’t offering me a shoulder to cry on.”
She gets to her feet, brushing off her dress and letting out a haughty sniff. “We both know you wouldn’t be crying anyway. You don’t love my sister. You don’t love anyone but yourself.”
For a long moment, neither of them speaks, their breathing filling the silence. I look back into the room, seeing Christopher standing there, defeated, his shoulders hunched, while Caroline stares down at her phone.
A minute passes, and then she asks, “What gave you away? Did she say?” My sister purses her lips thoughtfully. “Does she know about me?”
I do now, you bitch.
“She hasn’t said a word.” Christopher sounds bewildered. “She hasn’t spoken to me at all.”
Caroline shrugs lightly. “She’s not answering my calls, either. I wouldn’t worry. She’s probably off, crying somewhere, finally realizing that no man is ever going to truly want her. Why would they when they can have someone like me?”
Unable to stomach any more, I tuck my phone—still recording—into my pocket and casually walk into the room, slowly clapping.
“Wow.” I eye them both, letting them see every ounce of the disgust I feel. “That was some show you guys put on.”
Christopher’s head jerks up, his face falling before he sets it into something placating. “Lynnie…” He breathes. “You’re here.”
Caroline’s eyes bounce between the two of us, her expression twisted into something ugly. Once she realizes my attention is on her, she pulls her mask down, hiding behind a tight smile.
“Lynley,” she coos gently, her tone telling me she’s about to try her hand at manipulating me. “We’ve been so worried about you. You’re obviously depressed or something, but there’s no need for such drastic measures. We can get you help.” She heads toward me, arms out like she might hug me.
“Please don’t touch me,” I tell her curtly, and she draws up short. “I know where your hands have been. I’ve already been tested, and I don’t really want to go through that again.”
Her skin goes splotchy, eyes glinting with anger.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she grits out.
“We’ve been here, trying to work out where you are and what is wrong…
and how to get you the help you obviously need.
” She shakes her head, eyes sad. “You’re throwing a bomb on everyone’s lives, and it feels like you don’t even care.
Don’t you think you should be more worried about Mase and Ginny, and how your choices are going to affect them? ”
“I guess I should worry about them,” I say conversationally, “because you clearly weren’t when you were fucking their father.”
She sucks in a sharp breath, but before she can retaliate, Christopher’s shoving her out of the way. “Lynley, please. You don’t want to do this. We can’t just throw away ten years over a few mistakes.”
“Fucking my sister was a mistake?”
“Yes, of course. I…” He lets his eyes fall shut, looking tortured. “I made a mistake once, and after that, she kept threatening me.”
“Held a gun to your head, hm?” An amused smile tugs at my mouth.
He shakes his head. “She was blackmailing me.”
Not one to let anyone throw her under the bus, Caroline scoffs. “He wasn’t just fucking me.” She gives me a victorious smile. “Geoff was demoted over a year ago. Your husband has been footing the bill since, haven’t you, baby?” Christopher’s face is filled with guilt, even as he sends her a glare.
“Oh.” I tut my tongue, aiming for a sympathetic sound. “I guess losing your job is going to impact that.”
He loses what little color he has in his cheeks. “You know about that? How?”
“It just shows how much you aren’t thinking, Lynley,” Caroline asserts. “If you divorce him, how are you going to support yourself and kids? You might actually have to get a job.”
“I’m okay with that, considering it was never really my call to stay at home.” Christopher flinches, but I’m still looking at Caroline. “You might need to get a job, too, hm? Without my husband to fund your lifestyle.”
“His family will help. Won’t they, Christopher?” she asks sharply. “Once we tell them the truth about our relationship.” She presses her fingers to his arm, but he flinches and yanks it away from her.
I cock my head to the side, staring at him. “Yeah, baby. Your family will help you, won’t they?”
His lips flatten into a thin line, a shadow crossing his eyes, both of us fully aware of something that Caroline isn’t privy to.
He has no access to the family money. Not with his mother guarding it with more ferocity than a fire-breathing dragon.
If there’s one thing Francine won’t risk, it’s wealth and the status it gives her.
Christopher learned a lot from her, and he’s been trying to stash away whatever he can.
Money from his income and the remains of his trust, siphoning it into offshore accounts.
My PI, along with Grafton’s tech guy, ferreted out every little detail.
They handed over a fully itemized account to Ian in the divorce petition.
“Don’t do this, Lynley.” His voice is stern, but he can’t hide the edge of a plea in there. “Don’t destroy our lives because I made a mistake.”
“Mistake,” I repeat, furrowing my brow. “There’s that word again.
Is it just one mistake, though, when you do it over and over again?
I know you’re not going to tell me that the woman from your office fell over and her mouth just happened to land on your dick, right?
I mean…I guess that would explain how her makeup ended up next to your zipper when you showed up at the hospital for Ginny.
” He doesn’t say anything, his eyes flaring with panic.
“What about all the money you spent on hotels so you could meet your ‘friend’?” I finger-quote the word.
“Or the cameras you very intentionally installed in your office, giving us all a documented account of just how many times you made this mistake.”
“Cameras,” he says stiffly. “You know…”
I let out a bitter laugh, the anger finally leaking all the way through. “I saw everything,” I hiss, before promising, “And now, you’re gonna wish you never married me.”
I give them both one last disgusted look before turning and striding from the room.