Chapter 10 Damsel in Distress
Damsel in distress
Tinker zoomed in on the floor plan of the venue he was assessing.
A local businessman was holding a party for his daughter’s sixteenth birthday and had hired Leonidas to provide the security.
Paige had tasked him as lead. On one hand, he appreciated the vote of confidence.
On the other, it was a fucking birthday party.
The party was in six weeks, and he had plenty of time to coordinate the security plan, but there he was on a fucking Saturday afternoon trying to distract himself.
Working on a custom build in his shop hadn’t gone so well—he’d laid a shitty weld twice.
He’d finally given up and come to the office hoping mundane office work would distract him.
Something smacked him on the shoulder. He flinched and turned as Angie continued to smack him on the shoulder.
“What the fuck, Ange?”
“You—” Smack. “Didn’t—” Smack. “Call—” Smack. “Her—” Smack. Smack. Smack.
He rolled his chair out of striking range. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Abby. You never called her after your date. You fucking ghosted her.”
He caught the sticky notepad she threw at him. “How the hell do you know that?”
“Because her number isn’t in your call logs.”
“You hacked my phone?”
She braced her hands on her hips. “I pull call logs every month.”
“Do Paige and Graham know?”
“Uh. Yeah. I give them to Paige.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. She asked me to pull them, I pull them. Not the point! Why the hell did you ghost Abby?”
Tink rolled back to his desk. “Not really any of your business, Ange.”
“Bullshit. She’s nice, Tink. And pretty. And smart.”
“And a single mom.”
“So?”
“So, I don’t get involved with single moms.”
“Wow.” She dropped her hands from her hips. “You are the last person I expected to hear such a judgmental and misogynistic comment from. Turner? Sure. Jayne? Maybe. You?” She shook her head. “I’m really disappointed in you, Christian.”
She turned and walked away. Unfortunately, she didn’t take the shit ton of guilt she’d dumped on him with her.
Trying to focus on the security plan was useless—he couldn’t concentrate for shit. He kept picturing Abby’s face the last time he’d seen her, but now Angie added a voiceover in his head saying I’m so disappointed in you.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like kids. He’d seen the heartbreak on too many little faces when they’d realized an adult they’d trusted had betrayed them. Too many little hearts hardened too soon.
As much as the disappointment from Angie and Abby stung, seeing that look on the face of a little kid would destroy him. He never wanted to be in another position where he let someone down and ruined their life.
It was useless. He flung the pen he was holding onto his desk and leaned back. The security plan could wait till Monday. Going home was useless, and he had no interest in going for a ride. He’d go down to the gym and blow off some steam.
His phone rang and Abby’s name appeared on the screen.
“Angela,” he hollered. “Is this you?”
“Is what me?”
“Are you calling me pretending to be Abby?”
“Why would I do that?” Her voice was getting closer.
“Because you’re a busybody.”
“But I’m not a sadist,” she said as she rounded the corner of his cubicle.
She didn’t say she couldn’t do something like that. He answered the call. “Abby?”
“Oh. Hi. I was getting ready to hang up.”
He motioned for Angie to go away. She crossed her arms and gave him her most mulish look.
He rolled his eyes. “Hi. I’m sorry I haven’t called, it’s been busy at work.”
It was a lame excuse, and he knew it. So did Angie, judging by the look on her face.
“Sure. Of course.” Abby didn’t sound like she believed him either. “I’m calling to see if you have Katherine’s number.”
“Katherine McComb?” he asked.
“I don’t know her last name. Lindsey introduced us at the party. She said Katherine is on the board of VACA. I need to ask her for advice. Lindsey’s out of town and not answering her phone, and Naomi doesn’t know her.”
Meaning the only reason she called him was because she had no choice. It shouldn’t have felt like a gut punch, but it did.
“Or if you can give me Angie’s number, I’ll call her and see if she has it,” Abby said.
Angie wagged her fingers for his phone. He shook his head. No way. Angie huffed and stomped off, probably going back to her desk to interfere.
“What kind of advice?” he asked.
“It’s difficult to explain over the phone, but I have a situation and I’m not sure what to do. I’m hoping she can give me some resources.”
“What kind of situation? With your son’s dad?” Why was she being so evasive?
“It’s complicated and I’d rather not get into it over the phone. Do you have Katherine’s number?”
He made a split-second decision. “I’m on my way.”
“That’s really not necessary—”
He ended the call, not giving her another chance to tell him it wasn’t necessary, and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. He also ignored Angie when she called, “I sent her Katherine’s number.”
His phone buzzed in his back pocket the entire twenty-minute ride to Abby’s house. Her car was the only one in the driveway, so either she hadn’t been able to get a hold of Katherine, or she hadn’t arrived yet.
He checked his phone on the way to her door. Several missed calls from Abby, as well as a few texts from her and Angie. Angie’s last text was blunt. Don’t get involved if you’re just going to walk away again.
That stopped him in his tracks. Fuck. He didn’t know what he was going to do. Abby had mentioned a situation and he’d reacted purely on instinct. Damn it. He was standing in front of her door. He wouldn’t walk away until he knew she was safe and there wasn’t a threat against her or her son.
She answered the door almost immediately. “You didn’t need to come.”
He drank her in, telling himself it was to check for marks or bruises, but the rush of blood to his cock might as well have set his pants on fire.
He was an idiot for thinking he could walk away with no regrets.
Now that she was in front of him again, he didn’t know how he’d done it before, but knew he wouldn’t be able to do it again.
Not easily. And not until he knew she was safe.
“Are you okay?” He stepped across the threshold, forcing her to take a step back.
She sighed and closed the door. “I’m fine. Katherine’s on her way. She should be here in about ten minutes.”
He nodded and took off his jacket, throwing it on the bench behind the door. “You want to give me a rundown of your situation?”
She crossed her arms. “I really don’t.”
His eyebrows rose. “Why?”
“A few reasons.”
He took a step closer. “What are they?”
Her chin went up. “I don’t want to have to repeat myself when Katherine gets here.”
“And?” He knew there was more than that.
“And I’m not sure why you’re here.”
“You said you were in trouble.”
“No. I said I had a situation, and I needed advice. From Katherine. The only thing I needed from you was her number. We both know you wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t had to call you. So why are you here?”
Her backbone was fucking sexy. He found it entirely too hot that she wasn’t giving him a pass. Wasn’t afraid to call him on his shit and wasn’t telling him it was fine and acting like he hadn’t fucked up to save face.
“I screwed up. I’m sorry. I should have called.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Why what?”
“Why should you have called?”
His lips tilted up at the corners, and his dick pulsed against his zipper. Jesus, her attitude was like his own Pavlov’s bell.
“I should have called to tell you I was an idiot and to ask you out again.”
She pressed her lips together. “I won’t play games. I don’t have the time or energy to deal with bullshit. If that’s what you’re into, you can fuck all the way off, right now.”
Ding. “It’s not and I won’t. I fucked up once—I won’t do it again.”
A knock on the door interrupted them, and he had to settle for her noncommittal “Mmm hmm” when she pulled it open.
“Tinker. I thought that was your bike outside. I didn’t know you knew Abby,” Katherine said.
“We met when we did the school ride for Melanie,” he said.
She looked between him and Abby. Katherine was one of the most perceptive people he knew, so he knew she picked up on the tension between them. Especially when she asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yes.” Abby stepped aside. “Please come in. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thank you,” Katherine said.
He shook his head. Her glare said she hadn’t meant to include him in her offer.
“Okay. Let’s sit.” Abby gestured to the living room.
The main area was open with the dining room to the right of the front door and the living room directly in front of them. He saw a kitchen and a short hallway on the other side of the dining room with a hall leading to another part of the house. Large windows made the space feel bright and airy.
Abby sat on the love seat and gestured for him and Katherine to sit on the couch. He took the spot on the far end.
Abby laced her fingers together and took a breath. “I’m not sure how to explain the situation or even what help I need, so I’ll start at the beginning.
“I was married to a man I believed was child-free. Meaning he had no children and he didn’t want to have any children.
We divorced about four years ago, shortly after I accidentally got pregnant.
He didn’t want a baby, and I wasn’t willing to have an abortion.
His name isn’t on the birth certificate, and he has no role in my son’s life. ”
Tinker clenched his fists. Motherfucker.
Abby took another breath. “I recently learned my ex was not only married before we were, but that he also had a daughter.”
“How long were you together?” Katherine asked.
“Three years. Married for two,” Abby said. “He was adamant about not having children, so it never occurred to me to ask if he had any.”
“How did you find out about his daughter?” Katherine asked.
“She showed up on my doorstep this afternoon, asking for help.”
“What kind of help?” he asked.