Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Fox had truly believed that he couldn’t hate anyone — but damn it, he was wrong.
Right now, he hated Lilly Adams. Right now, he found it hard to breathe when he thought about her and what she had cost him.
Right now, his hands trembled as he recalled her shocked expression when he’d explained that he’d had no idea that Delfina existed.
It was as if she was genuinely surprised that he didn’t have some kind of sixth sense about whether or not he’d brought a child into the world!
Right now, he wanted to tape her mouth shut so her lips wouldn’t remind him of that one night ten years ago, which he’d replayed in his mind so many times that he’d eventually become uncertain if it had actually happened or if he’d just seen it in a movie.
Right now, he didn’t want to remember her hands on his body, her laughter, her huge pale gray eyes, or any word they’d exchanged.
Shit, right now, he doubted that he should even be driving in his condition, so he abruptly pulled off the road and tried to focus on his breathing.
He had a daughter.
He had a nine-year-old daughter who had his ears!
He had a nine-year-old daughter who had his ears and he knew nothing about her.
He pressed the palms of his hands to his burning eyes and tried to collect his thoughts.
He knew only one thing: Now that he knew about Delfina, he wasn’t going to lose her again.
And shit, he was going to make sure of that.
He didn’t trust Lilly one bit and he wasn’t going to give her a chance to steal another ten fucking years from him!
With trembling hands, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the only person who could help him with anything right now.
“Where the hell are you?” his agent and best friend greeted him a second later. “Everyone’s looking for you! You vanished into thin air. The coach saw you outside the door, but then you didn’t show up for practice and…”
“I need your help, Hazel,” he interrupted abruptly, explaining as calmly as he could – which wasn’t very calmly! – what had happened. Hazel didn’t say anything as he spoke; she was probably in shock. He understood.
“I’m so fucking angry,” he concluded after a few minutes.
“I don’t know where my head is. I want a fucking lawyer, the best one you know and I want you to find out everything you can about Lilly Adams and how good my chances would be in a custody battle.
I don’t want to leave anything to chance; I want a Plan A, Plan B, and a Plan C, you understand? ”
“What? You… What? Fox, slow down.”
“I don’t want to slow down; I want to know how to destroy her, Hazel!
God, I’ve never wanted to hurt a woman so much in my life.
Honestly, it scares me, but…fuck!” It had taken all his self-control not to cross the workshop when he saw her, grab her narrow shoulders, and shake her until she explained exactly what had happened.
Until she told him every single detail about Delfina that he’d missed.
“Austin,” Hazel said firmly. “Take a deep breath. I know you’re in shock, but you need to keep a clear head right now, okay?
I’ll get a lawyer, I’ll hire a private investigator to look into her, but it will take time.
If you want to see your daughter, right now and in the next few days, you’ll have to work that out with her mother.
It doesn’t matter if you hate her — she’s legally her daughter right now, and putting her on the defensive and making her feel like you’re trying to take her away won’t help your situation, understand?
Custody issues are not resolved in a few days or even weeks. The process takes time!”
“Fuck. Hazel, I don’t want to waste any more time. I…”
“I know. So, get a grip and talk to Lilly. You don’t know her position. Maybe she’s even willing to share custody fairly…”
He laughed bitterly. “She hasn’t for ten years, Hazel! She was rambling on about a letter she wrote, but that’s bullshit! She was just making excuses.”
“That doesn't matter. She’s not just any woman, Fox. She’s your child’s mother. She’ll always be a part of Delfina’s life, so pull yourself together. Swallow your anger; it’s secondary right now.”
“It doesn’t feel secondary at all!”
Hazel paused for a moment, then said in a softer tone, “Austin…your life will be easier if you can reach an agreement with her, okay? Whether you get to see your daughter in the next few weeks depends on her goodwill, as shitty as that may be. Remember that, not your anger. The lawyer and the private investigator are my top priority; I’ll take care of it right now.
And you have to go to practice; they’re afraid you’ve been abducted and that the ransom demand will come at any moment. ”
Fox hung up and gripped the steering wheel. He knew Hazel was right, but whenever he thought about Lilly…
How can you stand here and claim you didn’t know? I sent you a letter, emails.
He gave a dry laugh.
What kind of bullshit was that? His agent at the time always forwarded all emails and any mail he received. His address had been public. Lilly’s imaginary letter would have gone to Trevor and then to him. And he hadn’t received a single message. No photo, no email, no letter.
It was bullshit. It was…
He paused, his stomach clenching uncomfortably.
Back then, he’d still been married to Christine. Christine, whom he’d once thought so highly of, but now knew she was capable of anything, had had access to his mailbox, access to their shared mailbox…
But no, that was nonsense. She’d never opened his mail, and Lilly had claimed she’d sent a letter first. How could Christine know what was inside? How would she know what to open?
No, Lilly was a damned liar who wanted nothing but revenge for that one night and the morning after, which had changed everything.
He wouldn’t have left without a word if Christine hadn’t called him at five in the morning. Shit, he would have given Lilly his damn phone number if she hadn’t…if all this hadn’t…
“Fuck,” he exclaimed, pounding the dashboard.
His life was a damned shit show – besides, as if he’d let himself be abducted! His colleagues couldn’t seriously believe that. Hazel must have exaggerated.
“Shit, where the hell have you been?” the coach barked twenty minutes later.
“Oh, thank God!” Lucy gasped, sagging back into her seat. “I was already mentally typing the press release about how we just paid one hundred thousand dollars to get Austin Fox safely out of his abductors’ clutches.”
He blinked. “I’m only worth one hundred thousand dollars to you?”
“Well, we could have haggled up to half a million,” she mused.
Coach Gray wasn’t amused. “Where have you been?” he demanded again. “We have our first game tomorrow. The guys were worried about you and playing worse than scarecrows on skates and…”
“Please be quiet for a moment,” he whispered before taking a deep breath. Gray seemed so perplexed that he obliged, even though he looked at him in confusion.
He didn’t care. Hazel had been his first call…Lucy would have been his second. If the press found out about Delfina’s existence, a massive shitstorm would erupt. It wouldn't hurt to have a brilliant PR consultant on his side who could protect Delfina if it came to that. So…
“Lucy, Leon doesn’t want to be smeared with baby oil and dirt — and oh yeah, I have a child I didn’t know about.”
“Oh, fuck,” the coach exclaimed.
Yep, that pretty much summed it up.