CHAPTER 23
LARA
A ringing phone pulls me out of sleep, and I tear one of my eyes open. It’s still dark outside and when I glance at the clock, I frown. Jettson stirs and reaches for his phone.
There’s just enough light coming from the hallway to see just enough. I always sleep with the door open, even if we have to close it for a while before any sleeping happens.
He doesn’t even open his eyes as he answers the call and grunts, his voice rough with sleep, “What? I’m sleeping next to my woman.”
I don’t hear what is said on the other side of the line, but he bolts upright in bed, his eyes open and completely awake. The movement startles me, but not enough for me to open both eyes. If things go well, I’ll be able to go back to sleep.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” His voice is tinged with anger even though I can tell he’s trying to keep his voice down.
Whether it’s for my benefit or Vanessa’s, I’m not sure.
“Right,” he growls and goes quiet for a long time. He glances at me and my heart clenches.
I know that look. I’ve gotten it so many times before.
Something has happened and Lola is behind the entire dust up.
Ah. There it is. The other shoe.
The worst part is that as of right now, I don’t even know what kind of shoe it is. Combat boot? A sneaker with a hole in the toe? Kitten heeled knee-high boot? The possibilities really are endless.
Just like whatever shit my sister has stirred up.
I’m sure this will be so much fun. I have no idea how I’m involved yet, but I know she’s roped me in somehow.
“Yeah,” he groans and rubs a hand over his face, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
When he ends the call, his head hangs forward for a long moment. “I don’t have all the details,” his voice is strange, flat.
“Lola did something,” my words come out groggy and rough.
His head snaps up and he looks over at me. “How did you know that?”
“I’m going to ignore the suspicion in your voice because we were both woken up in the middle of the night after expending a lot of energy.
” I pause and look over at him, the scowl on my face very fucking clear to see.
“I know because I’ve been waiting for the Lola shaped shoe to drop ever since the truth came to light.
She’s stuck around when she would have run in the past. That means she’s either been plotting, scheming, or consolidating her resources.
Maybe all three and maybe even more nefarious words thrown into the big kettle of drama she loves to just keep stirring, you know? ”
I huff out a breath and glance up to find Jettson looking at me with wide, slightly fearful, eyes. This is why I’m willing to let it go. Poor guy, he was awoken too early and with a semi.
“I spent years enduring my sister’s recklessness and planning. I gave up on thinking she would change when she walked away from Vanessa. The only reason I held onto even a thread of the possibility, not even a real hope, of her getting her shit together was for my daughter.”
My eyes slide closed and I take a deep breath.
“I’m not even able to muster that much up anymore,” I mutter, more to myself than him.
His lips press against my forehead, and he whispers against my skin, “I’m sorry.”
I look at him and decide to stay true to my word. “I know. You get a pass. This time,” there’s a real warning in my voice. Hopefully, he heeds it.
With a low chuckle, he gets dressed before walking out the door. I listen to his footsteps and look up at the ceiling.
Damn it.
There are far too many possibilities when it comes to what Lola could have done. If I lay in bed, I’ll just start creating more and more lavish scenarios. That is not going to help anyone.
I rip the covers off and get out of bed with a soft growl. It’s almost impossible to stop myself from stomping into the kitchen. The need to do something with my hands is riding me hard.
My go-to recipe is chocolate chip cookies. I can do it in my sleep. I get what I need out for one batch, which is almost more difficult to make now for me, and start the dough.
Thankfully, my mind goes blank as I work.
Whatever happens, happens. I’m not going to be able to do a damn thing to stop it.
I know who Lola is. She’s going to go for maximum impact with her exit. The impact radius is going to be quite the sight. While I hope I’m not at the center of it, I’m not holding my breath.
For some reason, I think back to her worst exit. Well, the one with the biggest ripple effect. I’m raising one of those ripples.
The feeling of walking into the empty hospital room was like nothing I ever experienced before. Even with all the other stunts she pulled, that room, in that moment, it was new. It was bigger and it was a hell of a lot scarier.
A nurse let us know Lola walked out and our next stop was the nursery. The number of conversations involving words like custodial, filing, and legal still make my head spin if I think about it for too long.
I understood why everything needed to be done right, but until it was, I wasn’t allowed to hold Vanessa. My heart yearned to hold her.
She looked so small in the nursery bassinet. So alone.
But Lola was the one wearing the mother’s bracelet matching her daughter’s. None of us were wearing it.
Now, I’m grateful they made sure everything was done properly. It protected us and Vanessa.
While things were moving, there was a moment when my mom and I were standing around Vanessa’s little basinet. I couldn’t look away from her, and I was fighting against the tears wanting to stream down my cheeks. Tears weren’t going to do a damn bit of good.
I looked up at Mom, and she wasn’t trying to stop her tears. “I don’t know where we went wrong,” her voice was solemn and far away, like she was sifting through all of her memories and all the little moments when a different decision might not have found us standing where we were.
Her eyes came up and met mine, same eyes shared across generations. There was sadness there and a lot of fear. I had no idea what to say to her.
“You’ve always been different. Easier,” she sighed.
My heart clenched because I don’t know that I was easier. Maybe, if you want to look at it that way. To me, it felt like I didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t going to get the same attention, care, or investment because Lola was taking all of it up and no boundaries were ever set.
“I don’t know,” her voice cracked, “if I have it in me to raise another little girl.”
But I could hear what she wasn’t saying. She didn’t want to mess up again. What if Vanessa was just like her mother?
I shook my head and resolve filled me. In that second, I knew. The life I thought I was going to live crumbled, but the start of something else found roots.
“She’s mine,” my voice left no room for argument.
Throwing caution to the wind, I reached out and touched Vanessa’s finger. She gripped it quickly and there were no more questions as far as I was concerned.
That doesn’t mean I wasn’t terrified. I was. But I also knew I had to do it.
Not to clean up my sister’s mess, I was done with doing that long before Vanessa was born. I did it because Vanessa deserved someone steady, someone who wouldn’t run, someone who would stay.
I was willing to stay. Even while scared. Even while resenting the hell out of my sister.
I could feel my mom studying me for a long time. She didn’t ask questions. She didn’t try and change my mind.
“We’ll help you and be right here next to you every step of the way.” I looked up at her and her smile softened. “I’m proud of you,” she murmured. “You’ll be the mother she deserves, and you’ll do it right.”
Remembering it now, I almost scoff. Not because I would change it. But because I was stupid enough to believe her words and really thought I’d do it right.
Now, I have no fucking idea if I’m doing anything right when it comes to this parenting thing. Functioning on a wing and a prayer becomes innate.
Once the dough is mixed, I put it in the fridge to bake later before looking at the time.
I let out a sigh, because I might as well go downstairs and get my day started, before heading back to my room.
It doesn’t take too long to step into the kitchen of Bunz Out.
The moment I do, I know something is wrong.
Nothing is out of place, and nothing is missing, not that I can see. It’s just a feeling. One I won’t be ignoring considering Jettson was called out of my bed at way too early o’clock in the morning.
I step back into the vestibule and close the door to pull out my phone.
The moment I log into the security app, I see the video feed is cut and I sigh.
The alarm isn’t active either and the system logs a reboot when I was definitely asleep.
The time shows it happened right before the cameras went out.
Fucking hell.
My gut is screaming at me to not call the security company yet. Not yet.
Keeping my steps slow and steady, I move through the kitchen after grabbing a pair of gloves and slipping them on. I make sure to study every corner, every shelf, every little hidey-hole you forget about in spaces you spend too much time in.
I come up empty everywhere I look.
My shoulders drop and I let out a sound of relief. Everything in the kitchen is expensive and if something was tampered with, everything could be gone. Add in living above the bakery and I can’t ignore the potential danger, not when Vanessa is involved.
As I head toward my office, my heart starts to pound. This whole thing has Lola written all over it. I don’t have to know how she managed to manipulate even my security system to her will, but here we are. She’s the culprit.
And this is her last attempt to ruin things as she makes a break for it.
So fucking predictable. I just don’t know the shape of the mess exactly.
I slowly swing the door to my office open. I’m almost expecting to find a container of toxic waste with C-4 strapped to the side using duct tape while the timer is counting down from 20 seconds in the middle of the room. My eyes are squeezed shut and I have to force myself to open one of them.
What I see has me sucking in a breath while my other eye pops open before they both widen. Now I wouldn’t necessarily say my desk is covered in cash, but there are far too many bundles of large currency bills on it for me to feel good about what I’m looking at.
My mouth goes dry and my throat goes tight.
Lola doesn’t even care about the danger she just put her biological daughter in. That’s the worst fucking part.
It’s one thing for her to frame me, but Vanessa is sleeping right upstairs. And now I’m staring at, at minimum, a molehill of cash.
The only thing I can do is make a mountain out of it. And try to get ahead of this fall out.
I pull my phone out and send a mental hug to Ezra for insisting I put Ryker’s number in my phone. She said it was ‘just in case’ but at the time I thought it was because she saw how Playboy was treating me and wanted to give me access to someone who could help if I needed it.
Being the Prez has its perks, I guess.
It takes a few rings before he picks up. “Lara? Are you hurt? Why are you calling me?”
“I’m not hurt,” my voice is calm. The calm that comes right before the storm.
“Okay,” he sounds uncertain, but I can also hear the distraction in his voice. “Listen, I’m dealing with something right now. If it’s not an emergency, I need to get back to work.”
“I’m going to say something, but you can’t react to it if you’re not alone.”
Ryker grunts and I almost smile. Almost.
“Lola stole money from you.”
This grunt is different, more questioning.
“I know because I’m looking at some of it.”
A feral grunt comes from the back of his throat.
“I don’t know how she got in, the security was down again.” I shake my head, my voice turning glacial, “She always had more cards to play than I knew about, and she always created an exit plan. I’m sure this one has implicated me in some way.”
I hear something on the other end of the line and then a rushed voice I don’t recognize, “Lola left a note.”
“Is Playboy with you?”
“No,” Ryker’s voice is hard.
“I’m not going to ask you to not open it.
” I take a deep breath, and hope Ryker is willing to let me find out if I can truly trust his brother.
My voice is devoid of any emotion, “Bring the note and come to Bunz Out. Make sure he comes with you along with whoever else you need. Have someone deliver the note in the same way it just happened, but you’re here instead of there. ”
For a moment, all I hear is the sound of him breathing on the other end of the line. It’s like he’s weighing his options and if doing things my way will prevent his club from finding the answers they’re looking for.
I hope it doesn’t, but I certainly can’t make any guarantees.
“I already know the note is going to put all the blame on me,” I tell him. “The money is the evidence of whatever tale she’s spinning.” My voice turns soft. “I just need to find out if he’ll trust her lies or if he’ll trust whatever ground we’ve made up.”
“Lara,” he whispers my name like he doesn’t want me to find the answer. Or maybe he’s warning me of what can happen when you play games.
My heart skips a beat in my chest, but a feeling of resolve rises up as well.
“I just need to know,” I murmur. “I need the reaction, not just the words.”
“I’m on my way.”
Ryker hangs up and I stare down at the cash on the table until I hear the sound of motorcycles roaring up the alley. I open the back door holding a box of gloves and lock eyes with chocolate brown ones that I hope won’t break my heart today.
Fuck, it’s too early for this shit.