“Did he touch you?” I ask through a locked jaw and gritted teeth.
She knows by the tone of my voice that her answer could be perilous, so she stiffens her spine and simply says, “Yes. He grabbed me and pulled me into an embrace just before he threatened me. But we were on a public sidewalk and he wasn’t about to make a scene. When I pulled away, he let me go.”
Blazing fury fills me as I think about that asshole taking advantage of Cat’s body because he believed his dad owned her, and now trying to do so again. The thought he could think to take what I was fast starting to think of as mine pissed me off. That he would even think about trying to touch her again makes me furious, especially when he essentially forced himself on her before. She may not have fought him, but he damn well knew she didn’t want her husband gifting her to his son whenever he felt the need arise.
“Something good came of that meeting though,” she says quickly.
My eyes focus in on her, leaving my other thoughts about murdering Kevin behind. “What’s that?”
“I know damn well that will leaving me nothing wasn’t executed. Otherwise, he would have never threatened me or tried to pay me off. He was wigged out when I told him I wanted to see the signed copy.”
“So what… you think the original will is still in Vegas?” I ask.
“I do,” she confirms. “And I’m leaving tomorrow to find out if I’m right.”
“What?” I ask in stunned disbelief.
She’s leaving?
Maybe not coming back?
“I’m going to drive back to Vegas,” she says with a gleam in her eye. She gives a pat to her purse. “I was able to pawn all my jewelry, so I have some money to help me get by. I’m getting into that house and Samuel’s office, and I’m not leaving until I know the truth.”
“You pawned your jewelry?” I ask in disbelief. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I need the money, Rand,” she says with a little irritation in her voice. “I can’t just live off you, you know. And I can’t sit back and let that dickhead take advantage of me anymore.”
I hate she has to make these tough choices, and I can’t stand the thought of her being so desperate she pawned her jewelry, but I can understand her reasoning to do just that. Cat’s done with taking a backseat to her life. She let Samuel dictate everything and now that he’s gone, her backbone is starting to shore up.
“You should have at least tried to sell the jewelry to some reputable jewelry stores,” I grumble.
“I did try,” she says. “No one was interested, so I had no choice.”
“Well, at least if you’re owed some of Samuel’s estate, you can get it all back,” I concede.
Cat gives an unladylike snort and shakes her head. “I don’t want that jewelry. It means nothing to me. I don’t want anything reminding me of that man and what he did to me.”
I smile in understanding and take a step back into her. Putting my arm around her waist, I pull her in and give her a kiss to her forehead. “Okay, I get it. You’re ready to charge into battle and nothing’s holding you back.”
She responds by wrapping both arms around my waist, her purse squished in between us. Squeezing me, she says, “That’s right.”
“You coming back?” I ask, bracing myself for the possibility that tonight might be the last time I ever see Cat again.
“I’m… well, I’m not sure,” she says quietly with her cheek still pressed to my chest, and that’s a better answer than I actually expected. Vegas is Cat’s hometown. She can get a job there quickly, I’d imagine. Nothing here to pull her back this way.
“So what time do we leave tomorrow?” I ask, throwing caution to the wind and then locking my arm tight as I expect her to pull away.
She jerks slightly but merely tilts her head back to look at me. “You want to go with me to Vegas?”
“Fuck if I’m going to let you ride off into battle alone,” I tell her with a charming grin. “I’m a white knight after all. Besides, I don’t trust Kevin or Richard. If for some reason they’re there, I don’t want you handling them on your own.”
“But your work,” she points out.
“Pish won’t care,” I tell her confidently. But he’ll so care. He’ll be pissed because he’ll have to get his ass up now and open the shop. He works late hours, preferring to do his inking at night, but I can’t worry about him right now. This is more important—although why, I’m not quite sure. But I’ve decided to follow my gut, and if I lose my job, so be it. I don’t need the money as my earlier sponsorship deals have left me financially secure. “Now how about we go grab some lunch and we can plan what we need to do?”
“No… I can’t let you do that. I can’t disrupt your life like that. This may be nothing more than a fool’s errand.”
Fool’s errand.
Funny.