Chapter 9: Lawyers

Rafe braced his feet against the glass window behind his desk, New York's magnificent skyline in front of him. He loved this city - the vibrancy and sheer energy. The history. But today he stared at its view without seeing the high-rises and the distinctive skyline above it.

Any decent man would be concerned about a woman with two small boys living in an area like that, he tried to convince himself. Except it didn't make sense. If she was in a relatively junior position, and even with the twins, she should be able to afford to rent a place in a better area.

With a muttered curse, he gave up any pretense of indifference about Lindi.

"Dial Jose," he instructed his phone. He watched idly as clouds gathered. It was as if they taunted him, telling him a storm was coming if he went farther down this road.

"Rafe," the security chief said immediately. Rafe sometimes wondered if the man walked with his phone glued to his ear. Jose's business was situated in the building next door, but Rafe had talked with him when there had been all kinds of noises in the background. The man got around.

"The woman your men followed a week ago - find out why she was in this building. What business she had with the lawyers." His nape was prickling, and he never ignored it. Where he'd grown up, it had saved his life a few times. He ignored the little voice that told him this was a serious invasion of her privacy.

"It won't take long," Jose said.

Jose phoned back three hours later. "I'm sending over copies of the papers filed by the lawyers." There was a strange almost ominous tone to his words. "They will give it to you personally." What had she done that had spooked unflappable Jose?

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and one of the security team, in the distinctive black suits they favored, walked in, and without a word, handed over a yellow envelope. He nodded at Rafe and left.

"I have it," he said and disconnected.

For one crazy moment, he considered shredding the envelope and forgetting about her. He cursed again. Who was he fooling? If he hadn't been able to forget about her for the last five years, why would he be able to now?

Rafe opened the envelope and found a copy of Lindi's will. He frowned down at it. Why would Jose want him to see Lindi's will? His nape prickled again. He skipped the introductory legalese and found the relevant paragraphs. He stood slowly, not believing what he read. Everything around him turned black and then red. For one incomprehensible moment, he thought it was an earthquake when the world around him tipped. A roaring in his ears made it impossible to think. He was barely aware of sitting down hard, of crumbling the papers in his fist. When he could see again, he looked down at the crumpled will in his fist. She dared to do this to him. Again.

"Dial Lindi," he instructed the phone. He'd told himself he'd programmed her number into his phone so he could avoid her if she called him, asking for money. But he knew better. Some part of him had wanted her to contact him, for any reason.

"Lindi speaking," she said, and in the background, he heard noises. The twins, another man? That Bruce character?

"It's Rafe."

Silence - only the sound of the television in the background.

"You can't stay in that dump with the twins," he said when she remained quiet. He wanted to curse her and keep on doing it until his head cleared. All he'd meant to do was make it clear that she wasn't going to foist her children onto him. So why didn't he say his piece and let the lawyers deal with her?

"What?" she sounded dazed.

"I will give you money to buy a place in a better neighborhood," he heard himself say. He named a sum that would pay for an apartment in a much better area. Should he give her more, maybe ensure she found a place with a garden for the kids? Through the window, he tracked the growing clouds that were now turning dark, ready to unleash a downpour on his city. Yeah, he was a sap.

"What?" she said again. She still sounded dazed, not at all like the woman who'd marched her children out of his office. The woman who'd told him once that she was going to be a district attorney by the time she was thirty.

"This is not a tacit acceptance that the kids are mine?" He had to make sure she understood. "You'll sign a document, stating plainly that the money doesn't mean I acknowledge the twins as - "

An audible breath sucked in and then she disconnected. He was fairly sure, even though the phone had disconnected, she was probably slamming it to pieces against something. She had a fierce temper. He used to enjoy it because it always led to the hottest sex he'd ever had. Now he worried. Would the twins be all right? How hard was she on them when they did something wrong?