“Spill it,” Kirk said.
“I said some terrible things to her,” Piers admitted. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I was angry and I lashed out.”
“About?”
Knowing he needed this man’s help, Piers poured out the entire story from start to finish. Maybe if he seemed remorseful enough, Kirk wouldn’t think he was a total bastard and give him any information he had on Jewel.
“You are a first-class jerk, aren’t you? Jewel wouldn’t lie about something like that. Did she ever tell you about her childhood? I’m guessing not or you wouldn’t have shoveled that horse manure at her.”
“What are you talking about?”
Kirk made a sound of disgust. “From the time her parents died when she was barely older than a toddler, she was shuttled from one foster family to another. The first few were merely temporaries as the state tried to place her in a more permanent environment. The first was a real gem of a family. The oldest son tried to abuse her. She told her caseworker, who thankfully believed her. So she was placed in another home, this time with another foster child, a girl about her age. What Jewel didn’t know was that the family never had any intention of taking both girls. They took two so they could choose. And it wasn’t Jewel they chose. So she lost a family she’d grown to trust and a sister she loved.”
“Theos,” Piers said through tight lips.
“Things started looking up when a couple who couldn’t have children decided they wanted to adopt Jewel. She went to live with them. The adoption was nearly final when the mother discovered she was pregnant. After years of infertility, she’d stopped trying and now she was suddenly pregnant. They couldn’t afford more than one child, and you can imagine which one they chose. Once again, Jewel was rejected.”
Piers closed his eyes. Just as he’d rejected her and her baby.
“After that, she didn’t believe in happy endings any longer. You might say she grew up fast. She went through the motions of the system until she was old enough to be out on her own. Since then she’s moved around constantly, never settling in one place, never forging ties with people. Never having a home. She simply doesn’t believe she deserves one.”
Kirk stared hard at Piers. “You’ve taken the one thing from her guaranteed to hurt her the most. If you find her, don’t expect her to welcome you back with open arms.”
Piers stared back at the other man, his stomach churning. “If she contacts you will you let me know immediately? She’s pregnant and alone. I need to find her so I can make this right.”
Kirk studied him for a long moment before finally nodding. Piers handed him his card.
“Call me day or night. It doesn’t matter.”
Kirk nodded and Piers rose to leave.
“Where will you go now?” Kirk asked when he saw Piers to the door.
“To New York to see my brothers. Something I should have done already,” Piers said grimly.
Piers knocked on his brother’s door and waited with dread for it to open. He didn’t like facing his brothers with his mistakes, and he liked asking for their help even less, but if it would get Jewel back, he’d do anything.
“Piers? What the devil are you doing here? Why didn’t you call to let us know you were coming? And where’s Jewel?”
Piers looked up, wincing at the barrage of questions coming from Theron.
“Can I come in?”
Theron stepped to the side. “Of course. We were just about to sit down for dinner. I have to say, you look awful.”
“Thanks,” Piers said dryly.
They walked into the formal dining room, and Chrysander, Marley and Bella all looked up. Only Chrysander seemed surprised. The two women were more subdued.
Chrysander’s sharp gaze found him. “What’s happened?” he asked bluntly.
“Jewel left me,” he said bleakly.
Theron and Chrysander both began talking at once while the women merely exchanged glances and remained silent.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Chrysander said. “Not after she spent all that time—”
Marley cut him off with a sharp elbow to his gut. Then she frowned at him and shook her head. Chrysander gave her a curious look but remained silent.
Bella stood, her hands on her hips. “Why did she leave you, Piers?”
Her voice was deceptively soft. It reminded Piers of the reason men feared women so much to begin with.
“Bella, perhaps Piers would prefer not to tell us such private things,” Theron suggested.
Marley raised an eyebrow. “He’s here isn’t he? He obviously wants our help. We deserve to know if he deserves it or not.”
Piers winced. “If you want to know the truth, no, I don’t deserve your help, but I’m asking for it anyway.”
“Why?” Bella demanded.
Piers looked at both women. “Because I love her, and I made a terrible mistake.”
“So you called the stupid lab and they figured out it was all a mistake then?” Marley said furiously.
Chrysander and Theron turned to Marley and Bella. Marley flushed and cast an apologetic look at Bella, who merely shrugged.
“I haven’t called the lab. I don’t care about the bloody results. I love her and our child. I don’t give a rat’s ass who the biological father is. She’s my daughter, and I don’t plan to give her or Jewel up.”
“Why do I get the impression that we’re the only two without the faintest clue what the devil is going on?” Theron said to Chrysander.
“No, but I bet our lovely wives could fill us in,” Chrysander said as he rounded on Bella and Marley.
Both women crossed their arms over their chests and pressed their lips together.
Frustration beat at Piers’s temples. He walked past his brothers to stand in front of Marley and Bella.
“Please, if you know where she is, tell me. I have to make this right with her. I love her.”
Marley sighed and glanced over at Bella.
“I might have helped her get a place in Miami,” Bella hedged.
Chrysander’s eyebrows went up. “But isn’t that where…”
Marley shot him another furious glance.
“Where in Miami?” Piers said, ignoring the exchange between Marley and Chrysander.
“If you go down there and upset her again, I’ll personally sic every member of Theron’s security team on you,” Bella threatened.
“Just tell me, Bella. Please. I need to see her again. I need to make sure she and the baby are all right.”
“When I spoke to her yesterday, they were just fine,” Marley said casually.
“It would appear that you and Bella have been very busy women,” Chrysander said darkly.
Marley sniffed. “If things were left to you men, the world would be a disaster.”
“I think we’ve been insulted,” Theron said dryly.
Bella thrust the piece of paper she’d been writing on toward Piers. “Here’s her address. She trusted me, Piers. Don’t screw this up.”
Piers hugged her quickly and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you. I’ll bring her back for a visit as soon as I can.”
Jewel smoothed her hand over Eric’s hair as he slept and smiled at how peaceful and innocent he looked. Tucking his blanket around him, she turned to tiptoe from his bedroom.
Once in the kitchen, she prepared a cup of decaf tea and sipped the soothing, warm brew.
Her arrival in Miami couldn’t have come at a better time. Eric had been taken from his previous home and was awaiting placement along with several hundred other children. It had taken several days to complete the paperwork, have the home study and background checks, but Eric was finally hers.
At first he’d been silent and restrained. No doubt he thought his placement with her was as temporary as all his other ones. She didn’t try to persuade him any differently. It would take time to win his trust.
The important thing was that he had a home now. Thanks to Bella’s generosity, they both had a home.
After checking on Eric one last time, she went into the living room and settled into her favorite chair. Nights were difficult, when all was silent. She missed Piers and the easy companionship they’d developed.
She had nearly dozed off in her chair when the doorbell rang. She got up quickly so it wouldn’t disturb Eric and went to look out the peephole. No one knew her here, and she was wary of anyone knocking on her door. Surely Social Services wouldn’t pay a surprise visit at this time of night.
What she saw shocked her to the core.
Piers. Outside her door, looking worried and a little haggard.
With fumbling fingers, she unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door a crack.
“Jewel, thank God,” he said. “Please, can I come in?”
Her grip tightened on the door as she stared through the crack. Anger, pain—so much pain—surged through her veins. What could he possibly have to say to her that hadn’t already been said?
She steeled herself, opened the door just enough that she could see him and he could see her.
“I won’t ask how you found me. It isn’t important.”
He started to interrupt, holding up one hand in a plea, but she shook her head.
“No, you’ve said enough. I let you say all those things, and I took it, but I don’t have to now. This is my home. You have no rights here. I want you to leave.”
Something that looked suspiciously like panic spasmed in his eyes.
“Jewel, I know I don’t deserve even a moment of your time. I said and did unforgivable things. I wouldn’t blame you if you never spoke to me again. But please, I’m begging you. Let me in. Let me explain. Let me make things right between us.”
The sheer desperation in his voice unsettled her. She wavered on the brink of indecision, her anger warring with the desire to relent and let him through the door. He stared at her with tortured eyes and slowly, she stepped back and opened the door wider.