"If we had proof, we'd use it. But I don't know who the driver was that picked us up or how the drugs were given to us, or even who married us. All I know is that it happened. My father was behind it. He told me so." If my father got away with that, I didn’t know what I’d do.
Archer laid his pen down and laced his fingers on the desk, and I felt all hope slipping away.
"He admitted what he did to you once. Do you think he will do it again?"
James laughed. "Course he would. He likes to gloat about his victories."
"Then what we need to do is get him on tape."
I frowned. "You mean like wearing a wire?" He nodded. I looked at James, and he shrugged. I turned back to Archer. "The thing is, if I went to see my father and tried to get him to confess again, he'd see right through me. I've been avoiding him at all costs, not just since this happened, but long before that. He’d get suspicious if I sought him out.”
“In that case, you might need to wait for him to come to you. We can help you with equipment and have it ready whenever he shows up." Archer looked from me to James. "The concern, of course, is what will your father do if he finds out? Is he dangerous?"
A chill ran up my spine. I'd never seen my father be violent. I'd never even heard that he’d done anything violent. I suspected he didn't need to be because he had so much leverage over people. But I suppose everybody could be pushed to the limit.
I looked at James, wondering what he thought. He stared back at me, and I could see he was wondering the same thing. How far would my father go?
“I don’t know?” I admitted.
"How about we start with having an investigator begin digging around to see what we can learn? Maybe we can find the driver and get him to talk. Or maybe we can find something else. But I think you need to consider that if your father is as wily as you say he is, we may need to get him on tape."
"If we do get him on tape, will it hold up in court?" James asked.
"We'll make sure that it does.”
I turned to James again. "Even if it isn't, having it as leverage could help us. Don’t you think? We’d have something to hold over him."
James shook his head. "As long as that man is free, he's a danger to all of us. Maybe not physically, but if he knew you had him on tape, he would work even harder to discredit you and ruin you. He’d definitely disown you."
I shrugged. "As soon as he finds out the annulment papers have been filed, he's going to disown me anyway."
James looked down at my stomach, and instinctively, I pressed my hand to protect the baby.
His gaze moved back up to my face. "As long as Max is still connected to you, Dad's going to come after you or him."
He was right. A wave of despair washed through me that I wouldn't be able to protect my baby, much less Max or me. There were many times over the last couple of days when I accepted that truth. This baby was the connection to Max, and my father would use it. The only way he couldn't would be if I gave up all my rights and handed them over to Max. By severing my ties with the child, I'd be able to sever my father's as well. The thought of doing that ripped my soul in two. Yet I knew that if it came down to it, I would do it. I would do anything to protect my baby.
Archer looked at us with sympathy in his eyes. "Where's Mr. Clarke in all of this?"
"He's out of the picture." James said it so intensely that it had me jerking to look at him. Had he talked to Max?
"Surely, he has an interest in getting rid of your father and having your father pay for his deeds?” Archer asked.
I nodded. "He does, but it's much better if I take care of this. I need to protect him. He needs to stay far away from my father."
Archer tilted his head to the side. "Does Mr. Clarke know that you’re willing to fall on the sword for him?"
Before I could answer, James said, "He doesn't give a shit. Right now, we need to focus on keeping Amelia safe. We need to put my father away."
Once again, I was looking at James, wondering how he knew so much about Max.
Archer nodded. “Like I said, I'll send somebody to look into this, and we’ll go from there."
James and I stood. "Thank you very much, Mr. Graves." I extended my hand to shake Archer's. James did the same.
"Look, I know this is sounding all cloak and dagger, but we need to be careful in how we communicate. My father knows a lot of tech people too. He could very easily find a way to track Amelia's phone or her car or her computer."
James was right. I should've thought of that as well. After all, that's why we were in Los Angeles. It was why we left all our tech gadgets at home and bought burner phones when we arrived in California. It was why we drove instead of flying, which required us to use our identities to travel. We just had to cross our fingers that Dad wasn't watching either of us that closely so that he’d notice we were out of town at the same time. Or if he was, he’d think we were on a vacation.