“Yeah.” Logan rests his head against the window and closes his eyes.
“Tired, bud?”
“I am.”
“Take a nap then. I’ll wake you when we get close.”
I phone the Brit and tell him what’s up, and then we head in that direction. I sit back and get all in my head.
There is nothing as disheartening as pulling into the underground parking lot of the Hotel Athenee with Logan sulking beside me. My son reminds me so much of my younger self over the past year. He’s either angry or distant. He will act out at school or just not talk. I know it’s because of the confusion his mother and my relationship is causing him.
Bitch.
Now, as I sit next to Logan, I know I, too, am hurting him. I don’t know how to stop that hurt. I’ve tried my damnedest to keep things normal. But now, without Ashley even trying to hide the shit from me, and telling my son that Harper is a negative influence on Ava … well, she’s crossing fucking lines.
?
Once we meet up with Ava and the rest of them, we exchange information.
“TheSam Hammond?” Ava laughs.
“Ava, it’s not funny in this instance.”
“Why are lawyers involved?” Tessa stands and walks toward me, looking beautiful but too thin and exhausted.Understanding.
“He wants to press charges against Ava.” I look over at Ava.
“Me?” she gasps as she points to herself. “That skank bitch was saying horrible things about Harper.”
“You can’t hit people, Ava; you know this.”
“She elbowed Harper in the damn eye, Daddy.”
“Okay.” I nod. “We’ll figure it out, but you can’t have a record, either, if you still intend on becoming a lawyer.”
“Maybe you should become a boxer, Ava,” Logan jokes.
Tessa laughs quietly, and I shake my head at her.
“How did they find out who we are?” Ava asks.
“I assume that weasel, Sam, looked into it, and as soon as he found out it wasmykid, he probably just about burst.”
“Why is that, Lucas?” Tessa asks.
“He won a contract for a big job on 78thStreet. We were contracted to do the next phase of the project. I noticed that he was using cheap materials—materials that weren’t up to code for this project—to increase profit and pocket more money. My crews would have been going in when his phase was completed, and I took it to the general contractor and said no way would my guys’ safety be put in jeopardy because Sam was a fuck-up. They looked into it, he lost his contract, we gained, and the bastard has hated me since.”
Tessa nods. “Okay, so what do we do?”
“I’ll handle it. You guys just enjoy your getaway. I’m going to go to Sam in the morning to chat.”
“I’ll go, as well,” The Brit, Brody Hines, pipes up.
“I can take care of it.”
“No, I’ll go, too,” he damn near demands.
No fucking way am I having him in on this. My shit doesn’t need to be aired.