She was complex, complicated, and fearless. That much I could tell. But behind the façade was a little girl who wasseverely broken. And I would discover the truth about her, whether she wanted me to know or not.
“Let’s go, or we’re going to be late,” I said, grabbing my keys. “I’m driving. End of discussion.” I walked out to the garage and opened the door.
The drive to my mom’s house was silent until she asked me a question.
“So, how are you going to introduce me to your family?”
“You’re a secretary from the firm, and you’re thinking about becoming an author.”
Her brows furrowed as I glanced at her.
“My mother is a children’s book author. When I told you about her, you asked if you could meet her to get some advice on publishing.”
“That’s dumb,” she sighed.
“Okay then. We’ll just walk through the front door, and I’ll introduce you as the assassin I slept with, and now, you’re protecting me from a psychopathic killer. How’s that?”
She rolled her eyes.
We stepped onto the porch. When I opened the front door, I could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. My heart was pounding against my chest, and I wasn’t sure if I could pull this off.
“Hi, Mom.” I smiled, kissing each of them on the cheek.
“Parker, darling. It’s good to see you.” My mother pinched my cheek. “Who is this beautiful young woman?”
“Mom, I’d like you to meet Paige. She’s a secretary at the firm who is interested in becoming an author. I told her about you, and she was hoping you could answer some questions she has about the process. Paige, these are my mothers, Pippa, Katherine, and Calista.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Paige said.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, darling,” Katherine said.
“Something isn’t right,” Calista said, her eyes staring Paige up and down.
“Because it’s bullshit.” My mother, Pippa, smiled.
I glanced over at Roman and Julian, who stood there with their brows raised.
“Now, Parker. Tell us who Paige really is,” Calista said.
“Don’t forget, sweetheart. We know when you boys lie to us.” My mother, Pippa, smirked.
“You can tell us over dinner. It’s almost ready,” Katherine said.
“Paige, can I pour you a glass of wine?” Pippa asked her.
“Sure. Thank you.”
I poured myself a scotch and walked over to where my brothers stood in the living room, while the women were in the kitchen.
“Fuck. Now what?” I asked.
“You know they always know.” Julian slowly shook his head. “That’s their superpower.”
“Roman?” I stared at him.
“First, I wouldn’t have introduced her as a secretary at the firm. You should have just said she was a friend. Second, did you really think they’d buy the whole she wants to be an author thing?” His brow arched.
“They cannot know that someone is trying to kill me. Got it?”