Sins of the Father by Evelyn Glass Page B

her. It struck her how incredibly vulnerable he’d made himself. It wasn’t just that he’d never asked anyone to perform that one particular act for him; it was also that it had so completely undone him.
     
    She’d read that phrase in cheesy romance novels before, and had always rolled her eyes. But when his eyes had locked on hers, with no barriers and no pretense, she’d understood it for the first time. And she found herself grateful for the opportunity to be on the receiving end of that expression, especially from someone who kept himself under such tight control.
     
    “What was Claire’s excuse for skipping school,” Alex asked her as he traced a finger lightly down her spine.
     
    Zoey shook her head. “She’s scared of someone Olivia’s associating with. Aaron Schwartz?”
     
    Alex made a sound, low in his chest, that was painfully close to a growl. “I know him. She’s right to be cautious, but why scared?”
     
    “She thought she saw him at school. She turned around and came back here as fast as she could.”
     
    He nodded, slowly.
     
    “Do you think she’s really in danger, Alex?”
     
    “No,” he said. “There’s no reason for anyone to hurt her. She’s legally Philip’s heir. There’s no question about it. Hurting her would be foolish.”
     
    “I feel like there’s a certain school of thought that says murder for financial gain is foolish, no matter what.”
     
    He barked a little laugh and kissed her quickly. She sank into the pressure of his lips, letting him envelope her for a moment, his hands on her bottom tugging her tight against him. “True enough.”
     
    “I talked to Cindy.” The words blurted out before she thought better of them. She felt Alex go painfully still under her hands. “I thought maybe I’d be able to help. Maybe she’d see me as an easier ally, since I don’t have a dog in the fight, so to speak.”
     
    She felt sure he’d be angry, irritated at the very least, but instead he just slowly returned to his delicate caresses of her skin. “And could you?”
     
    Zoey shook her head, then leaned back to catch his gaze again. “She screamed that she was going to take the kids and run, and it was all our fault.” She thought carefully about how she wanted to phrase her question. “Do you know what might have happened, what could have made her so afraid?”
     
    He shook his head, and then froze. “Oh fuck,” he said. “I need to talk to her.”
     
    “Wait, Alex.” She put her hand on his arm as he sat up and moved towards the edge of the bed. “Hold on.”
     
    “I dropped her name to Olivia,” he said. “She must have—fuck—she must have gone after Cindy. Intimidated her. I didn’t think—” He bit off another curse as he reached for pants. “This is my fault.”
     
    “Stop,” Zoey said, and to her surprise, the man did pause, at least, and turned to face her. “If she’s really afraid, there’s nothing worse you can do than go tearing over there. You’ll frighten her even more.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “She’s not going to answer the phone, and she made it perfectly clear to me that she didn’t want to hear from either one of us again. If you really think your mother’s a danger, Alex—maybe it’s time to get the police involved.”
     
    “No,” he said, too fast. “No, it won’t do any good. We don’t have any proof yet. They’ll dismiss me out of hand. Even the friends I have on the force won’t be enough. We need proof, Zoey.”
     
    It was her turn to shake her head, and she tried not to let the fact that she was naked whittle away at any of her determination. “It’s not our job to bring proof, Alex. That’s the job of the police.”
     
    For a moment, she saw him tremble. She had an idea of the enormous forces that were dragging on him from all sides, and she could imagine that he had no real idea of where to go or what to do next. But the anger in his eyes, the fury that wasn’t just