"He said he sent a handful of the guys he usually uses for this kind of thing but he didn't mention who. Only that it was taken care of."
I'm sure my boss was thrilled to be wasting resources on her. I could only imagine how astronomical that bill was going to be. Not that I expected her to pay it. Not if what she said was true and Richard was cutting her off.
My team hung around for another few hours. Just long enough to eat everything Sarah made, including the desserts, before I finally kicked them out.
Andrew's friends were next to go after that, even though they’d spent all of their time in his room and out of the way. I was ready to have my home back to just the three of us.
"Thanks, Dad," Andrew said to me after the last of his friends left. "It was nice to have my friends over for a bit."
I pulled him in for a side hug. The kid was getting tall. Not much longer and he would be eye level with me.
"You're welcome, son. They can come over anytime and I promise I'm going to get this mess straightened out as soon as possible."
I looked over at Sarah and smiled. I would do whatever it took to ensure that. Kissing Andrew on the top of the head, I leaned over to snag Sarah and bring her into our heartfelt moment, but the ringing of my phone stopped me.
It couldn't be one of the guys. They just left and I doubted they learned anything new this quickly. I was hoping it was Black with some news, but my gut was telling me the person on the other end of the line was someone entirely different.
My suspicion was confirmed when I pulled the phone out of my pocket and saw Charmaine's name on the screen. I was tempted not to answer it, but I would never do that when I had Andrew. Plus, with any luck she would finally give me some information.
I answered just before it was about to ring out. "Hello."
"Oh, thank God you answered. For a minute there I thought you were going to send me to voicemail."
I rolled my eyes heavenward at her attempt at a pouty tone. I knew better than anything that she was all fake.
"What can I do for you, Charmaine?" Out of the corner of my eye I could see both my son and Sarah tense at my words and I wanted to punch my ex for doing that to them. They each had their own reason to not like hearing her name.
"I need to tell you something but it can't be over the phone."
I ran my fingers between my eyebrows. The last thing I wanted to do was go to Charmaine's house and hear what it was she had to tell me, but by the same token, I was hoping it had something to do with who was after her and Andrew.
"Give me thirty minutes and I'll be there." I hung up before she could argue anything more. Thirty minutes would be pushing it if traffic was bad.
"What did she want?" It was Sarah who asked first.
"She says she needs to tell me something but not over the phone."
If I expected Sarah to get mad or upset by my statement, I would've been wrong. Her face looked almost resigned to the fact, or maybe she was hopeful, like me, that Charmaine would give me the information I needed.
"I won't be gone long," I told her and Andrew.
They both nodded. I gave Sarah a hug and a kiss, and back slap to my son, before grabbing my stuff to go.
"Your new phone is on the counter if you need it."
One of the things that my team did while they were here was to get her set up on the same network we used with Black. They also programmed their numbers in case I wasn't around.
"Do me a favor and set the alarm after I leave. All the guys live close, so they can be here within minutes if necessary."
I shouldn't have been leaving them, but I knew my house was solid. No one would get in without the team knowing and therewere plenty of weapons. Andrew could easily protect them both if it came to that.
Unfortunately, it was needed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Graham
I knocked hard on Charmaine's door. I wasn't in the mood to be here, but since she sounded genuine on the phone, and I was keeping Andrew away from her for the time being, I figured it would be in my best interest to play nice.
