I inhaled rather loudly, bringing her attention away from Todd and straight to my face.
“What?” She asked. “We love each other. We have a kid on the way. If what you said this weekend is true, then I have nothing to worry about. Right?”
I blinked, and then nodded stupidly, shifting in my seat in surprise.
When I turned back to Todd, he started to explain. “The easy way to do this is by getting Miller’s name on the birth certificate. You can do that without getting married, of course, but it’s easier to just have the same last name when the baby is born.”
I blinked. “Can she still try to get grandparent rights or something once the baby is born?”
He shook his head. “Not easily, no. Two parents that are married, happy, and have a stable home life, have no reason to share their child with the grandparents. The grandparents aren’t the mother or father. Y’all are. That easy. What’s the next thing?”
I just shook my head.
Was it that easy?
Surely it couldn’t be.
I chose to let it lie, for now.
The next item on the agenda was telling him about the murder of Faris Blue.
“Tell me about the murder. Why was Mercy a suspect?” Todd asked, trying to get all the information.
I started speaking, starting with the altercation at the WWE show we’d gone to, and finishing it up with what Tony had said to us the morning before.
“Did they say how the man died?” Todd asked with furrowed brows.
“High heel through the groin, neck, torso and face. There was a single contusion on the man’s head from what they think was a long, blunt object. Such as a flashlight, or night stick. Possibly a board,” I explained, remembering the crime scene photos I’d looked at.
“Okay, I’ll get my investigator on it. He’s kind of pricey, but he does good work. Is that acceptable?” Todd asked.
I nodded, as did Mercy.
Grabbing her hand, I gestured to Todd. “Give him the last set.”
Todd grinned. “I don’t think there’s ever been a time I’ve had someone come in with so much work for me to do at once.”
Mercy grimaced as she handed over the last packet of papers.
Todd read them quietly, going through each and every one before he spoke next.
“So, did they give you a reason why these were called in?” Todd asked, lowering his glasses from his face and rubbing his eyes.
“No. Just that they were called in. I asked around, though, and was told that the week we were gone, Linda Moose spent quite a bit of time at the bank with the manager,” I growled.
He blinked.
“I’ve got a couple of people on my payroll that can do a little digging. However, as of right now, this is all legally binding. They have the right to call the loan in at any time,” he said honestly.
“Fuck,” I hissed. “That fucking bitch.”
Mercy squeezed my hand, digging her fingernails into my skin. “Seriously? Stop cursing in front of people.”
Dually chastised, I smiled apologetically at the man in front of me. Even though I was sure Todd used those words on a daily basis, fancy suit or not.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said with a smile in my voice.
“As for what you do next, liquidating some assets. Sell your house so you can keep some of the money you’ve made on it over the two years you’ve had it. Get married, buy a new house that’s not through Kilgore Bank and Loan. Keep me updated on information, and let me know if there’s anything else I can do,” Todd said as he stood.
We stood, too, and I offered my hand to the man.
He took it, shaking my hand with genuine affection. “Marines.”
I laughed.
He’d known that I wanted to know.
Smart man.Chapter 20Most people sleep peaceably in their beds at night because there are men out there ready to do violence on their behalf.
-Coffee cup
Mercy
Two weeks later
“If you’d let me help you, this would all be unnecessary,” my mother said for the fifth time as we walked up the bank’s steps.
I turned to her and shook my head sadly. “I know you do, mom. But I also know you have a lot of money in medical bills that you’re paying right now for dad’s hospital stays and heart surgery. I don’t want to, nor will I add to your burdens. It’s fine, I promise.”
She had succeeded in calling in my business and home loans, making me have to choose which one I wanted to keep.
I went with my business loan and had pulled out just into the green since I’d started Second Chance four years ago, making me realize it was the right decision.
My house, however, had to be sold in order for me to do it. Her house, though, sat untouched and unoccupied while Miller and I shared his room at his apartment that he shared with Foster.
I’d had multiple offers of help, not just from Miller, but from the men in my employ, the members of Free, The Dixie Wardens, and all of the SWAT team, as well as other members of the community.
I didn’t take any of it, though. It’d been a bone of contention since we’d gotten back from Las Vegas and learned what she’d done.
I was now walking into the bank to cash in the check that would pay off the rest of my business loan.
Then I had an appointment at the house that I now owned.
My mother, however, thought I was making a very bad decision.
I didn’t. And I knew that, deep down, Miller didn’t either.
He may say he was mad, but he understood wanting to accomplish something on my own.
Which was why he was buying a house this afternoon himself.
I’d managed to stop him from buying my house, but only just barely.
He was a sneaky devil, though, and I wouldn’t put it past him to do it despite me pleading with him not to.
Not that’d he’d fucking care.
I hadn’t seen him more than an hour at the end of the night since I’d told him I was selling my house.