Heir's Affair

FIFTEEN

FIFTEEN

Blair had been a pillar for Max. In addition to Teddy’s only female confidante, Max was dating two other women. Tally made a real effort not to keep tabs on his love life. Being without him was hard enough without having to listen to every salacious rumor whispered around the Estate about him. But it was difficult to be ignorant when everyone was fascinated by this new, secret Stretton family member.

It had been six weeks since he’d moved into the mansion and other than a few minor hiccups, she heard through the grapevine that he was doing well fitting in. Max had his own assistant, Mandy, who hated her, and he was driven to the office every day. There was always someone with him to guide him… and keep tabs on him.

The fact that the Stretton social calendar was full made it impossible for them to have any contact, which was probably for the best. Teddy wanted to show off his new heir. Keeping busy distracted the Stretton’s from dealing with actual issues like their familial relationship or Teddy and Kimmy’s grief.

Tonight, there was a function at the Stretton Estate. Kimmy had planned two for the month ahead. This one was a memorial for her mother; the family had started another charity in Laura’s name. Tally didn’t need to be at the party itself but was on the side-lines just in case someone needed something, so she had to make herself presentable.

In a black square-neck dress, she had a loose chain belt around her waist and her cell phone in her hand. Given that she was on call, she remained in the hallway at the top of the stairs, watching the rich and beautiful arriving at the house. Standing just at the edge of the upstairs bannister was her favorite spot. Hidden by the hallway wall, she could peek around and watch Max greet guests.

He, Teddy, and Kimmy stood with their backs to the stairs, shaking hands and speaking to guests as they arrived. Their dates stood with them. Max was with a blonde tonight, Anika. He seemed to have developed a thing for blondes in the last six weeks.

This woman was the daughter of a Stretton family friend. The couple had been out a few times; it was a good match. Tally said that in her head to remind herself this was what she’d expected to happen, but it still made her sick to think about his hands on Anika in the way they’d once been on her.

People always lingered with Max, he was the draw of society at the moment. Some judged this illegitimate child and his elevated position in the family. Some even spoke about him being favored over Kimmy and Heath, who was not enjoying the competition at all.

Her cell vibrated in her hand. Confused, she glanced down at the device. Given that she was on call for Teddy, and she was looking at him, it was impossible for him to be the one on the other end of the line, though he could have instructed someone else to call her.

“Hello?” she asked, answering the number that didn’t come attached to a name. The line was open, but no one said anything. “Hello? Who is this?”

“I know this is probably a bad time, but I need a favor.”

Surprise struck her. “Robbie?” she asked.

Tally had seen the guys, but Max hadn’t. He called a few times in the first week, but his calendar filled so fast that he’d had no time to breathe. His friends were disappointed, but not surprised, and she talked him up every chance she got. The last thing she wanted was him losing friends.

“Yes, I… Tally, I need your help.”

Okay, so she had a new priority for the night. Whatever Robbie needed, she was going to make sure he got. “Tell me what you need.”

Another pause. “We need something from Max.”

Her mouth opened as she whipped around to look at Max, who was still at the bottom of the stairs with his back to her. “He’s with… people,” she whispered.

“Yeah, I figured. Look, it’s not him we need. It’s something he has… something he had. I don’t know if he’s still got it. But if he doesn’t, Bobby’s fucked.”

“Okay, slow down, what’s going on?” she asked, wondering how she’d pull Max away discreetly while he was the center of attention. “Where are you? I can tell Max—”

“No, he can’t know. This is… it’s not his concern anymore, you know? If he finds out about this, he’ll go postal. We don’t want to f**k up this good thing he’s got going, you know?”

Narrowing her eyes, she stepped back into the shadow. “What kind of trouble are we talking, Robbie? Are you in danger? Where are you?”

“We’re here, at the place, this fancy f*****g house,” he said, and her mouth dropped open. They were on Estate grounds! “By the fountain thing with the weird wing thing on it.”

That was in the courtyard and far from where the guests would be arriving. “How the hell did you—”

“We were going to break-in. We called Cindy, she gave us directions, but… f**k, there’s this party and there’s f*****g security everywhere.”

Tally knew little about Cindy’s affair with Teddy, but it stood to reason if it was more than a one-night stand, Cindy had been here and might remember her way around the place.

But that wasn’t what was sending Tally into a daze. “You were going to break in?” she hissed. “Are you nuts? If Teddy found you, he’d have called the cops. Hell, you could’ve been shot! Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because it’s not your f*****g mess either, Tal,” he snapped. “If Max knew I was involving you in this s**t, he’d—”

“What is it you need?” she asked, thinking there would be time for explanations later.

“Max has something. It’s probably in his room. I don’t think he’ll carry it on him… I tried his apartment, it’s not there, so he must have brought it to this fancy f*****g castle.”

Max had brought most of his things with him, not because he wanted to erase his connection to his old place, but because the crime rate in his old neighborhood was high. “Okay, what is it?”

“A key, he used to keep it in his wallet,” he said. “Do you think you can get it for us?”

His wallet, oh yeah, no problem. Damnit. Tally covered her eyes. “I can try, what’s it for?” Robbie didn’t answer. “I’m not prying, I just… I have to know that whatever it’s for… that it won’t hurt him.” More silence. “s**t, Rob, you’re asking me to steal from him.”

There was a long, lingering pause that didn’t fill her with confidence. “Max knew you were going to rock his world even before your first kiss in Fitzpatrick’s,” Robbie said. “He told me after, just touching you was like a sucker punch to the gut.”

Maybe she’d asked for it. Robbie was trying to put her at ease and to let her know that Max probably wouldn’t consider it stealing because he trusted her. They’d once been so close that he’d have let her have anything of his without question.

She didn’t know how far they’d come from there, but Robbie was trying to remind her that the secret of her relationship with Max brought them all closer and reinforced their trust. But his words had a secondary effect he probably didn’t expect… They gave her a flash of that first night… her first date with Max.

Stepping into the hallway light, Tally looked down at the man greeting the glitterati in the gleaming foyer of this sumptuous home that he’d one day inherit. She couldn’t connect the man at the bottom of those stairs with the one who’d pulled her dress down and told her she needed to kiss him to fit in.

The memory made her ache. “I don’t want to think about that night,” she murmured, wishing for the numbness that had gotten her through her heartbreak.

But he didn’t listen. “You didn’t kiss him back,” Robbie said. “He said the look of shock on your face grabbed him by the balls and he knew he had to have you… don’t think he expected it to happen that night in the alley—”

“Okay, I get it,” she said, understanding that his friends would never ask her to hurt him and they’d certainly never con her into it. “Go toward the north courtyard entrance and follow the path behind the rose bushes, there’s a basement entrance hidden behind a big stone pillar with a thing that looks like a frog carved into it.”

“Okay.”

She glanced back at the guests and was happy to see a large group had just arrived. They’d give her cover to get away for a while. “Give me five minutes. Meet me there.”

Concern came down the phone line. “You know if we’re seen in that house we’ll embarrass Max,” Robbie said. “I don’t want a confrontation. Are we going to f**k this up for him?”

The Max she knew wouldn’t be embarrassed by anyone he cared about. But it had been six weeks since they’d been intimate, she couldn’t say how much his attitudes or opinions had changed in that time. Teddy’s influence could be overpowering. Max might not realize just how big an impact his new role and position had had on his nature.

Once or twice she’d been called into a room where Max was present, but he never looked at her. The first few times, it hurt, but after that, she came to understand why he did it. She was the past he had to forget.

“No.”

“Cindy said Stretton would put Max’s rooms in the heart of the house, somewhere close to the action and I—”

“I’m not leaving you outside in the cold. I don’t know how long it will take me to find it,” Tally said. “You can wait in my room, no one ever goes in there.”

She said nothing for a minute. There was sheer gratitude in Robbie’s voice when he spoke again. “Thank you. You’re an angel.”

They hung up. She clutched her phone tight and ran along the hallway. She didn’t need it to ring again, she needed a window of time to help the guys. Taking a detour by the frantic kitchen, she grabbed a plate of food and a bottle of champagne. Everyone was so busy trying to keep the wheels greased that they didn’t pay any attention to her.

Hurrying along the basement corridor, Tally went up the three stairs to the sunken entrance and peeked out. Huddled at the top of the stairs were three figures and she gestured them down.

“Seriously?” she asked, recognizing Robbie, Ryan, and Bobby. “There are three of you?” Robbie opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand. “Just come this way, I’ll yell at you later.”

It was too dark to pick out their features, so she couldn’t read all their moods. But there was no time for conversation. With the champagne under her arm, she took Robbie’s hand and led him down. They continued along the basement corridor until she got to the stairs that led up to the drawing room level, and then she kept on going up until she got to her bedroom. When they were safe inside, she locked the door.

The men bundled forward, breathing into their hands and rubbing them together. “God, you look freezing,” Tally said. “Sit.”

Bobby sat in the wingback chair she had in the corner, Ryan on the bed, and Robbie on the ottoman. Tally left the food and champagne on the dresser and went to the heater in the corner to turn it on full. The guys weren’t even wearing jackets, so she grabbed blankets from a drawer and tossed one to each of them.

“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” she asked. The guys looked at each other. “Do you want my help or not?”

“We owe some guys some money, that’s all,” Ryan muttered.

“That’s all?” she asked and shook her head. “How much money?” None of them spoke. “Guys, I can’t believe you wouldn’t trust me.”

“We trust you,” Robbie said, putting his blanket on the ottoman as he stood up. “We just don’t want you mixed up in this. That’s all.”

But she knew there was more going on; Robbie tried his best to look innocent and Ryan stayed so still, he didn’t even blink. Setting her sights on Bobby, she noted that he wouldn’t look at her. Something drew her closer to him and that was when she noticed the bruising around his eye and the blood on his temple.

“Oh my God, what happened?” Tally asked and dashed into the bathroom to dampen a washcloth. “Hell, guys, please!”

She began to wipe the blood from Bobby’s face and though he resisted, she crouched and pulled him to her.

“They caught up with me,” Bobby said. “That’s all.”

“Why would you owe people money?” she asked. “The garage is doing okay. I—”

“We borrowed it a long time ago,” Ryan said. “It’s a long story. Are you going to help us or not?”

“With this key,” she said, standing again and scrutinizing them all. Whatever was going on, it was no joke if people were getting hurt. “Okay, stay here, eat something and get some rest.”

“Tal—”

“I’m not sending you back out there if there are people who want to hurt you,” she said.

“You’re not gonna tell Max, are you?” Ryan asked. “We talked about it and we don’t want him to know about any of this shit.”

“I won’t—”

“You’ve got to promise us, Tally,” Bobby said. “Please, you won’t tell him. Promise.”

“I promise,” she said, nodding.

This was the strangest thing, but it was important to support these guys who were clearly in need. Maybe it was a pride thing; Max’s life was going well and they didn’t want to tell him that theirs weren’t working out so well. But from the certainty radiating from these guys, she knew their desire to protect Max came from a place of love. He was doing great and they didn’t want to cause him any trouble that might jeopardize what he had… Tally could identify with that feeling.

“We just need the key,” Robbie said. “We have a safe, but we need all three keys… Max doesn’t need what’s in it now. Cindy made us promise we wouldn’t take Stretton’s money. We don’t want it anyway, that’s what Max is owed.”

“Okay, I’ll get it. Just stay here, eat, and then get some rest. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Surging to her feet, she took her phone from her b*a and left it on the dresser. What she was doing now was more against the rules than not answering her phone, but it was a risk worth taking.