Page 121 of Secret Husband
I threw on my T-shirt and jeans and headed out to find Summer on the top step of the stairs.
“Is everything okay?”
“Some people are here to see you. They’re out back.”
“What people?” Alexei asked, appearing behind me, shirtless, and leaving no doubt as to what we had been doing.
Summer took this revelation in her stride. “They look official. Like law enforcement.”
I rushed downstairs and out the back door. A man and a woman stood off to the side, both in suits, looking severely out of place.
“Hello, can I help you?” I asked.
“Lauren Yates?”
“That’s me.”
The woman took off her sunglasses, and it dawned on me: not just any law enforcement.
“We’re with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Can you tell us the last time you saw Thad Covington?”
Chapter Forty-Five
Lauren
* * *
My ex-boyfriend and near-miss-fiancé was on the run.
Or that was what I assumed, given that the FBI were looking for him and no one had heard from him in over a week. The authorities had been coy with the details, but no way in hell did they just start this investigation. This had been going on for a while. My clients were being duped by him for months, and I had brought him into their lives.
Needless to say, the cookout and paint-in was cut short. I couldn’t continue to take advantage of everyone working on my house, so it made the most sense to call it a day. Gunnar, Sadie, Jason, Alexei, and Sasha remained behind.
“I reached out to all my clients last week. At least three of them gave him money and now they’re never going to see it again! How could I have been so stupid?”
Gunnar peered at me above steepled hands. “This is not your fault, Lo. You couldn’t have known he was doing this.”
“Oh, couldn’t I?” I had spent so long trying to avoid someone like my father—a huckster, a criminal—and I’d let my guard down. No way would I be caught in that trap. Not me, who could spot a scammer a mile off. Instead, I had offered up a sumptuous buffet of sports stars with disposable income for him to feast upon. “He was never interested in me, only in my connections. And now those connections are going to blackball me from this industry. They all think I was in on it with him.”
I took out my phone and dialed his number, which clicked into his outgoing message. The voice on the other end made my skin crawl.
“Now I know why you’ve been avoiding my calls, you limp-dicked fuckweasel. The next time I see you, I will rip your balls out through your throat and feed them to my sister’s dog. The one you’re fucking allergic to!”
Everyone stared. I caught Alexei’s eye, noted his approval, then realized this might be upsetting for his dad.
“Sorry, Sasha.”
My husband spoke up. “Don’t apologize, Lauren. You are within your rights.” He slid a look toward his father, who was wringing his hands. “I should take him home.”
He sounded regretful, but responsibilities didn’t suddenly vanish because I was having a meltdown. Needing a moment to breathe, I walked them out and watched while Alexei settled his father in the back seat. When he closed the door, he wrapped me in a hug.
“This will be rough for a while. Your clients will be wary. You may lose more.”
My chest heaved as a sob erupted.
Alexei continued in soothing tones, his soft voice speaking into my hair. “But you will come out of it stronger as you always do. And I will do everything in my power to help you.”
“This isn’t your problem to solve,” I said, sniffing.
