Page 106 of Crash Course
"She wouldn’t get into details. But whatever your father has on him, it must be big. He's always been a womanizer. I chose not to remind Rosemary of that. I was focused on getting as much information as I could."
Her mother, the spy. She should put her on the payroll. "Dad came to court yesterday. At first, I wasn’t sure why. When Nagle flipped on us, I figured it out and confronted him."
"Oh, Cilla, I’m so sorry."
"I finally get it, Mom. How horrible he was to you. I never truly understood what could be so bad that you moved halfway around the world to get away."
"He loves you, Cilla. Probably more than anything or anyone. I don’t understand why he’s turning on you."
I do.Should she confide in Mom? Her parents had been civil over the years, but it wasn’t as if they spent time together or spoke. Cilla, this conversation aside, didn’t discuss either parent with the other.
"Mom, I don’t want to involve you. All I’ll say is I have information about his company."
"Something he’s hiding? Is it illegal?"
"Let it go."
Her mother huffed. "Leave it to him to put his daughter in the crossfire. Darling, I’m your mother. I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but please, if you need anything, tell me. I’ve been through this with him. He won’t stop until he gets his way."
"I’d hoped he wouldn’t use my career as leverage."
"He’ll use whatever means necessary. How do you think I wound up in Europe alone? My intention all along was to take you. To prevent it, he didn’t care who he destroyed."
What did that mean? She’d known her father had threatened to cut her mother off financially, but was there more? "Who besides you was there to destroy?"
The line went silent for a few seconds and Cilla pulled the phone from her ear, checking the screen. Still connected. She brought the phone back. "Mom?"
"You, Cilla," she finally said. "He threatened me with minimal child support. And he’d turn your friends against you so when you went back to Charlotte, you’d have no one. But if I went quietly and let you stay in Charlotte, he’d leave you alone. He was willing to sacrifice you to get his way."
Another knifing pain ripped at Cilla. She slouched back in her chair, breathing through the mental chaos and anger over her parents’ fighting. Over being stuck at home with a nanny during her formative years when she so needed her mother.
All that time resenting her mother for leaving when it should have been Dad she aimed her anger at.
Her father, knowing Mom had big dreams for Cilla, had threatened to ruin his own child’s life. Her poor mother. No one should be tormented that way.
"I’m so sorry, Mom."
"Before this, I’d have never told you. However, I believe you should know how far he’s willing to go. You’re an adult. You can make your own decisions."
"Thank you. Let me know if you hear anything else. But, Mom, please, don’t initiate anything. I don’t want him coming after you."
"Honey, I’ve taken on the beast before. I have my own money now. I don’t need his. He can’t hurt me, Cilla."
"Still, let’s not have you poking the bear."
Cilla would do enough for both of them.
Just after 5:00,Cilla pulled through the gates of what Phin called Chez Blackwell. Cruising along the winding drive, she took in the mountain backdrop and its forested hills. Nature, in all its forms, held its own stunning beauty that somehow settled her.
This place, along with one Cruz Blackwell, offered . . . peace. Respite she hadn’t realized she needed.
Just as she pulled into the parking area in front of the Annex, Mr. Delicioso came through the doors, his long strides eating up the path between them and Cilla’s midsection caught fire. His curly hair hung loose around his face, and he wore jeans, rubber-soled boots, and a long-sleeved navy T-shirt that hugged his big shoulders in all the right ways.
At least in Cilla’s opinion.
The sight of the man did things to her. Really good things.
She pulled next to a Mercedes that cost over a hundred grand—she’d looked at that model herself—and shut the engine. Then she sat, simply watching Cruz move toward her, his gaze connecting with hers through the windshield.
