if they kept getting interrupted. Or, at least, that had been my experience.
“Since I didn’t protect you then, I tried to do everythin’ I could to protect you after. Kept tabs on where you were and what you were doin’, even after you changed your name. I worked on gettin’ you let out early and made sure you could leave Rochester even though you’d technically been on parole.”
My stomach churned, making me regret having breakfast this morning. This was so much worse than I’d thought. He hadn’t just sent Min to me. He’d had his hand in everything that had happened to me from the moment I’d made the accusations about Art. Ambrose had claimed to be my lawyer back then, but I hadn’t wanted him anywhere near me. I’d thought he’d wanted to protect his brother by getting me in trouble. Now, I saw it was guilt.
It didn’t make things better.
I lifted my chin. “If you’re expecting me to thank you, you’ll be waiting until hell freezes over.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not…no, I’m not expecting anything from you. I never wanted you to know I was doing any of this.”
“Now that I know, what happens?”
His hands were shaking as he pressed his palms to the top of his desk. “Whatever you want. I just want to help you. Money. More cases. I can put you on retainer for the firm. Or I can write a check.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want your fucking money, Ambrose. I never did, no matter what your family’s always thought.”
He opened his mouth, and the expression on his face made me think he was going to apologize again. I didn’t want to hear it. In fact, I was just about ready to walk out. This wasn’t helping me at all.
“Just tell me one more thing,” I said. “If you’re so hellbent on helping me, why the fuck would you send me a case that would take me to Savannah and to your family’s fucking firm?”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“The case you gave Min to hire me for, that’s what I’m talking about.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know anything about the case itself. I simply told her to take whatever case needed the most research done and hire you for it.”
“So, you had no idea that one of the families I was looking into has had Check & Sons as their lawyers for generations?”
His jaw dropped, and I didn’t think he was a good enough actor to pretend to be that surprised. “I swear, I didn’t know. I never would’ve sent you anywhere near my family.”
I wanted to believe him simply because it would make things easier for me, but he’d hidden his interference in my life for more than a decade. I didn’t think I could believe anything he said.
And where that left me, I didn’t know.
Twenty-Five
Bradyn
I didn’t like this.
I tossed the remote on the table and pushed to my feet. I understood Nyx needing to do this herself, but that didn’t mean I liked the idea of her going through this alone.
My instincts were to protect her, always and from everything, but when I’d agreed to submit to her that first time, I’d seen the need she had for independence, for control. If I tried to hold her too tight, I’d lose her, and it was that thought that kept going through my mind as I waited in our hotel room.
Still, I needed to be ready for however she came back. Depending on how things went, she could be furious or crying or dealing with flashbacks or any number of other things. She hadn’t wanted me to go with her to confront Ambrose, but she had wanted me here with her, and I was determined to show her that it hadn’t been a mistake.
She needed familiarity, but not here in Rochester. She needed to be around the people and places that had helped her work through her trauma the first time around. I didn’t have the financial resources to do something like rent a private plane, but I’d always been wise with how I spent my money, which meant I had enough to do this for her.
We’d do some sightseeing, go to dinner wherever she wanted, even if it was just to stay here and get room service, and then tomorrow morning, we’d go to New York City so she could spend some time with Kaimi and Rose. I was pretty sure that between our tickets, my