his mate. I’ll speak to you both later. Goodnight, Grant.
He didn’t have any idea what the man would want of him. Nor did he really care. He had a mate, and he was willing to bet she’d have no trouble whatsoever in telling him off. Paying the bill with the company card, Grant was glad that Piper decided to head back tonight. He’d let the king know in the morning that they were home.
~*~
Benson waited while the phone was ringing. There was a great deal going on right now, and he’d bet his last nickel that he was going to somehow be blamed for it all. Well, not all of it, but at least the parts that would have him in— “Hello? I was wondering if it were possible to speak to Mr. Dante? Could you tell him I won’t take up much of his time? Just a moment or two, please.” The man that had answered the phone told him he could take a message and see if he’d call him back. “Good. That would be good. Just let me think a moment. I do need to speak to him. It’s...I’m not threatening you or anything, but it’s about his son, Abraham. He’s newly adopted him.”
“May I ask your name, sir?” He told him his name was Benson Lawrence. “Would you mind hanging on for one moment, sir? Mrs. Dante is here now. She would like to speak to you.”
He was put on hold, and Benson had to tell himself to be calm. He didn’t want to scare the woman just because he knew Retha better than they did. When the woman answered the phone, he could hear the anger in her voice.
“My name is Benson Lawrence. I’m the biological father of Abraham. I’m not sure what his last name is right now. When Retha left my home several years ago, she was going by Bundy.” The woman didn’t say anything, and Benson took that as a good sign. “I’m not with her. This other man—I think her actual husband, Tag Bundy—is with her and coming toward your home. I’m not sure what her plans are for Abraham, but it can’t be good. She and I...it was a one night stand as far as sex was concerned. Then about a year or so later—”
“Why are you calling here, Mr. Lawrence?” He told her that was what he was getting to. “Just cut to the chase. You assured my staff that you’re not going to cause any trouble. Yet you calling here has upset my household. Not to mention, upset me. I’m not one to fuck with.”
“No, ma’am. I can understand that you’re not. Retha will hurt Abraham if she gets him from you. She’s done it before. She lived with me for a little while, a few months after the little boy was born. Then one day, I came home from work, and she was gone. I didn’t let it go. I probably should have, but I found someone to look for her for me. When they caught up with her, she no longer had Abraham. I thought for sure that she’d murdered him. Then I read about that place in the paper and went there. That’s where I figured out about you and your husband.” She asked him what he meant by that. “I’m thinking you’re not very trusting. But that’s a good thing nowadays. I read about the thing with the children’s home. They didn’t have a list of names to go with it, but I did some of my own searching and found that Abraham and a girl by the name of Tracy were adopted. Well, that’s not true. They were all adopted, but I was able to narrow it down to you and your husband. I’m just trying to keep him safe from her. She’s not what one might call maternal.”
“What is it you want out of this, Mr. Lawrence? I’m not going to turn Abe over to you. If that’s what you’re thinking, then you’d better change your mind. As I told you before, I’m not one to fuck with.” He said he wasn’t in a position to raise anyone right now. “And the reason you say that? You’re not going to come here either if you’re planning something with Retha. We know she’s on her way here. We assumed that Abe’s biological father was with her.”
“No. I.... When Abe came to live with me for a while, I did one of those DNA