impressed at being here. My father was no longer able to hide behind his name and his wealth.
My father smiled ruefully as he stuck his own hand out. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Tyler didn’t let go. “I hope you understand that Ava’s been through a lot, all of it as a direct result of your choices. If you upset her, we’re leaving.”
I smiled to myself. I didn’t need Tyler to protect me at that moment, but it sure was nice to know I had backup.
My father swallowed hard. “I understand. I don’t want to upset her either.”
“Then don’t,” Tyler said. He wrapped his arm around me, and the three of us walked to the dining room.
“I made us some spaghetti,” my dad said.
That was another first for my father. Cooking. I peeked into the empty kitchen. “It’s hard to imagine our chef not being here.”
“Yes. It’s been an adjustment.”
Tyler pulled my chair out for me, and waited for me to sit down. I noticed my father watching him. He didn’t know I was pregnant yet. I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell him yet or not.
Once I was settled, Tyler sent me a look. I could tell that the look said, ‘Are you okay with this? Do you want to leave?’
I sent him a small smile back. I was fine. I still wanted to do this.
He settled into his chair, but managed to still look just as imposing as ever. I even caught my father casting a wary look in Tyler’s direction.
We ate in silence. The food was good. If I wasn’t so ravenous all the time, I probably wouldn’t have had an appetite, but the baby made me so hungry it overrode my emotional state.
Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. “Why did you ask me to come?”
My father put his fork down. “Because I wanted to apologize.”
I kept eating, curious what he would say.
“I am so sorry for what happened. I should have known better. The night when Christopher first found out you were investigating our business, I should have taken you out of the country then, and found you a safe place to stay. I took a huge risk when I let him leave that night.”
“I was watching you on the security camera,” I said. “It was obvious even to me that he wasn’t satisfied with your answer.”
“I don’t have an excuse. I wanted to believe he would let me handle it, so I did.”
“You wanted your fantasy world to stay intact.”
“Yes. But once you were gone, they both became more erratic. I started to realize they weren’t going to give up. Then I realized your life was in danger. By then, I couldn’t find you, but I started to suspect they had an idea where you were.”
“Did you really plan to walk away from the business?”
“Yes. I bought two plane tickets to Paris that night. I thought we could escape for a while, and when we came back, they’d be satisfied with having a larger share of the profits.”
“But I ran.” Tyler’s large hand moved over to cover mine. I felt the strength in his fingers as they intertwined with mine.
“Yes. Understandably so.”
“And that set them off?”
“Yes. They were consumed with finding you. They tried to act concerned, but I grew alarmed too, and I started looking for you. I panicked, and I didn’t plan. I should have called the FBI then and confessed, but instead I called the police when I knew they were out looking for you.”
“That’s when they were arrested on minor charges.”
“Yes. They broke into your office.”
“At the newspaper?”
“Yes.”
“God. I need to call my boss there.” I returned my focus to my father. “So how did you end up indicted?”
“I called the FBI.”
“You turned yourself in?”
“Yes. When Christopher and Carl left town, I assumed they were trying to find you. I thought going to the Feds was the most effective strategy. I knew once I provided evidence that all three of us would be taken into custody, from anywhere in the country. I just didn’t realize they’d find you so quickly.”
I wasn’t going to admit it to my father just yet, but I was impressed. And touched. He’d allowed himself to be indicted, and possibly spend some time in federal prison so that he could save me. “So what happens to you now?”
“It’s possible that I’ll get a minimum sentence since I reported the crime myself. I’ve handed over every relevant document. The house will be seized and so will most