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by Nana Malone
***
It wasn’t like he kidnapped her. Okay. Maybe a little like he kidnapped her. At the very least, he coerced her with a heavy hand. But he needed her if he wanted to be on his way in two weeks. Ends and means, Alec. End and means. He slid a glance in her direction. Her lithe frame lounged against the door frame of the Lotus. “You know, I’m not so bad.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Says the man who manipulated me into coming to Los Angeles with him.”
A grin spread across his face. He liked spunky. “Oh, come on. It’ll be fun. You know I’m a good time.” He winked.
“And incorrigible,” She said with a laugh. Shaking her head, she added. “Do you do things like this all the time? Just take off?”
“Sure. Drives you nuts, huh?”
“You might not have things to do, but I do. What if your supposed lead doesn’t pan out? Then I wasted a perfectly good day going off the plan.”
He navigated around the suburban going sixty in the fast lane. “Did you just say ‘off Pplan’? Can’t plan out your whole life, sweetheart. Just doesn’t work that way.”
“Says the Jack-of-All-Trades for the Westhorpe family.” She sat up straighter in her seat. “How do you expect to do anything without a plan?”
“Tell me, Jai, do your plans ever leave time for any fun? You seem uptight.”
“I’m not uptight.” She said as she sat up prim and stiff in her seat. “I’m practical. You strong-armed me into coming with you. Why couldn’t you just ask me out like a normal guy?”
He barked out a laugh. “You think this is because I want—”
The piercing tone of an incoming call broke off his thought. The caller ID said Mimi. His mother always had impeccable timing. He opted for the Bluetooth in his ear, in case she was in one of her moods. His mother could be difficult. But you didn’t choose your family. Especially when they took you in.
“Mimi, how are you?”
“Don’t use that smooth-talker tone with me. I know you. Hell, I raised you. It didn't work then, and it's not working now.”
“I can’t help that I’m naturally charming.”
“Sometimes you act like you're your father’s son. But I know better.”
Ouch. He sucked in a breath, casting Jaya a glance out of the corner of his eye. She studiously ignored him. “What can I do for you?”
“Are you on your way up here? I want to debrief on where we are with the Maxwell situation.”
“I'm heading there now. I've got a lead I want to follow up. I'll debrief you afterward.”
“Are you going to tell him why you're looking for him? I suggest—”
“I got it.” He interrupted. “I'll deal with him and will let you know. It'll be fine. He'll be safe and sound at home in no time. Trust me.” As usual, his mother would try and control the situation. But this time she needed to let him handle things.
Ever since he showed up on the doorstep and declared Royce Westhorpe his father, Adele had taken him in. She'd read his father the riot act when he'd wanted to throw the scrawny boy out on his ass. After his birth mother died, he'd taken the only things he had of value, his birth certificate and letters from Royce to his mother that were a decade old. He'd taken a cab and two buses from El Cajon, determined to find his father before CPS could toss his ass into the system.
The old man had called security to cart his ass out, but Adele stood firm. After some blood work and attempts to find other family members, plus a quick call to social services, she'd had him tucked into the Westhorpe's elaborate mansion. At the time she didn’t have any children, so she'd been in full mother-lion protective mode. While the tests were running, she'd given him a place to stay and looked out for him, kept Royce away from him, keeping him safe until the truth could be determined. She'd never wavered that he should be looked after. And when the happy news had arrived that he was, in fact, a Westhorpe, she’d declared he was living with them instead of at boarding school, like Royce suggested.
Even after Max had arrived, she still treated him like her own. Groomed him, educated him, and loved him.
“Don’t sound so flippant, Alec. This isn’t one of those situations where you can reason with Max to come home. He’s in a world of trouble if you can’t find and contain him.”
As she scolded him, he wondered when she’d started to sound so weary. An invisible fist squeezed his heart. He needed to keep her calm and in decent, if not necessarily good, spirits.
“Mimi, have I ever let you down?”
She sighed. “No, but—”
“I won’t let you down now, either. You can count on me. So, relax. I’ll call you when we get in.”
She may have been old and ill, but she was still as sharp as ever. “We?”
“That’s right. I’m bringing you a present.”