Playing in SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 9) (7 page)

“Are you okay,
Audrey? You looked sad?” Jeanne asks, wiping her eyes.

“Not sad, just
thinking about visiting my family while I’m here. It’s been too
long, and I should try and see them.”

“I’ll go with you,”
Reina says, squeezing my hand.

“You should get
back.”

“I’m the boss, and
you need me. We both know you shouldn’t go alone.”

I
do
know that. My family loves me, but I’m a disappointment to them. I
was supposed to marry a nice boy—or even a not so nice boy—who
could provide for me. It doesn’t matter that I can provide for
myself. Or even that I could provide for my parents without making a
dent in my bank accounts. All that matters is that I’m almost 40
and not married. So basically, I’m a failure.

“I’ll go too,”
Jeanne says.

“Thank you, Mija, but
I’m not sure it’s safe for you to go anywhere but school until we
find out who’s after you.”

“You’ll take care
of her, Reina?”

“Always, Jeanne.”

“Okay, enough of this
seriousness. We have some junk food to eat, and some movies to
watch.”

We spend the rest of
the night eating too much, while laughing and crying over the movies.
Jeanne ends up snuggled against me as she falls asleep, and I can’t
help but wish she was my daughter. I have to remind myself that she
has a mother. Maybe not the one she needs, but that’s not exactly
my business. Even if I got involved with Blake, Misha would still be
a part of both of their lives. Like it or not, that’s the reality
of the situation.

Blake

Zack had the awesome
idea that we should make breakfast for the girls. Well, all of us
except for Brayden, that is. Apparently there was an incident in Las
Vegas, and he’s not allowed near a stove. The rest of us are making
eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast while he arranges some fruit on a
plate. We’re almost done when Jesse walks in.

“Hey man, you had a
party and didn’t invite me?”

“Nah. You know I’d
invite you if something was going on. They’re just hanging out
while their women protect Jeanne.”

“Oh. That’s cool.”

“Yeah. So, guys this
is my best friend, Jesse. Jesse, this is Matt, Zack, Jake, and
Brayden.”

They all give him the
standard chin nod, and get back to work. “I guess I’ll catch you
later.”

“You can stay. We
have plenty of food,” I tell him.

“You sure?”

“You can keep an eye
on Brayden for us,” Matt tells him.

“I’m putting fruit
on a bloody plate. I don’t think even I could fuck that up.”

“Oh, I think you
could,” Zack says.

“Asshole.”

“I own that title on
occasion.”

“We all do,” Jake
says with a shrug.

“That’s what
make-up sex is for,” Matt says with a smirk.

“When it works,”
Reina says, walking in.

“Always gotta shoot
me down, huh Princess?”

“That’s so sweet,”
Jeanne says.

“What’s sweet,
honey?” Reina asks.

“He calls you
‘Princess.’”

“That’s not sweet,
it’s an insult. My name means ‘Queen’ so he calls me ‘Princess’
to make me remember I’m less than that.”

“Rei,” Matt says,
looking ashamed.

“It’s fine. I’m
used to it.”

“Excuse us for a
minute, please.”

Matt grabs her hand and
pulls her from the room. Jeanne and I stand there awkwardly for a
minute while everyone else starts loading up their plates, and acting
like nothing unusual happened. I finally grab a plate and hand it
Jeanne, before getting one for myself, too.

“I’m sorry,” she
blurts out.

“For Matt and Reina?
Don’t worry about them. They fight over what color the sky is,”
Isa tells her.

“Why are they married
then? My parents got divorced because they fought so much.”

“Matt and Reina love
each other more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. That kind of
love can be scary. They have trouble dealing with it, so they fight,”
Audrey says.

“Is that why you and
Mom fought, because you love each other so much?”

“No, baby. We never
had that kind of love.”

“Maybe you’re
scared, too.”

I put down my plate and
take her face in my hands. “Jeanne, I don’t want to hurt you, but
you need to understand that I don’t love your mother. I thought I
did once, and I’m happy about it, because I wouldn’t have you if
I hadn’t felt that way. But that’s it.”

She nods. “Okay. I
get it. I guess I just always hoped you’d get back together. I like
Audrey, though.”

“This isn’t about
Audrey, or any other woman or man. Your mom and I broke up because of
us and no one else.”

“I believe you.”

“Good. Now let’s
eat so I can get you to school on time.”

“Jake and I will be
taking her to school today. It’s safer,” Isa says.

“And then we’ll get
to work on figuring out who’s behind all of this,” Audrey tells
me.

“You really think you
can figure it out? I know you’re a super genius, Audrey, but
whoever did it won’t have left a trail of clues for you,” Jesse
says.

“Criminals aren’t
always smart,” Ainsley tells him.

“They aren’t always
stupid, either.”

“Is there something
you want to share, Jesse, because it seems like you’re pretty sure
we won’t figure this out,” Darcy tells him, her eyes narrowed.

“Just playing Devil’s
Advocate,” he responds with a laugh.

The girls—and
guys—all look at each other, which isn’t surprising. Jesse’s
been my best friend for over two decades, and I thought what he was
saying was weird, too. Maybe not suspicious, which is what I know
they’re thinking, but definitely weird.

“Are you going to
visit your family today, too, Audrey?” Jeanne asks.

“Yes, Mija. Reina and
I are going to see them after breakfast.”

“I thought you were
working on finding out who’s after Jeanne,” I say, not able to
stop the anger I’m feeling from seeping into my voice. My daughter
needs to be top priority right now.

“I am in no way,
shape, or form, a computer hacker, and analyzing information is not
my specialty, either. I’m passable in both, but others are experts.
Ainsley and Darcy’s teams can hack, along with Scott’s help,
while Isa and our friend Tegan use their teams to analyze. Once they
have more information, they’ll go over it with me.”

There’s bite is in
her words, too, and I know I deserve it. She’s put Jeanne first in
everything over the last couple of days. There’s no reason for me
to think that’s changed. “I’m sorry. This whole thing is
stressing me out. I worried that someone would try to kidnap Jeanne
because of me, but I never thought someone would try to take her
because of her brain. It’s hard to sit back and wait.”

“It is,” Audrey
says, putting her hand over mine, “but we know what we’re doing.
We’ll figure this out, and make sure the person who did this goes
to jail for a very long time.”

“So now you control
the courts, too?” Jesse asks.

Reina pins him with a
look that would send me running. “We control what needs to be
controlled in order for people to be brought to justice.”

“Only because you
don’t let me and Aiden bring our brand of justice to the table,”
Faith says with a smirk.

“You have a very long
leash, Faith, and if it ever there ever came a time when it wasn’t
enough, I would happily unleash you.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Is anyone else
scared? Because I’m a little scared,” I say, swallowing hard.

“You only need to be
scared if you’re the one behind all of this, and I hope to God
you’re not,” Audrey tells me.

I’m a little
startled, but then I realize I shouldn’t be. Everyone is a suspect.
They have to be. My daughter has been threatened, and I want them to
take down whoever’s behind it. Even if it might be my best friend.
The one who’s currently smirking once again, and making me doubt
him.

* * *

Audrey

Once Isa and Jake leave
with Jeanne, and everyone else is settled in to work, Reina and I go
to my parents’ house. She’s driving, because she knows I’m
nervous. Coming from a Mexican family herself, she understands what
I’ve had to face. Her parents were much more progressive than mine,
so she’s never had any trouble with her career choices. But she
knows the culture and the mindset, and I’m glad she’ll be there
with me.

“You ready?” she
asks as we pull up outside the house.

“Not even a little
bit.”

“I can drive us back
to Blake’s.”

“You know that’s
not an option. I need to go in there. My dad will have to leave for
work soon, so let’s get this over with.”

We walk to the door,
and I knock. The door opens, and my mother’s smile falls when she
sees me. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Do you really want
to have this conversation on your porch, where all of your neighbors
can see us?”

“Your father won’t
be happy if I let you in.”

“And of course,
you’ll always do what he says.”

“He is my husband.”

“And I am your
daughter,” I say, raising my voice.

“What’s going on
out here?” my father asks, appearing behind my mother at the door.

“You. How dare you
show your face after what happened the last time you were here?”

“You mean when your
boss thought he could force himself on me, and I broke his arm?”

Reina gasps, but I
don’t dare look at her. This is my fight, and I won’t show any
fear. I have been the perfect daughter all my life, and I don’t
deserve the way I’ve been treated. I don’t deserve to banned from
seeing my family. I won’t back down, or cower. This may be my last
chance to bridge the gap, and showing fear is not in my plan.

He grabs my arm, and
pulls me inside. Reina runs in before the door closes, and pulls me
away from him. That only angers him more. He’s in my face, and his
Spanish is rapid and angry.

“You almost cost me
my job. Who would’ve paid for this house and our food then?”

“Me. I would’ve
paid. I’ll pay now.”

“Your money is
disgusting to me.”

“More disgusting than
his? He would’ve raped me if I wasn’t strong enough to stop him.”

“He wants to marry
you. He would be an honorable choice.”

“Are you even
listening to yourself? A rapist is not honorable.”

“So what, you’ll
never marry? Where is the honor in that?”

“Senor Sanchez, your
daughter is one of the most honorable women I’ve ever met in my
life. She is also a well-respected scientist. She doesn’t need a
husband to validate her,” Reina tells him, barely controlling her
anger.

“You know nothing
about us.”

“I was born and
raised for most of my life in Mexico. I understand better than you
think.”

“Do you dishonor your
parents, as well?”

“
My
parents are proud of my success. They love to tell their friends that
I help people.”

He looks pointedly at
her hand, and the giant yellow diamond there. “You are married.”

“Yes, but they were
proud of me long before that.”

Before anything else is
said, my dad’s boss walks out of the kitchen. “I thought I heard
Audrey out here. I am ready for my apology.”

“You won’t be
getting one from me.”

“You risk your
father’s job over a little misunderstanding?”

“You slammed me into
a wall, and stuck your hand down my shirt. What exactly was I
misunderstanding.”

He steps towards me,
thinking he’ll intimidate me, but he won’t. I open my mouth, but
Reina speaks before I can. “Senor, I believe you have a contract
with Corrigan & Co.”

“How do you know
that, senorita?”

“Actually, it’s
Senora Corrigan, and I remember seeing you when you met with my
husband.”

His eyes widen, and he
practically bows. “Of course, of course. My apologies for not
recognizing you.”

“You need to be
apologizing for assaulting one of my employees.”

“Employees? Audrey
works for Corrigan & Co.?”

“I work for the
Corrigan & Co. Foundation.”

“Oh, of course, the
Foundation. Much more suitable for a woman.”

I seriously want to
break more than his arm right now. I walk over, planning on leaving
until I see Matt getting out of his car and walking towards me. Reina
must’ve told him more than I thought she did, and he decided to
come and give us some support.

Reina shakes her head
and smiles at the asshole in front of her. “Your attitude and your
behavior leave me no choice but to tell you that your contract with
our company is over, effective immediately.”

“You cannot do that.”

“Oh yes, she can,”
Matt says, walking in. “My wife has full autonomy over any
decisions she wishes to make.”

I almost laugh out
loud, thinking about how Matt wouldn’t allow Reina to ban Aiden
from Corrigan when we thought he let Ellie down. Right here and now,
though, I know he’s doing what he can to give her all the power in
this room, so she can shut down my father’s boss. It’s the wrong
move, though. That man, and my parents, will never listen to a woman
over a man, not matter who she is. It’s not like this with everyone
in the Hispanic community as a whole, but within this more insular
one, it’s more common than not.

“You let your woman
make such choices? You are a fool,” he tells Matt, switching to
English for his benefit. There’s no need. Matt speaks fluent
Spanish—he once told me he learned years ago so that he could honor
Reina’s parents, and even though I think of him like a brother, I
may have swooned a little.

“I’m not the one
who just lost his biggest contract, now am I?”

“You can’t be
serious. You have to honor our contract. I’ll sue you.”