Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series Ainsley Claire (primary phonics books .TXT) 📖

and order something in, if you’d like. I don’t care what those guys said.”

She looks around, as if worried there’s a mob chasing her. “Maybe another time.”

A black Escalade drives up to the curb, and Peter helps Mia into the car. In an instant, they take off.

My head is spinning. Everything happened so quickly, and I’m left standing on the sidewalk as the Mercedes drives away.

I call for a rideshare, and while I wait, I realize I have to be better informed. I’m missing a lot of pieces of this puzzle, so I search Mia Couture on the internet.

After a moment, my world begins to spin. There are articles about Mia being arrested this morning and getting out on bail. She told me she was deposed by Viviana Prentis’s attorney.

There are articles about her being kicked off the board of directors for her behavior, and the stockholders are demanding she be fired from Diamond Analytics. She told me that she was taking a leave of absence to focus on Viviana’s court case.

Then I see links to porn sites with sex tapes she’s made, and I almost drop my phone. This says her Flirt app first started in China, and is actually designed to funnel prostitutes to wealthy men…  She’s being investigated for running a prostitution ring in six states and four other countries?

A little farther down there’s a story that names her “partners,” who are also under grand jury investigation—even Nate is included, and it implies they might be romantically involved?

None of this seems at all like the woman I thought I was dating. Is everything Mia’s shown me about herself a scam? Is that why I’m in so much deeper than I usually allow myself to go? I’m not sure what to do.

My rideshare arrives and I collapse in the back. On the way home, I scroll through the many web links and then move on to images of Mia. There are thousands. My stomach turns. What the hell? I can barely make my legs work when the rideshare drops me at my place. I’ve been gone less than two hours.

As I walk up, I find Clay sitting on the front steps. My heart stops all over again. I haven’t had this much upheaval in my life since…ever, I don’t think. I shove the mess with Mia to the back burner immediately.

“Clay, what are you doing out here?” I look around. “Where’s your mom?”

He jacks his thumb toward the house. “She’s asleep.”

“Is anyone here with you?”

He’s watching the street carefully, like he’s waiting for someone. “No, they’re all inside.”

I sit down next to him, and he’s ice cold. “Why are you sitting outside?”

“I’m waiting for my dad.”

My heart breaks, and I pull him in close. “Did you talk to him?”

“He told me he’d find me. I’m waiting outside so I won’t miss him.”

“I promise, we won’t miss him.” I stand and hold my hand out. “Why don’t we go inside?”

We walk into my living room, and Duke has smeared what looks and smells like strawberry jelly on my suede couch. He’s busy watching cartoons.

“Do you know where Laird is?” I ask, my anxiety increasing. My sister doesn’t need a neglect charge on top of everything else she’s dealing with.

“He’s sleeping with Mommy. He always sleeps with Mommy.”

“And what about Tavish?”

“I don’t know,” Duke says with his eyes attached to the television.

I race upstairs to the room where Tavish should be sleeping, and he’s crashed out in the portable crib Kelly brought over.

I walk downstairs, and Clay is now positioned next to the window, watching and waiting. Duke is still watching cartoons and eating jelly out of the jar by the spoonful.

“What woke you guys up?” I ask them.

“I talked to Daddy on the phone, and he said he was coming.”

My stomach clenches. This is going to get interesting. “Did you tell your dad you got on a plane and came here?”

Clay nods. “I told him we were at your house.”

A car must stop out front because his eyes grow wide and he leans toward the window. When he sees it isn’t his father, he sits back. I’m not even sure Marco actually called. But reasoning with a jetlagged six year old is near impossible. I know that.

I sit down next to him and put my arm around him. “Remember how long it took you to get here in the airplane?”

He nods. “It took a whole day.”

“Exactly. So, it’s going to take your Daddy at least that long. Why don’t you go crawl back in bed so you can hang out with him when he arrives?”

“But I don’t want to be asleep when he gets here.”

“I promise to make sure you’re awake.”

I put the boys back to bed and determine I need a better lock if I’m going to go out at night. I pull the information for the police station in Cairns, Australia, call the main line, and ask for Officer Fields. I’m expecting to leave a message when he answers.

“Officer Fields here.”

“Oh! Hello. This is Axel Remington. We spoke a few days ago. My sister is Alana Hammond, and you were kind enough to get her on a flight here to San Francisco with her four little boys?”

“Of course, mate. How can I help you?”

“Her oldest son, Clay, said that his father, Marco Hammond, called here. Has he been released?”

“He shouldn’t have, but let me check.” I hear clicking. “Hmmm… Looks like he was released about four hours ago. He has a court date next Thursday.”

“Is there any way he could leave and fly home to the US?”

“No, mate. He needs to pay off the hotel bill for their stay, and he’ll have some other fines to pay if he isn’t held over