“You’re correct. You are not alone.” Holden was well-aware his voice was gruff and he didn’t give two shits it cracked when he said, “I love you, Leigh-Leigh.”
“I love you, too, Holden.”
Last night, he hadn’t been wrong when he was lying between his girls thinking there was nothing better, but he hadn’t taken into account how good it felt to hear Leigh-Leigh say those words. Having his girls close, heaven. Hearing Leigh-Leigh tell him she loved him, a mili-inch less than the best feeling in the world. And only because anytime Faith was in the equation, it was the best.
“Find us a house.”
“Okay. Um…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, really, but…um…the girls are here and they want to go with me.”
Fuck, the velvet blows just kept coming. The girl posse had closed ranks. Six new best friends for Charleigh. Six new aunts for his daughter. Six women who would show his daughter what it meant to be strong, loyal, and loving. Hell, yeah, that blow took his breath.
“Then take them. Just don’t let Evie buy us the house.”
“Would she do that?”
“Absolutely, yes. She is generous with wedding gifts.”
“Wedding gifts?” Charleigh breathed.
He didn’t bother explaining to her she’d be wearing his ring in the next couple of days. And as soon as the weather broke, he’d be dragging her ass and all of their friends up the knoll that used to be Swagger land but now belonged to Chasin and Evie. And they’d be saying their vows in the same place everyone else had.
Nixon had once said that farm was hallowed ground. All of his childhood memories were wrapped up with that land. And when Nix’s father passed, that farm became even more sacred. Nixon allowing Evie to buy the farmhouse and some of the land from him with the promise to keep it in the family was a testament to how much Nixon trusted Chasin.
Holden caught Weston’s reflection in the window and told Charleigh, “Gotta run, everyone’s waiting on me to start the meeting.”
“Wedding gifts,” she echoed.
“Baby, we’ll talk when I get home. It’s Sunday and no one wants to be here. Let me get this meeting done and you and your girls go buy us a house.”
“Hold—”
“Love you.”
Holden disconnected and pocketed his phone before he turned and caught Weston smiling at him.
“What?”
“Pleased as fuck.” That was all his friend said before he walked away.
“Me, too, brother. Me fucking, too,” Holden mumbled to the empty room and made his way to the conference room.
“Anything?” Holden heard Jonny ask as he walked into the room.
“No. The girls are talking about it over messenger but they’re not using his name,” McKenna answered. “As you know, Donna Lot didn’t give us anything new. And she wouldn’t give me Kimberly’s cell or laptop. Both are turned off, which means I can’t access them remotely. Honestly, I think she’s been through enough. She doesn’t want to know what’s on those devices, and as frustrating as it is from an investigation standpoint, I don’t blame her.”
“I agree,” Alec put in. “We need to respect her right to privacy and find another way.”
McKenna glanced around the room sheepishly before her eyes landed on her husband and she worried her bottom lip.
“Out with it, sweetheart.”
It was safe to say, not much got by Nixon, and nothing did when it pertained to his wife. He had finely honed skills when it came to McKenna.
“Molly Buchannan, the girl Jonny found behind the barn at the party?”
“What about her?” Jonny asked.
“She has a friend, Sydney, who from what I can tell is newish to the area. Sydney was telling Molly about a party she went to. She didn’t mention any names but she was bragging about this hot older guy she met.” There was a twinge of recognition, but before he could suss it out, McKenna continued, “Sydney’s description was tall, built, brown hair. She told Molly for an old guy, he was ripped.” Seven disgruntled male growls sounded in the room but McKenna pushed through. “Molly was engaged, asking questions and sending thumbs-up emojis until Sydney told her the guy brought a bottle of Malibu rum. After that, Molly shut down and warned Sydney to stay away from him. Sydney became angry and accused Molly of being jealous she couldn’t get an older guy. Molly’s last message was, and I quote, ‘been there, done that, and threw the t-shirt away.’”
“Fuck,” Jonny grunted.
Holden’s stomach dropped. “Sydney Powell?”
“I don’t know her last name. They use an anonymous messaging app.”
“Then how did you get Molly’s info?”
“I may or may not have sent Molly an email with a link to a YouTube video of a hilarious camel spitting at a zookeeper. And I may or may not have cloned her mother’s email address to make sure Molly opened the link that, once clicked could hypothetically give me access to her phone.”
“Jesus.” That came from Jonny who was used to Micky’s hypothetical scenarios but still mostly liked to be kept in the dark on how Gemini Group obtained their intel. And that ‘mostly’ actually meant that he absolutely didn’t want to know when McKenna hacked illegally.
“I only know HotSyd4Life’s name is Sydney because that’s the name Molly used.”
“Are there no goddamn parents that check their kids’ phones?” Alec grumbled.
“Even if Molly’s parents checked her phone they probably wouldn’t think to check an app that’s icon is a clock. Teenagers are crafty when they want to hide stuff.”
“Who’s Sydney Powell?” Weston asked.
“Charleigh’s planning her fifty-thousand dollar birthday party,” Holden answered, then asked, “The girl’s turning fifteen. What the fuck is she doing at a party in the first place?”
“He’s starting early,” Jonny noted.
“Or he’s grooming her,” Jameson retorted. “Didn’t think about what comes before the three-month mark and he takes the girls. This could be his normal routine.”
“Jesus. Are you telling me he picks a girl and spends the next few months toying with her before…” Jonny clamped his mouth shut, unable to finish his thought.
“That’s exactly what
