Deception (Infidelity #3)(35)

“I didn’t realize that Columbia had a satellite campus in Rye.” He said the word like it was a backwoods Georgia dot on the map, not one of the nicest, most expensive zip codes in New York.

Asshole.

“It doesn’t.”

“Well, obviously, this law school farce didn’t last long. Second day and you’re already skipping class.”

“Goodbye.”

Before I could disconnect the line, my mother’s voice came through the cell phone. “Alexandria, are you all right?”

“Yes, Mother, I’m fine.”

“Tell us what happened.”

Nox had told me not to talk to anyone about this morning until I heard from Deloris. Did that include my family? “I really don’t know.” It was mostly true. The scene was a blur.

“Bullshit!” Alton’s voice boomed from the background, turning my stomach and setting my teeth on edge.

“Speakerphone? Really, Mother?” I wondered if they were in his office at that damn ostentatious conference table. Were we now doing long-distance family discipline sessions? Soon it would be time to talk about how once again I’d disappointed my family and sullied the Montague name.

“Dear, your father is worried sick. You were involved in a shooting! Your face was on the news. Do you have any idea of the repercussions to Montague Corporation?”

Yep, there it is!

So many issues—number one, he’s not my father! Number two, I was shot at and Montague Corporation is the biggest concern?

“I wasn’t involved. It happened. We left. I don’t know more.”

“But you’re not at class?”

“No, I’m not. The shooting interrupted my schedule.”

“You’re coming home,” Alton’s voice again demanded. “Why the hell are you in Rye when you should be here?”

I shook my head. “Why should I be there?”

“Dear,” my mother tried to explain, “obviously, there’s danger. It’s that young man.”

“Just like his father,” Alton added.

Continuing as if Alton hadn’t spoken, my mother went on, “You need to be safe. From what I saw on the news, you’re not. I love you, Alexandria. I want to know you’re safe.”

“Momma, when you can call and talk to me without your husband in the background, we can discuss it. You know my number.”

“He’s right, dear. Why Rye?”

That was it. I was turning off the damn GPS. I’d tell Deloris, Jerrod, and Nox. As long as I was here, I didn’t need to broadcast it to the world.

I took a deep breath. “Rye is where…” I stopped talking as Deloris entered the room, her head moving from side to side and her lips puckered in the universal ‘shh’ sign.

“Who is that?” she whispered.

I covered the mouthpiece of my phone. “My… parents.” I hated that description, but it was a shorter explanation. “They saw the video.”

“Of course they did. It’s had over half a million hits.”

“Who are you talking to?” my mother asked.

“Mom, I need to go. I’m fine—completely fine. I’ll call you later when you can talk.”

“Alexandria, your father is insistent about sending the plane. He’s looking it up right now. There’s a private airport not far from where you are…”

My eyes opened wide toward Deloris. I knew she could hear as she continued to shake her head back and forth.

“Don’t send a plane,” I said. “I’m fine. I’ll be back to class tomorrow. Savannah really doesn’t fit into my schedule.”

This time it was my mother who covered the mouthpiece. Behind the muffling of her hand, I could hear hers and Alton’s voices though I couldn’t make out their words.

“Alex, hang up,” Deloris said.

I shrugged. “I’ve tried.”

She reached for the phone. Before I realized what she’d done, she hit the disconnect button. “Yes,” she confirmed with her ear to the phone. “It wasn’t difficult. The button worked.”

What the hell?

“That was my mother, and what you just did was rude.”

“It may have been rude, but after what I just learned, it was warranted.”

“Is it…?” My stomach dropped. Anger at her behavior immediately turned to panic. “…Nox? Oh my God, is he… did something happen?”

She reached for my hand. “Come, let’s sit.”

My flat shoes that I’d found near the sofa in the pool house held tightly to the wooden floor, keeping me steadfast. “Tell me, Deloris.”

She shook her head as she tugged my hand. “It’s not Lennox. He’s in flight. He’s fine. It’s about the letter.”

I followed her to one of the long sofas. After we sat, I asked, “What about the letter?”

“Think carefully. Who touched it?”

I tried to recall. It seemed like weeks or even months ago, not last night. I remembered going into my new office, seeing it sitting on my desk, and picking it up. Nox took it from my hands, and then Deloris handled it with a tissue. “Me, Nox, and then you.”

“What about the envelope?”