Chapter 3

I ignored the men closing in on me.

Instead I pulled the old phone out of my pocket, the one with the cracked screen, and hit a single speed-dial key. One text went out, short and blind, straight to Killian.

School fundraiser. They hurt Leo. Bring everyone.

He would know exactly what that meant. And the moment it sent, I knew his people were already on the line with the ambulance and the police.

"Still putting on a show? Firing off little cries for help?"

Bianca looked at me like I was a clown.

"You think the cops are coming to save you? Let me tell you something. Even if the mayor showed up today, he'd still kiss my husband's ring."

That was when the sirens hit. They came screaming through the front gate, an ambulance right behind them.

"What's going on? Who called them?" Bianca's face pinched tight.

A few officers and two paramedics rushed in with a gurney.

"Move. Emergency."

The paramedics dropped down beside Leo and lifted him onto the stretcher.

"Severe anaphylactic shock, epinephrine already given. We're moving him now."

I watched them load my son into the ambulance, and half the weight came off my chest. As long as Leo was safe, everything else could wait. And once he was safe, it would be my turn.

"Stop. Who said you could take him anywhere?"

Bianca screamed at the officers.

"That brat of hers ruined my dress, and nobody's paid for it yet."

The lead officer gave her a flat look. "Ma'am, don't interfere. We got a call reporting a deliberate assault."

"A deliberate assault?"

Bianca laughed like she'd never heard anything so stupid. She yanked Sienna over to her side.

"Officer, are you blind? Her son helped himself to my daughter's cookie and made himself sick. That's all this is."

"I'm Grayson Kerr's wife. Your chief was on the golf course with my husband just yesterday."

The name landed. I watched it hit the officer's face. Grayson Kerr, the man this city had watched climb out of nowhere these past few years. People on both sides of the law gave him room.

His tone went soft. "Mrs. Kerr, I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding? She cursed at me!"

Bianca wasn't letting it go. She pulled out the newest iPhone.

"Fine. You're too scared to do anything? I'll call my husband myself."

She dialed, and her voice flipped sweet and teary in an instant.

"Baby, where are you? There's a crazy woman at the school fundraiser going after me and Sienna. She said awful things about you. Come quick, I'm so scared."

She hung up and looked at me, glowing.

"You're done. He's in a meeting right down the road. He'll be here any minute."

She leaned in close, her voice dropping.

"Before today's over, I'll have you on your knees, kissing my shoes."

I didn't say a word. I just looked at her, steady, and gave her nothing.

Five minutes later, tires screamed against the curb.

A black Bentley pulled up hard at the edge of the field. The door opened and Grayson Kerr stepped out in a tailored suit, not a hair out of place.

"Who put their hands on my wife and daughter?"

Bianca ran straight into his arms, eyes red on cue.

"Baby! That's her, the crazy one dressed like a beggar. Her kid went for Sienna's cookie, had a fit, and then she blamed us for it."

Grayson pulled her close, then followed her finger toward me.

"You've got some nerve, touching what belongs to me—"

The words died in his throat the second he saw my face.

The color drained out of him. His eyes went wide. His legs shook under him.

I looked back at him and let the corner of my mouth lift.

"Grayson. Long time no see."