Billion Dollar Revenge (The Lincoln Brothers #2)

29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Evan

It’s Thursday night. Poker night. My brothers and friends are gathered at my place. I offered to host due to the need to fill my house so I’m not alone to think about Chelsea with each passing hour. I’ve thought about texting and calling her, but I don’t want to hurt her; the pain in her voice in our call mirrored my own. I couldn’t speak because I knew what she wanted to hear, and I couldn’t say it.

I should be happy, right? I didn’t trust women. Didn’t want to fall in love and get married again. I got what I wanted. But instead of feeling relief, I feel lost. Completely lost without her. No one to talk to. No one to share my days with. No one to kiss. Fuck. I’m so fucking lonely without her.

“Have you heard from her?” Jeremy asks, sitting opposite me at my green round poker table for six. The room is painted green with a TV on one wall, a bar cart to the side, and windows lining the opposite wall. It’s dark outside, and so the single chandelier hanging above the table is lighting up the room.

My head lifts, my gaze moving from my cards to his face. “No.”

“Nova said she’s back with her parents for a while,” he says, leaning back in the dark green leather chair.

I nod.

“You were better with her,” Harvey mumbles, then throws down a bet as he gives me a pointed look.

“Less fucking grumpy.” Oliver leans over and shoves my shoulder.

I bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from snapping back. I know I’ve gone back into my shell, but I’m trying to find that slimy fucker, Bobby. He’s disappeared off the face of the earth. The investigators I hired are doing everything they can to track him down. I wish they would hurry. He shouldn’t be roaming the streets. He stalked Chelsea and then put an intimate photo of her in my newspaper, behind my back.

I briefly spoke to Shyla on the phone, and she confessed to me how she and Bobby were in a relationship. She got wrapped up in his games and thought with her heart and not her head. So when he pushed her to post the article he had written, she did it. She’s lost her job, but I plan on having a meeting with her to tell her.

How could that bastard do something so disrespectful and think there’d be no consequences? Does he remember who I am? I have the means to track him down and get him thrown in jail. This is one of the times I’m so fucking grateful to have money. Most people wouldn’t have the police?even with evidence?looking into these cases so quickly. It’s sad but true. The police are often overwhelmed with high case volumes and resource constraints.

The photo was not for anyone else to see. The rage bubbling inside me makes me want to gouge every guy’s eyes out and scream she’s mine, not theirs to look at, like some fucking idiot. I don’t know what came over me, but it was like an out-of- body experience. I’m not a violent man, but my mind was going savage.

Bobby illegally posted it. As soon as I find his whereabouts, I’ll alert the police. She shouldn’t let Bobby get away with it or he’ll never learn. He deserves to be punished for humiliating her. The pain in her voice during our last phone call broke me. Her raw and honest conversation about needing space made me proud of her for putting herself first. I just fucking miss her so incredibly much. I wonder if I could get past my fear of commitment. Because not having her in my life has been so hard, so much harder than my ex cheating on me.

My phone buzzes, and I stupidly think it’s her.

“She’s in Connecticut. Due back tomorrow,” Jeremy says nonchalantly. “I raise the bet to $35.”

My head lifts, and my eyes meet his.

She’s coming back.

“Right,” I reply and return to my cards.

When it’s my play, I end up tilting. I’m letting my emotions about Chelsea get the best of me. My usual control is slipping.

“Gabby, can you tell the officers to meet me in my office in an hour?” I say on the phone the next day.

“Yes, sir. And I’ll order some coffee and bagels.”

Her attention to detail is precisely why I need her. Feeding people isn’t my priority, but I need to make a good impression. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to get some food in me. I’ve barely been eating this week. My diet has only consisted of coffee and sleep deprivation. Every spare moment, I have been scouring everywhere for any evidence of Bobby. The need to stay busy consumes me.

“Could you go there and meet the delivery? I have to meet with Shyla quickly.”

“Sure.”

She doesn’t ask questions, which is another thing I appreciate about Gabby. She doesn’t try to pry into my social life, she just does her job and does it well.

I decide to add a big bonus in her paycheck this week. It’s almost Christmas, and she’s a single mom. She deserves it for dealing with my grumpy ass again.

I hang up and enter the elevator.

It’s been a few days since Bobby was fired and already the overall morale in the office has significantly improved.

So, as I ride the six floors up, I check my emails for potential replacements for Shyla and Bobby. I can’t afford to have a weak link on my team. What would it say about me? I’ve worked so hard for so long that I don’t want any more unreliable workers at The New York Press.

The doors open, and I walk to see her at her desk, typing a new article.

“Shyla.”

Her eyes lift, noticing me, and she pushes away from the table to face me. “Mr. Lincoln.”

“We need to talk.”

Her face falls, but I keep my expression neutral, not giving away where her position in the company stands right now.

She drops her gaze back to the computer and saves her work before closing it.

When she’s finished, she stands.

“Let’s go to the meeting room.” I stride to the empty room and hold the door open.

The frosted glass will stop any other staff from looking in.

“Take a seat.”

Closing the door, I take a seat opposite her. Her back is ramrod straight, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail.

Her eyes are misty. I peer down at my empty hands that are open on top of the wooden table, taking a moment before looking back up to meet her pleading eyes.

“I need you to explain.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lincoln. I thought-t he…” She exhales a shaky breath. “I thought he loved me.”

My nostrils flare. “And he doesn’t?”

I know he still loves Chelsea. And I hate the idea of anyone else having strong feelings for her. I’m still a mess trying to figure out what my feelings mean. All I know is right now I’m fucking miserable.

“No.”

“How do you know?”

A single tear leaks from her eye. “He told me I was just a fling.”

Standing, I grab a box of tissues from the console table and hand it to her.

“Thanks.”

She pats her face with the tissue.

I give her a moment before I ask the big questions.

“Did he tell you to post that particular...” I run my finger inside my collar, pulling on it until it feels like I can breathe. “Picture?”

“Yes.”

I drop my finger, and a heavy sigh leaves my chest. “Why would you do it?”

“I was pressured. He made it clear if I wanted to progress with our relationship, I needed to do this, or we were over.” More tears leak as she shakes her head vehemently.

“I’m losing my job, aren't I?” Her bottom lip wobbles.

“Yes.”

Her shoulders drop slightly.

“The few chats we’ve had, I was impressed?”

She brings her hands together and clasps them at her chest. “If you give me another chance, I promise...”

“No. Sorry, Shyla, but there’s no second chance. But I need to ask, are you still in contact with him?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“Do you have a way of contacting him?”

“Yes. He has two phones.”

A fresh idea comes to me. “I need you to give me both numbers.”

She nods as new tears fall while pulling out her phone to find them, then she gives them to me. “I’m sorry I broke your trust.”

I should tell her that once you break my trust, there’s no way I’ll forgive you. And it hits me like a hammer to the heart. Chelsea has never done anything to hurt or break my trust. If anything, she has done the opposite. She only wants one thing in the future.

Can I get over my hang-ups to win her back?

I rise to my feet in a rush. “I’ve gotta go to my office. Let me know if you hear from him.”

Dashing out of the room, I head to the office to meet the police.

Bobby broke Shyla’s trust, and I know exactly how that feels. I can help take him down, and I have just the plan. Ready or not, here I come.