Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge (Sweet Colorado Romance #3)

4. CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

Liam

The limo pulled away from Mistletoe Lodge, and Liam pulled out his phone, found the number he was looking for, and hit dial. The call was answered after the third ring.

“You’re late,” a voice snapped through the receiver.

“I got tied up,” Liam hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Thanks for the heads-up about Barb.”

“Oh, I thought I mentioned Barb and Oscar were spending Christmas and New Year at Mistletoe Lodge.”

“No!” Liam growled, glaring out the window into the inky night as the car turned toward Denver. “I think we both know you didn’t.” He took a deep breath. “Did you know Barb had divorce papers drawn up?”

“We’ll talk when you get here.” There was a pause, and Liam held his breath, hoping to hear some more information about Barb. “Let me know when you’re ten minutes from the hotel.”

The line went dead.

“Great!” Liam slammed his phone against the seatback.

“Are you okay, sir?” Patrick, Liam’s driver and bodyguard, glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

“No, Patrick, everything’s about to fall apart,” Liam seethed, trying to ignore the dull ache in his heart. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Maybe you need to put a bit more trust in those you love,” Patrick suggested.

Liam’s eyes met Patrick’s in the mirror before he looked back out at the city lights. “There are already too many people involved.”

“We’ll find out who tried to kill your brother and why,” Patrick assured him, his eyes flashing with resolve. “And you need to stop blaming yourself for his condition—it wasn’t your fault.”

“I should’ve been there,” Liam said, exhaling sharply. “What was my brother even doing in Denver?”

“Isn’t that why we’re here?” Patrick asked. “To try and piece together what happened.”

“According to Courtney,” Liam said, biting the side of his mouth in contemplation, “my brother made a secret trip to Denver. She found a receipt in his pocket for Mistletoe Lodge, where he’d checked out the day he was shot in Denver.” He blew out a breath. “Over the past ten months, while I’ve been managing the campaign for Montana’s Senate seat and this blasted investigation into why my brother was shot, we’ve checked everywhere else. Whatever my brother hid has to be either in Denver or at Mistletoe Lodge. We’re even staying in the same chalet he was in at the lodge.”

“Who knew your brother was so good at hiding things?” Patrick snorted. “Maybe the two of you should’ve swapped jobs.”

“I wouldn’t want his job for the world,” Liam said, pulling a pained face. “I just want this to be over so we can all get back to our lives.”

Patrick glanced at Liam, his eyes filled with compassion. “But how normal will life be for you after this? You’re the one who’s made the biggest sacrifice to help your brother.”

Liam gave a tight smile, the dull ache in his chest intensifying. “He’s my brother. That’s what family does.”

“He’ll recover,” Patrick said reassuringly. “I’m sure of it.”

“The doctors agree with you. They reckon there’s no reason why his memory shouldn’t return,” Liam pointed out. “Although one doctor hinted that my brother might not want to remember.”

“Makes you wonder what the heck happened that would make his mind shut down like that,” Patrick commented with a deep frown. “He remembers himself as Zac, an FBI Agent who’s in love with and engaged to Courtney.”

“Yeah, that is kind of weird.” Liam sighed, rubbing his temples, trying to ease the tension headache that was building. “And now Barb’s here. I wonder how that’s going to go down? There’s no way they won’t run into each other.”

“You’ll have to let Courtney know,” Patrick pointed out. “Especially now that Oscar’s here as well. He’s not going to understand what’s going on. I bet he’s already traumatized—Zac becoming his new father, then disappearing without a trace.”

"I will." Liam looked at his phone. "I'll call her as soon as we get to the hotel in Denver and let her know."

"Don't forget to tell her about the new addition to Barb's family," Patrick stated. "That’s going to be an even more interesting dilemma, especially now that Barb’s filing for a divorce."

Liam frowned, his heart jolting. "Baby? Barb has a baby? Are you sure it's hers?"

"Well, she took the baby to the bungalow with her, and I might have followed along to snoop.” He gave a sheepish smile. “I overheard Heather telling Barb they’d installed baby gadgets in the bungalow, especially for her."

"Barb has a daughter?" Liam’s voice dropped as his heart hammered in his chest. "How old do you think the baby is?"

"I don’t know," Patrick shrugged. "About three months? The diapers were labeled three to four months."

"You saw the diapers?" Liam’s brows shot up. "Where were you hiding?"

"Close enough to see that." Patrick grinned .

If the baby was three months old, then it was definitely a Shields. Not that he had any doubt, but he wouldn’t have blamed Barb if she’d sought solace with someone else after seemingly being ghosted by her husband.

Liam took a deep breath. "So Barb has a baby, and I'm only finding this out now?"

"I think your contact has more explaining to do," Patrick commented.

"You’ve got that right!" Anger shot through Liam as another thought struck him. "I don’t even know the baby’s name."

“It’s Charlotte,” Patrick told him. “I heard Emily call the baby Charlotte.”

Liam gave a soft laugh. "That figures. Charlotte’s Web was Oscar’s favorite story." He cleared his throat. “It’s a beautiful name. ”

They drove into Denver, heading for the Four Seasons, with Liam’s mind reeling from the information Patrick had just dropped on him.

"You really didn’t know about the baby?" Patrick asked, confused. "Surely Barb would’ve called to pass that kind of news on."

"All our phones were taken away when the first threat on my brother’s life came through and replaced with clean ones because we thought someone had compromised the ones we had," Liam reminded him. "And I know the connection from Africa to Montana wasn’t the best from where Barb was located."

“You shouldn’t have tried to get rid of Barb when you ran into her at the lodge earlier,” Patrick pointed out. “It’s made her suspicious.”

Liam looked at Patrick in surprise. “No!” He shook his head. “I would’ve noticed if she was.”

“Would you have?” Patrick looked at him pointedly. “You were blindsided when you saw her.” His eyes narrowed. “Did your contact know Barb was going to be at the lodge?”

“Seems like they did,” Liam confirmed. “I think they also knew about Barb filing for divorce.”

Patrick looked at Liam in the mirror. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Stall,” Liam shrugged. “What else can I do?”

“Give Barb her freedom?” Patrick's words sent tiny waves of shock down Liam’s spine.

“I don’t think that’s a decision that should be made right now,” Liam stated firmly.

“Then you’re going to have a hard time trying to keep them safe if anyone else finds out who she is,” Patrick advised him.

“Luckily, only myself, Courtney, the annoyed person waiting for me in Denver, and you know about Barb and Oscar,” Liam pointed out, his voice holding a warning. “I will call Courtney and warn her about Barb when we’re in Denver.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Patrick assured him, a flash of annoyance in his eyes at the suggestion. “But it is a concern having Barb and her kids here if this investigation goes sideways. If whoever’s after your brother finds out where we are, they could be in danger and used as leverage.”

“You don’t have to remind me!” Liam’s jaw clenched. This was just creating more of a headache, especially if, as Patrick said, Barb was becoming suspicious.

They drove into the entrance of the Four Seasons Denver, and Patrick pulled into a parking space. “While you’re in the meeting, if you want me to, I’ll see what I can find out about Barb’s new baby.” He climbed out of the car and opened the back door for Liam.

“Thank you, Patrick,” Liam said as he climbed out of the vehicle. “I’d appreciate that. Could you find out who the attorney handling the divorce is as well? ”

“What are you thinking?” Patrick asked, pulling their luggage from the trunk. “Want me to try and get the divorce papers ‘lost’ in transit?”

“That’s an idea.” Liam nodded. “It would help, as I made a deal with Barb. She promised to stay away from Zac and explain to Oscar to do the same if I’d get the divorce papers signed when they arrived in two days.”

“I’m on it,” Patrick promised.

Twenty minutes later, Liam and Patrick walked into the cocktail lounge, where they were escorted to a discreet booth out of the way of prying eyes. When they reached the booth, Liam’s contact was already waiting.

“Hello, Liam,” the haughty, impatient voice of the person he was meeting greeted him. “You’re nearly an hour late. My source will be here any minute if your bodyguard, dressed like someone out of Men in Black, hasn’t spooked them.”

Liam glanced to where Patrick had taken a seat nearby and was asking for a dinner menu .

“If they know who I am, they’ll appreciate that I have to have security,” Liam pointed out. “And as for being late…” His brows rose accusingly. “I got delayed by a rather shocking surprise that you, Priscilla , could have warned me about.”

“Honestly,” Priscilla’s cool eyes and soft voice held no hint of remorse, “I didn’t think, after what Barb and Oscar went through thanks to your family, that any of you deserved to know.” Perfectly groomed eyebrows rose pointedly. “It was your family that just cut ties with them and decided to leave them out of this.”

Anger flashed in Liam’s eyes as he glared at the person across the table. “You’re wrong about me not having the right to know,” he retorted. “If this goes south and they find out who Barb and her kids are…” He let the consequences hang in the air.

“I can assure you,” Pricilla’s voice dropped a few frost levels, “I have already ensured their and my family’s safety. You’re not the only one with power and influence, Liam.” Her eyes narrowed. “As far as my family, which includes Barb and her kids, are concerned, I want you and your family to stay as far away as possible from them.”

“It’s going to be kind of hard, considering she’s in Bungalow Number One, right next door to our chalet!” Liam pointed out.

“I only realized Barb had been put there late this afternoon when I got in from Los Angeles.” Priscilla leaned back as a waitress placed a menu on the table. “I’ve arranged for them to be moved to the far end of the resort, nearer to Ryder and Avery, in the morning.”

A pang of regret zapped through Liam, but he pushed it away. “Good, I appreciate that.” He steered the conversation away from Barb. He needed to get her off his mind as she and the kids were a distraction he could ill afford at the moment. “Who is this source? And how are they connected to my brother?”

“They were the last person to see him before he got shot.” A grin split her face.

“How did you track them down?” Liam asked.

“They found me.” The waitress came back and took our order for a light snack and some drinks while we waited. “Although they were a bit confused as to how you’re here.”

“You didn’t say anything, did you?” Liam’s eyes narrowed.

“No, Liam, ” a familiar female voice came from behind them. “I’m not as stupid as everyone else obviously is, and I kind of figured it out for myself.”

Liam spun around, his eyes wide, surprised to see his younger sister. “Paige?”