The Billionaire's Hidden Heir

#27 - Practically Family

Adrian

Lily was avoiding me. And that was putting it mildly. Three days, three bloody days since she ran out of my house, and three days where my frustration and itch to see her grew more and more unbearable. I still couldn't wrap my head around how that was possible in such a small town, more so that we were bloody neighbours. Sure, she let me see Asher, but the few times we'd been in the same place or room because of our son, I was as good as invisible to her and felt like the tenth wheel in every conversation.

"You there?" Benji's question jolted me out of my brooding thoughts, making me realize I had been staring blankly at my laptop for who knows how long.

"Yeah, I'm here." I pressed a few buttons and my laptop's screen came to life. "Where were we?"

"Or I can simply come back later if you are not up to this." Benji suggested, but I only scowled at him. He of all people knew we needed to do this. Now that we'd re-united with him, we had gotten back to something we called taking stock of the security. With the addition of Asher, the stakes of keeping the Frosts safe had just gone that higher up. I needed to make sure that me and my family were surrounded by those I could trust.

"I'm fine"

"Are you sure?" Benji arched a brow at me. "Because we can't afford any mistakes."

"I'm well aware of that." I snapped, hating that I had given Benji a reason to doubt my capabilities. I hated that I was this distracted, that I couldn't go a moment without my mind switching to Lily. "Is number ten one of yours?" I asked before Benji voiced anymore of his doubts. I studied the face of the guard in question on my laptop. Benji mirrored my actions. He tapped on his screen, studied the guy a bit and shook his head, indicating the guy was not his recruit. Alarm bells went off in my head instantly. "You don't?"

"He's one of yours actually," Benji replied, gaze still on his screen.

"Mine?" I raised a brow at him. "I would remember that scar." I frowned. The guard looked familiar except for the glaring scar on the side of the face. I didn't think I had seen it before. And yet he was part of the Frost security detail. How was that?

"What do you mean he's not yours?" Benji's fingers hovered over his keyboard and typed furiously. I knew what he was looking for and I hoped to God he didn't find it. Because a breach in our security this deep inside going unnoticed for so long would be more than problematic. I braced for his answer. When he turned back to me looking relieved, I relaxed too.

"He is yours, Courtney's, actually." Benji turned his laptop to me so that I could see what he was seeing.

"Courtney's?" I blinked at all the data confirming Benji's words.

"Yes, a recommendation from Martha."

"Martha?" that was odd. "Why would Courtney's grandmother be recommending her a bodyguard?"

"Says here, that there was some incident with one of the regular guards and the older woman decided that she would feel better if her granddaughter was watched by one of her own."

"What kind of incident? And why didn't anyone ever mention it to me?" Courtney never mentioned that to me either, which was even more odd. If it was so serious that it had forced Martha to engage a foreign to join the fold, I should have heard about it.

"She claimed that he, uh, touched her." Benji pointed out with a frown.

"One of my guys touched her?" My blood boiled. "When was this?"

Benji mentioned a date that sounded insignificant, but also added, "The guy swore that he never touched her."

"And?" I growled, knowing Benji had omitted something.

He sighed. "He claimed that she came on to him and the only touch he'd laid on her was to pry her hands off."

"So which was it, he touched her or he didn't?" I growled, the feelings of failure gnawing at my insides. It was my fault that Courtney was in Glanbury after all. Just as it was my fault that she'd been assaulted. "I should have protected her." I said through gritted teeth.

"Hold off on blaming yourself for a moment." Benji clicked on another file. It turned out to be a video that showed... Courtney? The security footage wasn't great, but I could clearly make out my best friend in a not so innocent situation. And if I were being objective enough, I could admit that the guard's confession was more accurate. But that wasn't Courtney, at least not the one who'd been my best friend for a significant part of my life.

"Damn it, there is something more here." Benji clicked away on his keyboard while I looked on, wondering what else could be there. "Apparently, the original security footage went missing. What we are seeing now was shot with the accused's phone." Benji paused, his gaze assessing. "He must have known what was about to go down and he knew he would need to protect himself from-"

"Me." I mumbled, completing Benji's statement.

"Damn, what are you thinking?" Benji leaned back on his seat and stared intently at me.

"Nothing." I mumbled, because what could I ever think about except the fact that Courtney was practically family and I would do anything for her?

"The day Lily left Glanbury," Benji said suddenly. "Courtney met her at the airport. She seemed pretty upset after the encounter, but I had just assumed it was because of the divorce."

"Do you know that she is bad?" Lily's drunken question hit me with a new wave of unease after Benji's statement. I had replayed it many times since the night at the Cask, trying to understand what she meant, and each time the answer had been the same. But now... Was there something I'd been missing? I didn't like the itch that suddenly developed deep in my gut. I lifted my gaze to Benji.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Can I get your opinion on something?"

"Sure thing." At Benji's answer, I navigated to a folder and clicked. Typing in the passcode, I pressed play, my chest constricting when the reason for my heartbreak five years ago played out before Benji.