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Her chin lifts a smidge and I see the fight spark in her eyes. “I really am grateful for a new beginning.” Gaze sliding to her daughter, she says, “I made a lot of mistakes, but I’ll never let another man put me in a corner.”
My hands stall in her hair and I look at her in the mirror. Then my gaze drags up and I look at myself.
She’s right.
Clay Bolton might have a right to feel angry and upset, but he doesn’t have a right to bully me. I will never take injustice sitting down.
Fighting isn’t something I do. It’s something I am.
If my client can stand up and be brave, so can I.
Bolton better not come at me again or it’ll be war.
CHAPTER2
SURPRISE BULLET
CLAY
“Doyou still remember how to blink or…?”
I rip my gaze away from Regan and her potential nanny and fix a crooked scowl on my younger brother. Cody shakes a handful of Regan’s animal crackers into his palm and extends it to me.
I scowl and return my attention to my daughter. Regan is wearing a colorful tutu, a princess crown and ballet slippers. She refused to hear that ballet shoes are not for outdoor use and I did not have the heart to tell her no.
“You’ve been staring at them like a hawk for thirty minutes straight.” Cody’s eyes, a vibrant green, lock on me. “What do you think will happen if you glance away for a second?”
“My instincts are never wrong.”
“Hm.” Cody slaps the animal crackers into his mouth and chomps, unmindful of the crumbs that fall on his tailored suit.
“But I was wrong about Zakharov.”
Cody’s smile collapses into a menacing frown. “We were all wrong about Miss Zakharov. You weren’t the only one.”
“She came highly recommended.” Shielding my eyes from the brilliant sun, I stare at where Regan is pointing to the monkey bars.
My breath hitches and I take an uneasy step forward, but it seems like the nanny is also thinking the monkey bars would be a bad idea. She points to the see-saw instead.
A check in my book.
“Zakharov was the best money could buy,” I add, feeling more comfortable to glance at my brother again. “You’d choke at how much her hourly rate was. But I was willing to pay it in order for Abe, and Regan especially, to receive the best care.”
“Clay—”
“With all the resources at my disposal, all the background checks, all the research, I still failed to protect my daughter.”
“You can’t beat yourself up about that. How were you supposed to know that lady was a racist?”
I clamp my lips together and keep my expression stern. “I am her father.”
“Right. Her father. Human. Mammal. Not a god. And not everyone is going to be like Miss Zakharov.”
“Something as insidious as prejudice is harder to ascertain.” I glare at the potential nanny. “It might leak out in ways that I can’t measure.”
“I’m not saying you should hire someone with prejudice, but youneedhelp. You can’t take Regan around with you forever.”
I arch an eyebrow. “The guys love her.”