She was alone in the world, and he was a nasty, ruthless bastard because he was going to offer her the one thing she didn’t have. A family.
All she had to do was find a way to forgive him. Or she could take on the role of his partner in this endeavor and nothing more. She was capable of doing that. She could stay with him just long enough to get what she needed. She might even get back into bed with him. It would be sex and pleasure and a little bit of revenge since he intended to let her know exactly how he felt.
He would take that risk. She was worth it. Hell, even if he knew one hundred percent that she would never forgive him, he would still do this. He wanted her to be happy more than he wanted her to be his.
But he really, really wanted her to be his.
“She’s not going to Julian’s.” He was set on his course. “I’ve got a plan in place. Is the press here?”
He hated exposing her again, but it was necessary. He had to reboot the narrative.
“Yes, everything’s in place. Tag has it handled. He’s with Vanessa and your mom,” Deke said. “You should know Tag is in full bloom when it comes to your situation. He did not hold back.”
Tag would never let it go, but then that was all part of who the man was. And he’d been right. That was the problem. Big Tag was an asshole, but he was almost always right. “Please tell me he didn’t talk about healing penises and magical vaginas.”
Deke sighed. “I would love to tell you that, but I’m not supposed to lie.”
Damn it. He turned and looked down the hall and there she was. His heart threatened to catch. Vanessa stood beside his mother, dressed in fresh clothes, but her hair had dried wavy, and she’d washed off her makeup.
He wanted to scoop her up and take her out to the ranch.
That was one choice he could give her. She walked down the hallway, her chin up in a way that let him know she was going to be stubborn. That was okay. He would give her time.
“Are you all right?” His mother looked him over.
“Yeah, I think it’s safe to say you should see the other guy,” he replied, his eyes still on Vanessa.
Junior had barely punched back. He’d mostly tried to get away.
“I did.” Deke seemed to be way more comfortable than anyone else. “He will be visiting a plastic surgeon. That nose isn’t going to work the same way again.”
“Good.” Vanessa’s eyes met Michael’s. “I can’t say I’m unhappy you punched him. I’ve slapped the man before, but he laughed at me.”
At least he’d done one thing right. “I won’t let him treat you badly. I promise you won’t have to put up with him.”
“But I have to put up with you,” she countered.
There was the fire he was hoping she would have after all this shit had gone down. He’d feared she’d retreat to the shutdown woman he’d met that first day. She’d come to life over the weeks they’d spent together, and he’d prayed today hadn’t snuffed that flame. “Unless you have another plan, baby.”
“Don’t call me that.” Her lips turned down.
“Okay. I’ll try.” It was hard because she was his baby. His sweetheart. His love. “Did they fill you in on what we’re going to do?”
“I’m your pretend girlfriend,” she replied. “Emphasis on pretend. If I stay with you, Julian will pay for my publicist and Mr. Taggart will provide security.”
“Don’t forget the bloodsucking lawyers,” Tag added. “They can be very helpful right up until you get the bill. Which Michael will be paying.”
Well, of course he would. Big Tag hadn’t gotten rich by throwing money around. “I’ll take care of it.”
“And Michael and I will work as hard as we can to prove that Junior set you up,” Deke promised. “We’re also going to go through your court case to see if we can find anything Junior did that we can challenge.”
“And that second part is going to happen no matter what.” He was going to give her the only choice he could. “I will find a way to prove what that man did to you. But if you don’t want to stay at my place, my mom will take you out the back way and to our ranch. It’s isolated, and I assure you the press won’t be able to get to you there.”
She glanced toward the hallway that would lead them to the front of the station house. “I wouldn’t have to see them?”
He shook his head. “No. And you can stay there as long as you like.”
“Consider it a sanctuary,” his mother confirmed. “But, darling, you need to think about this. Michael is offering you a way to stay safe now.”