Sean

Squinting, I shielded my bloodshot eyes from the ravages of the mid-morning sun as I climbed out of the cab.

The redeye out of LAX included a layover in Dallas, so by the time I trudged up the front steps of my house I was closing in on thirty hours with no sleep.

The whir of the vacuum cleaner added to the white noise as I stepped into the foyer.

“Anna!” I called, dropping my backpack. “Where are you, baby?”

Lola turned off the Dyson as I strolled into the great room.

“Morning, Lola.” I gave her a weary smile, heading for the stairs. “Is Anna awake? She’s not answering her phone.”

“She’s not here.”

Lola gave me a go-to-hell look before returning to her chores.

What the actual fuck?

Surmising Lola didn’t want me to mess up the clean floor, I dropped onto the first step to take off my boots.

“Lola?” I growled over the vacuum, trying to keep my temper in check.

She flipped off the switch but didn’t face me. “Yes?”

“Is there something you need to tell me?”

The pint-sized dictator chewed me out good and proper last week for buying the wrong kind of milk, so it could be anything.

“Miss Anna’s gone.”

Stifling a yawn, I pushed to my feet. “Did she say where she was going?”

I was so damn tired, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed with Anna for a week. And then there was the matter of my career, which I’m pretty sure I’d blown to hell. Strangely, I didn’t know how I felt about that.

Lola leveled stony brown eyes on me, clasping her hands in front of her. “She left this morning after her friend came. She took little Willow with her.”

Confused, I cocked my head. “Which friend?” She pursed her lips when I closed the gap between us. “Lola, which friend?”

I stopped short of where she stood, aware of my height advantage. But Lola didn’t seem to care. If anything, she looked more enraged by my proximity.

“Miss Peyton.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. I’d need to buy that girl a bottle of Tito’s, and then we’d get drunk off our asses and sort through our differences like we did in the old days.

“It’s a good thing she was here,” Lola quipped, her brows drawn together in an angry slash. “Miss Anna was a mess after she saw that commercial with you and that . . . woman. And then when Miss Peyton showed her those papers.”

A sinking feeling hit my gut and kept right on going. “What are you talking about?”

Lola ignored me and turned on her heel, heading for the kitchen like the very sight of me was distasteful.

I followed, but kept my distance, pressing my palms flat on the granite island while she cleaned the countertops on the other side. “Will you please tell me what the hell is going on?” She shot me a look over her shoulder, and I heaved out a sigh. “Just tell me what you’re talking about.”

Lola gestured to the dining room table, not bothering to hide her disdain.

Before the other night, I’d never seen a summons up close. But now, even from a distance, the document was unmistakable. The bold print—the borders inside the pages—even the paper looked different. Stiff and formal.

“I’m going to kill that son-of-a-bitch.” I ripped my sunglasses off the top of my head and smashed them on the counter. “What the hell is he serving her with now?”

Lola folded her arms over her chest. “Which son-of-a-bitch would that be?”

I pulled out my phone, firing off a text to Anna.

“Dean, Anna’s ex.” Sliding a hip onto the barstool, I stared at the screen and waited for a reply.

Lola picked up the crumpled pile of papers. “These came from you.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

The laugh scraping my throat threatened to strangle me when Lola shoved the documents under my nose.

Order to Show Cause

Petitioner: Sean Jacob Hudson

Respondent: Annabelle Dresden Kent

Frantic, I took the papers and began to skim the pages. “Peyton brought these?”

Lola nodded.

“Tell me exactly what happened.” She pressed her lips together defiantly, and I shook the summons. “This is a misunderstanding. I didn’t do this.”

Glancing at the papers again, I noted my attorney’s seal at the bottom.

I did do this.

Lola showed some mercy when I braced my hands on the edge of the island, trying to drag air into my lungs.

“Like I said,” she began, her tone somewhat less harsh. “Miss Anna was very upset. She took her suitcases, and her and the little bug left with Miss Peyton. That’s all I know.”

I met Lola’s eyes, pleading. “Did she say where she was going?”

She shook her head, gathering the debris from my sunglasses. “Miss Peyton seemed intent on taking them to her house, where ever that is.”

I took Lola’s hand, and she stilled. “If Anna calls you, will you tell me?” I swallowed over the dry lump in my throat. “Lola, promise me, please. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Hell, I didn’t even know what had happened.

Through the fog, I tried to recall the texts that flew and back and forth between Scott and me, but my attorney never said anything about serving Anna.

Because you didn’t ask.

My last message to Scott flashed in my head.

Do whatever you need to do.

“I’ll let you know if she calls,” Lola conceded. “But I won’t tell you where she is if she asks me not to.”

I squeezed Lola’s hand, and to my surprise, she returned the gesture.

“Thank you.” I offered a weak smile before sprinting to the garage.

My Bluetooth engaged as soon as I turned the key. Scott’s secretary answered on the second ring, informing me he wasn’t in the office yet.

“Tell him I’m on my way. I need to talk to him.”

Slamming the car in reverse, I ended the call before she could respond.