Chapter 10
Lincoln
For two days, since the charity auction; all I could do was think about Charlotte. Charlotte and the baby growing inside her. I’d barely been able to speak to her. I’d barely heard her voice. But I’d seen the look in her eyes. She didn’t answer my question because she didn’t know how I’d react if she told me the truth.
That in four months, she was going to be the mother of my child.
I had to see her again.
I needed to see her. I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t eat, all I’d been doing since the event was drinking and hoping that I didn’t explode. I knew that if I continued like this, it would eventually drive me mad.
If only I could get close to her. Get her to admit she was carrying my child.
I found myself walking into Andrew Williams’ office building. I’d arrived there unannounced. Even I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing there. All I knew was that her father was the only point of contact between Charlotte and me.
When I walked into the building, all eyes were on me. I knew I wasn’t exactly a common sight in a place like this. I’d worn a long sleeved shirt today to cover most of my tattoos, but even that didn’t seem to work.
At the reception desk, the lady behind the counter kept insisting that Mr. Williams was too busy to see me.
“Tell him it’s Lincoln Smith, and that he needs to speak to me for his own safety.”
The lady stared back to me, a little frightened and then I watched as she whispered hurriedly in the phone. That seemed to do the job. She gave me directions to Andrew Williams’ office and I took the elevator up to the fifteenth floor.
It was a fancy place, all prim and proper and corporate. The more I interacted with Andrew Williams now and stepped into his world, the clearer Charlotte’s upbringing became. This was the reason why she didn’t seem to belong in that campsite in April. It was because she belonged to this world instead.
I walked up to the office and knocked on the door. He was sitting behind his desk, going through some papers and files.
“Lincoln! I was told this was an urgent matter of security? What are you doing here?”
I walked up to his desk and took a seat across from him.
“It is,” I replied and he had his brows crossed.
“Is this a matter of payment? I thought we’d squared that out already?” Andrew added and I shook my head.
“That is not why I’m here. I wanted to give you a quick brief on the events of the auction,” I said.
“Events? What events? I thought everything went smoothly that evening,” he replied, putting the files down. Now I had his attention.
“Yes, for the most part. But I did detect some suspicious activity while you were on stage, when your daughter went backstage. Some men were watching her and they followed her there, knocking out the museum security guard.”
Andrew was staring at me in disbelief, but I kept a straight face on. I needed him to buy my story and I hoped that he wouldn’t take measures to verify it.
His face went pale. I knew I was on the right path.
“My daughter didn’t tell me anything.” he said.
“That’s probably because she didn’t see anything. When I went backstage, she was in the bathroom and one of the guys was lingering about. We had a bit of a tussle, but he got away. By the time your daughter came out of the bathroom, he was gone,” I continued.
I could see Adrew beginning to panic.
“I hoped they were just empty threats. I didn’t expect them to actually send someone to the event.”
He jumped out of his chair and started pacing the room. I watched him. I needed him to think this was his idea. That was the only way this could work, and the only way I wouldn’t arouse suspicion in him about Charlotte and me.
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention,” he said.
“No problem. It was my job,” I replied and stood up from my chair.
“Where are you going?” he asked and I shrugged.
“No, wait, we need to figure out what we’re going to do. If they’re actually sending men after me, I need more protection. Twenty-four hours. I need to keep my family safe.”
I stuck my hands into the pockets of my pants and stared at him. I wasn’t going to suggest the obvious.
“Will you guys do it?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“Provide me with the service? Protection for my family and me. Specifically, my daughter.”
Andrew looked deathly pale. I could see he was flustered and afraid. I knew I shouldn’t have lied, but I didn’t give a fuck right now. I needed to get close to Charlotte, and this was the only way I knew how.
“I’ll have to talk to my clan, and of course, there will be a price,” I replied.
“Money is not a problem,” Andrew was quick to say.
“Okay, I’ll speak to the clan and get back to you with the right price and our decision.”
Andrew was nodding his head.
“You guys did a good job at the event. This is getting serious. Let me know when you can start and I’ll give you the money.”
After that, I left his office. I called Ford and told him to call a meeting because we had another big job coming up. This was a relief. This was going to work out. And I was going to make sure that I was on Charlotte’s security detail.
If she thought she could just get away from me, she was wrong. It was time that she admitted the truth.