11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Cooper

" M ommy?" I hear, as Bean trots into my bedroom. As she opens the door, the light from the living room window burns a hole in my retina.

"Yes, baby." London murmurs, still half asleep.

"Mommy, it's seven-thirty. How come you're not up?"

My eyes flap open quickly as I dart up in bed, suddenly remembering that I'm naked, and so is London, and Bean is standing right there. "Shit. My alarm didn't go off." I hiss, trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to get out of bed, with no clothes on, without freaking the kid out. I'm not sure if London even traipses around sans clothes in her company.

"Oh, okay, baby. I'll get up and make you breakfast. You go on and get dressed, okay?"

Bean nods and walks away.

I murmur to London, so that Bean can't hear. "Shit, what do we do?"

London yawns and turns over in bed, seemingly oblivious. "What do we do about what? How long does it take to get ready for work? Bean takes ten minutes. It's okay."

I snuffle a soft laugh, kissing her on the mouth. "I mean...darlin'...she just walked in on us...we're both naked and in bed together."

She shrugs. "Bean didn't seem to notice. It's okay."

"Are you sure? I mean, she's not going to tear me a new one if I go out there?"

London rises in bed, her breasts exposed, waking up parts of me that really shouldn't be waking up at a time like this.

"She loves you. I think you're good." She says reassuringly, but with an evil smile and snicker, taking her robe off the bottom of the bed and draping it over her shoulders. "And it's not like we were doing anything, Cooper. We were sleeping."

"That's another thing. You said you were going to go back into her room before she wakes up. Is she going to get all territorial on me? Like I'm stealing her mama from her?"

Her bum slides off the bed as she ties her robe up in front, and she leans in to give me a kiss. "Bean's not like that. She tells it like it is, in the moment. If she was angry, she would have said so. I raised her to tell the truth all the time, and to never be afraid to say how you feel. She learned more from me and James's therapy than he did."

"Fuck." I mutter, pulling up my shorts, dick shriveling at the mention of the asshole's name.

"I'll talk to her, okay? Just relax. Go get showered and ready for work, and I'll take care of it."

"Okay." I kiss her on the mouth. "Sorry, I'm…just not used to a kid finding me in bed with her mama is all."

"It's okay, Cooper. I promise."

"Mommy, can I make pancakes?" I hear Bean ask as I trot into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Sure, you can. If you're dressed."

"I am dressed."

"Then, let's go." London says, and I hear her pat Bean's bottom, as she giggles. Relief washes over me.

I don't know why it bothers me so much. I just don't want to become one of those creeps that the kid calls ‘Uncle Cooper' because she doesn't want to be any closer to me than that. The thought makes me sick. I mean, I love the little angel. She's the sweetest thing and her mama is her world. They're both my world. And I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that. But, I suppose that London's right. We weren't having sex, we were sleeping, and Bean has no idea that we didn't have any clothes on.

As I shower and dress, I can hear the two of them singing Christmas carols with the radio in the kitchen, and it makes me smile, for two reasons now. When I arrive in the kitchen, I see that they've made me some Christmas tree shaped pancakes, too, so I thank them and eat them up quick. And as I keep worrying if everything is okay with us, London leans in and kisses me goodbye, right in front of Bean. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I tell her.

And just like that, everything is okay. I know it's not, but it sure feels like a miracle to me.

As I walk past all the classes, I see the younger ones cutting out paper snowflakes, made of green and red construction paper, while the older grades are hanging them on the walls and from the ceiling, using dental floss and fishing line. The school looks amazing. With just a little under a month left before Christmas, and another week until the Christmas concert, the building is buzzing with holiday cheer. But even with all the festivities going on, my mind is still on London and Bean. More so, since I felt a call come through on my cell phone as I was teaching, and I'm heading to the staff room to return the call, knowing full well who it is.

Jenkins answers on the first ring. "Hey, man. Thanks for returning my call so quickly. I know you're in class."

"No problem. I'm in between classes. What have you got?"

"It took some doing. Normally, when I'm digging around for the Ford brothers, it isn't to find out info on inmates, so this is outside of my territory. Luckily, I've got some friends in high places, and one particular friend who's an attorney. Evidently, this case was very hot in Florida, which is why your lady friend there is in the Witness Protection Program, and in a completely different state."

"Hot? How do you mean hot?"

"James Titan. He embezzled fifty million dollars through his wife. The story has been all over the media in Florida. Huge coverage on it. All I had to do was mention Florida and a lady and her kid under the Witness Protection Program, and this friend of mine made one guess."

I'm confused as fuck."What?How?"

"London Titan has enough goddamn suffixes to her name, it would make your head spin. She's a genius. Not only does she have a master's in accounting, but she's got several other degrees in commerce, technology, shit, she could probably bust her way through the F.B.I. and find out what everyone makes, fudge their numbers, and move on to the next project before lunch."

"No shit." I say, impressed, lifting my brows.

"Anyway, hubby James decided to get cocky with some big deal that she and him were working on with their company, and he got himself in some hot water."

"How'd he manage that?"

"He chose the wrong damn account to embezzle the money from. And by the time he got arrested, he'd hidden the money far away."

"What's this got to do with putting London in the program?"

"Well, the feds haven't been able to locate the funds yet. And he's not talking, even though the sharks that he swindled the money from are after his wife and child. He's not talking. There's more to the story, but everything is under embargo. My guess is he's made some deal with the devil, and he's trying to figure out how to bust out, so that he can go and retire with the money he's got socked away. He's probably got a friend in a low place, under some deal, but again, he's not talking."

I take a moment to digest the levity of the situation. "No wonder she's been so guarded. I don't blame her."

"Yeah. I'd say. Any word that gets around with the surname ‘Titan' and she'll be figured out. Those money-hungry assholes will be all over her like white on rice. She should have fucking twenty-four hour security, and I'm glad that you asked me to research this one, because clearly the feds don't have enough eyes on her. She needs more protection than what she was given. It's just thank God that you stepped in when you did."

"Yeah. A low profile was a good call on her part. I'm guessing all the feds did was give her some new identification, shipped her off to another state and called it a day. They're probably more worried about shoving all their resources into finding that money."

"I'd bet on that, man."

"That's why she's staying the hell away from her ex. And that's why she won't let Bean see him."

"Florida State Prison is not a place for minors."

"Definitely not." I sniff. "At least they got her way the hell away from Florida. If it were me, I'd go to goddamn Canada."

"They may relocate her, depending on how the situation unfolds. Like I said, it's embargoed, and it looks like Titan's not talking. Until he does or until they find the money, those girls are best concealed under false names, as they are."

"How the hell did he embezzle all that money? And how did he convince her to do it?"

"Trust. She trusted him. He gave her the account numbers, she moved the money. They were a small business and he got hungry. One of the businesses that he took the money from wasn't big enough not to notice and squealed. Another one of the businesses did a hell of a lot more than squeal; they came after him and threatened her and her family. Either that or she figured it out and reported him. Like I said, the whole thing is embargoed, but those are the scenarios that the media has painted. It makes sense that she squealed on him, otherwise why else would they place her and the kid in the program? The sharks think she knows where the money is."

"That's where I'd bet my money. But poor London doesn't know shit about where that money is."

"Yeah, he had her embezzle it, and he found himself a nice offshore account, without the ball and chain knowing about it. The snake."

"I knew that she was cut out for more than being a godddamn waitress. Damn. She deserves so much better than this."

"Well, if it's any consolation, you're giving her a thousand times better treatment than that asshole ever did."

Something occurs to me. "Wait a minute. They were divorced. How the hell does this fit in?"

"Divorced or not, they owned a business together, man. You can't just walk out when you're an owner."

"I guess that's true. It makes sense then that he wouldn't have any scruples about fucking her over like this then."

"Yeah, but the kid, too? That's fucking cold."

"I didn't say I agreed with it."

"Same. Anyway, the guy's going to burn in hell in prison, unless he's got someone needling their way in to get him exonerated or something. He hired one hell of a lawyer, so who knows. But if he's stolen money off of sharks, he's as good as dead, too. Why he got himself involved in a deal like that is beyond me. This lawyer friend of mine said that his net worth was over five million. Sure, most of it was tied up in the business, but it's dissolved now, and if he's as slimy as he seems, he probably had his own money hiding out somewhere, giving his ex-wife little breadcrumbs here and there, fudging up the papers."

"Yeah, but if she's a genius, how come she didn't figure it out?"

"Maybe she did. Maybe she's the one that called him on it. She's the one that asked for the divorce, man, and something tells me it's about way more than a lack of marital bliss."

"But she'd be entitled to some of that company money, wouldn't she?"

"Apparently, she didn't want any of it. She severed all ties with him. I guess she didn't want any of his blood money, and I don't blame her."

"She's got nothing. She's tending bar at Mingles for less than minimum wage. Under the table. Yet she's a goddamn genius. Fuck, that hurts."

"London sounds like a smart girl. If she's working under the table, her records are null. They don't exist. If she's getting paid and paying everything in cash, there's no paper trail. It's the only way to go."

"I unloaded her shit at my place. It didn't fill three vehicles. She says she's got some stuff in storage."

"Maybe she was even smarter and socked some dough away in one of them storage places, man." Jenkins says with a scoff. "That's what I would do."

"I'm just scared that Bean will say too much. She's already told me enough. I have half a mind to pull her out of school for a while. Until things settle down."

"Then you'll have to tell London that you know. How are you going to deal with that?" He reminds.

I draw in a deep breath and let it out. "Haven't thought that far. We're still too new. I don't know how she's going to react if she finds out what I know, and how I know it."

"That part I can't help you with, dude."

"I get it. Hey, thanks, man. You've been a treasure. Seriously."

"Anytime."

I'm half focused for the rest of the day, but grateful that London trusts me with Bean. At least I can keep her safe with me here at the school. No worries about taking a bus or anything, as I drive her. Aside from her other classes, which are all close to my classroom, I have music class with her every day. It's almost a godsend. Colton needs to know the levity of this situation, so he keeps all eyes on London while she works. Under no circumstances should she be left alone aside from when she goes to the ladies' room. I don't want her left alone for any length of time.

I take Bean over to the ranch for a ride after school, while London takes a nap before going to work, earlier today, as Blake needs her for the dinner shift. Colton's got his friend Luke over from work, with his three kids, so Bean is on cloud nine. Colton's brother Jack is here, too, and Wade. It's rare for Colton to not have at least one of his brothers over. Luke and Jack work together, but in all honesty, I think Colton is actually closer to Luke.

"How's it going, man?" Jack says, patting me on the back. "I hear you've got yourself a lady friend."

"You've seen her." Colton reminds. "She works at Mingles."

"Oh, yeah.The blonde chick."

Luke looks over at Bean. "Gosh, if she looks anything like her daughter, she must be an angel."

Wade smiles. "You thinking about getting yourself a lady friend?" He asks, somewhat carefully. Cassie, his wife, passed away last year. Despite their divorce the year prior, the family was still devastated by theloss.

"No, man. I've got my work cut out for me with these three." He chuckles. "And that's when I see them. I'm at work sixty hours a week. Thank God I got myself a nanny before Cassie died. That would have been a real gut punch."

Jack chimes in. "That won't be for much longer. Once HR gets me another head, the heat will come off you."

"It's okay, man. It's been a good distraction." Luke admits.

I watch Colton help Bean onto Maya this time, and the smile on her face is so wide, it's contagious. I love that kid. How the hell her daddy could put any potential harm on her is beyond me. "Cooper, look!" She calls to me as she mounts the horse.

"Perfect, love! She loves you!" I call back.

"Seems like the horse isn't the only one she loves." Luke says to me.

"Yeah, she's looking to impress the pants off you, buddy." Wade says.

I can't help the smile. "She's already there. I couldn't love her more if she was my own."

"Be careful with that." Jack states. "Unless you're sure that you and her mama are good."

I look at him. "I'm sure. I love them both to death. I can't believe how fast things have happened." Or how fast they could come crashing down, is what I want to add, but I refrain. For their protection, the less everyone knows about them, the better. And I'd bet money on it that Colton has kept his word and hasn't breathed anything about this to anyone.

I watch London play with Luke's kids and smile. The happier she is the happier I am. Colton gets right in there with Rebel and Maya, and I want so badly to talk to him in private. But the chance doesn't present itself with so much company. And that's when London appears and something shocking happens.