Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 123

They exchanged glances, and Psalter said, “More often than not, the wisest course of action is not getting involved when you don’t have to.”

“That’s not an option,” I huffed. “I told her I would help.”

“Change your mind,” Helen said.

I leveled my gaze at her, and my tone took on a hard edge. “No.”

Helen’s look of stubborn professionalism cracked as she seemed to remember that while her guidance was valuable, her word wasn’t final.

“Jesus,” I said, placing my hands on the backs of one of the chairs and leaning against it as if I were physically weary. “I have all the money in the world… you’d think it would buy me a solution.”

“You have a solution,” Psalter said. “You can get the boy on a plane tonight, but he can’t come here.”

“Your vacation home,” Helen said, sounding defeated.

I eyed her. “What?”

“No one is there. My understanding is that they finished cleaning it up after the break-in last month. The locks have been changed, and the security systems have been updated so that only you have access. Send them there. She can take care of the place for you.”

That… wasn’t a completely terrible idea.

“Kind of isolated up there,” I pointed out.

“If you retrieve Nate the way she wants, they should be in hiding,” Psalter said. “She should understand that. You might even be able to arrange trips for her back to New York. Given time, you can probably transition her back full-time. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than them staying at your main residence.”

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll do that.”

“She’ll be amenable?” Henry asked.

“She wants her kid back. If she has to go into hiding in a vacation home in the mountains for a while, I’m sure I’ll find a way to convince her. It’s not exactly a gulag.”

We took a few more minutes to work through some of the logistics before Psalter finally left to execute the plan, leaving Helen and me alone. Even after the door shut, she stayed where she was, leaning against the side of my desk, staring at me in obvious discontent.

“What?” I asked.

“Someone tried to kill you,” Helen said. “I wish you wouldn’t give someone else a reason to come after you.”

“Jim’s hardly a threat,” I said.

“Jim Lucas isn’t the one I’m worried about. Hiro Tanaka is out there.”

“I have Tanaka’s son.”

“That’s only going to piss him off more. Besides, he’s not the only one. There’s whoever is behind Bell and Brantwood… the entire Gerrard clan doesn’t seem to like you… not to mention my husband.”

“Ex-husband,” I corrected. That wasn’t technically true, but to everyone that mattered, it might as well have been. She was mine, now.

The word ‘Ex’ seemed to convey that very meaning. Helen’s expression softened a little.

“I l…” She stuttered on a word and then changed tack. “I’m just concerned that if the wrong people find out about this, it could only lead to more problems, and you have enough already.

“Phoebe needs my help, and I’m going to help her. I’ve changed, Helen—a lot. It’s been necessary change, and a lot of it’s been good for me, but there’s still a core part of who I am that I don’t want to change—helping people like Phoebe who have real problems. I’m not perfect, but I need situations like this to remind me of who I am, deep down.”

“I understand,” Helen sighed. “I just…”

“If there’s legal issues, you and Karl will fix it. It’s what I pay you for.”

Helen grimaced. “We’re not magicians, Marcus.”

“You can deal with this, though, right? I’m sure you’ve done way worse than this.”

“Oh, we have,” Helen admitted. She hesitated, then said, “To be honest, this is all very pedestrian by comparison.” She stepped toward me and rested a perfectly manicured hand against my chest. Her eyes flashed as she met my gaze, and I had the sudden urge to kiss her. “I suppose I’m more emotionally engaged with this client compared to our others.” 

“I understand,” I said. “This client is particularly fond of their primary lawyer.” I reached up to stroke the back of my fingers along Helen’s jaw. “Maybe we should just let Karl get someone to handle it.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Helen said softly, turning her head to brush her lips against my fingers.

“Good,” I said, capturing her mouth for a brief kiss. “I need to get back to the party, but first, what did you do with Bobbi?”

Helen’s look of soft concern melted into a wicked smile. “I finished her punishment, made her eat me out, and then tied her back onto her saddle. Leaving it on low vibration for a while might remind her that when she’s given a command, she should obey it.”

The thought of Bobbi being forced to go through hours of low-level vibrations on her cunt sounded delicious. The image of her strapped to her knees reminded me of something else I’d meant to discuss with her mistress.

“Oh… one more thing.”

“Sir?” She asked, her interest piqued.

“I’m thinking of taking Bobbi off birth control.”

Whatever irritation remained in Helen’s features dissipated completely.

“Go on,” she said. I had her undivided attention.

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