But instead of the answering smile he hoped for, she still looked as serious as he’d ever seen her. “What else is wrong? It’s not just thinking you were pregnant, is it?”

She took a deep breath, one that shook in her chest. “The party I went to last week for Mia at Tatiana’s set—some pictures leaked from it. I don’t know who could have taken them, maybe one of the wait staff? All I know is that there was one of me and Mason.”

“Your ex,” Dylan instantly guessed. He had to work to keep his hands from fisting at the thought of the bastard coming after her and the baby. But it didn’t work. Couldn’t work when the fear that something bad might happen to them was the worst feeling he’d ever known. “He saw the picture, didn’t he?”

“I was freaking out thinking I might be pregnant when I heard the doorbell ring and thought you were back early. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him standing there. Not just because he’d managed to track us down so easily, but because I couldn’t believe he had decided he wanted Mason after all.”

Fury continued to rise swift and hot within Dylan as he said, “He doesn’t deserve one damned minute with Mason.”

“That’s what I told him—that the second he told me to get rid of the baby, he ceased to be his father. Richard thought I was going to be afraid of him. He thought I’d just give in. He thought I was still the naïve girl who had fallen for him without looking deeper than the fancy dates, the pretty words. But he was wrong.”

Looking at Grace, listening to her paint a picture of the showdown, Dylan could see exactly what her ex had faced: the fearless fire in her eyes, the determination to stand strong in every line of her face and body.

“He never knew you at all. Never knew one damned thing about you. You’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met. And when it comes to your son, you’ll do anything to protect him. Only a massive idiot wouldn’t understand that—or someone who is too self-involved to pay attention to anyone else.”

“I still don’t know how I didn’t realize that about him, that all he cared about was himself. What he wanted. His own image. Taking whatever he wanted from whomever he wanted without ever giving anything back, while convincing himself that he was a great man because he gave away family money that he never had a hand in earning.”

Dylan was glad, frankly, to hear the anger in her voice after what she’d had to face today. Anger would help keep her strong for the time being. And it was a hell of a lot better than being afraid.

“He knew his parents had tried to pay me off, of course. Knew all about their untraceable checks, because mine wasn’t the first they’d had to hand out, as Rafe discovered when he investigated him. But Richard didn’t know everything, couldn’t have known I recorded my entire conversation with them.”

Despite everything, Dylan couldn’t hold back his smile at how clever she was. “You recorded them?”

“I was doing some transcription from an interview that day they came to see me. They didn’t see the recorder in my left hand. The former senator’s voice is extremely recognizable. So I knew that if I ever had to protect myself from them, the recording would do it.”

“I love you, Grace. So damned much, it blows my mind.” He kissed her then, partly because he could never resist her beautiful mouth and partly because he needed to reassure himself that no harm had come to her. “You scared the crap out of him, didn’t you?”

“I’m pretty sure I did. And I’m going to hire the best child custody attorney to make sure that they scare him, too. I’ve been saving up for this. I have a legal defense fund ready to go.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t head him off at the pass, Grace,” Dylan told her. “Lord, I wish I had. My brothers and I, we were going to meet tomorrow to figure out what to do to make sure something like this never happened. But we were too late, and you ended up having to face him alone.” And he’d spend the rest of his life making this up to her. “Rafe deals with broken families all the time, so he’ll know who the best custody lawyer is to make sure you and Mason never have any problems with the Bentleys, no matter what they might try to pull in the future. I’ll call him right now, have him shoot you to the top of his firm’s priority list.”

She had closed her eyes for a moment, and he could see how pale, how shaken she still was. He was rubbing his hands down her arms, when she opened her eyes and looked into his.

“Thank you, but this time I need to do it myself. All by myself.”

“You’re one of us now—”

“No, I’m not,” she said in a voice that was becoming more and more shaky by the word. “I can’t do this.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I thought I could, but I can’t.” The tears began to spill. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Everything inside of Dylan clenched, then froze. “You’ve had a crazy day, Grace. You don’t have to do anything more, don’t have to make any big decisions. Not tonight. Not after you’ve just been through the wringer on all fronts.”

“I knew all along that I should have tried harder to resist you. But I kept telling myself it was just one kiss. Just one night. Just one week. Just for fun. Just for pleasure.” She wiped away her tears as she sucked in another shaky breath. “I’ve been lying to myself, and I can’t lie to myself anymore, Dylan. I can’t lie to you, either, by letting you think that I’m ready for this. For you.”