Big Trouble in Little Greektown by Kate Collins

Author:Kate Collins [Collins, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Lila parked in the visitors’ lot and escorted me through the Lakeside Correctional Facility as if it were a home away from home, waving and charming her way through several layers of security before finally entering the visitors’ area.

There were a number of tables scattered at random throughout the wide, brightly lit room. Guards stood outside each door, while a separate guard monitored the visitation room from within. Lila sat casually with arms crossed and a mischievous grin on her face. I sat next to her in impatient silence, having nothing to do but twist my hair in curls around my finger. We had both given up our purses and jewelry at the security gate.

Finally, the door buzzed and opened, and a man walked in wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. The image struck me at once. This formerly stylish, vain man of seemingly unlimited money and power had been reduced to a pale, disheveled version of his former self. Grayson Talbot Junior, or Sonny as my family had dubbed him, the son of a real estate mogul, now stood before us as a prisoner, caught up by his own greed.

I remembered a meeting I’d had at his mansion when I was trying to save Little Greece from demolition. I remembered sitting across from him and his lawyer at a large cherrywood conference table, feeling small and inadequate, desperately trying to keep my composure and speak my mind. And Case, who’d come along to help me, had been whisked away by the woman who now sat at my side.

In the end I’d won the battle against the Talbots, and now I felt a sense of accomplishment as Talbot Junior shuffled toward us, his demeanor shifting as he caught sight of Lila, and then again as he did a double take after spotting me. He laughed to himself, shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.

“You can give the inmate a quick hug, but no touching once he sits down,” said a blunt, burly guard as Talbot joined us at the table.

“Ha!” Lila said. “You won’t have to worry about that. I don’t seem to remember any touching, even when we were married.”

Talbot immediately resumed a fight that must have started years ago. “How could I touch someone who was never around?” His face looked sunken, his hair graying at the temples, but his voice was still as piercing as ever.

“I was around long enough for you to ignore me,” Lila fired back.

“Maybe I didn’t know it was you, covered in that clown makeup, hidden behind a dense fog of expensive perfume. I see you haven’t changed, my dear.”

“The insults don’t stop hurting because we’re divorced, darling.”

“Is that so, Ms. Lila Talbot? I knew you’d get everything in the settlement, but I never figured you’d keep the last name, too.”

“Are we going to do this now,” Lila asked, “in front of our esteemed guest?”

Sonny eyed me with a wry grin. “Athena Spencer.”

I was surprised they’d even remembered I was there.

“And why is she so ‘esteemed?’” he asked, looking me over.

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