Page 12 of The Merger
“When?” she asked hesitantly.
“Five years ago,” I admitted.
Sabrina turned to Jana. “What Fitz said…” she trailed off.
“Fitz Anderson?” I was missing information.
Colter grabbed a manilla folder off the coffee table and slapped it against his palm a few times. “I know a private investigator. We used him when Maxwell Easton had Jana locked out of her apartment to find out what he was up to. He’s the one that found her grandpa’s will that gave her the company, and since he’s done such a good job in the past, Jana and I decided to pay him a visit this morning.”
He slapped the folder against his hand one more time to remind me it was there. “Do you know what he found?”
“Not really,” Sabrina said.
“No, but I bet Stryker does,” he said and tossed the file down in front of me.
I didn’t need to pick it up to know he’d found our marriage certificate. When I didn’t move to grab it Sabrina picked it up.
Time seemed to crawl as I watched her open the folder. When it started shaking I knew she’d gotten to the signature lines and saw her name next to mine.
Jana reached out and placed a hand over Sabrina’s to stop her trembling.
Sabrina looked over at her. “So, not a coincidence then?”
Jana shook her head. “No, I’m afraid this is very real.”
“What I want to know is, why haven’t you said anything about this?” Colter pointed an accusing finger at me.
He was pissing me off, but I reminded myself Sabrina actually liked her brother. Step-sibling or not, they had a tighter bond than the nonexistent one I had with Malcolm.
“There’s an explanation, but it’s for Sabrina, not you.” I meant to speak more respectfully, but being an asshole to people was second nature to me now.
“She doesn’t know you,” he pushed back.
I shook my head. “She doesn’t remember me.”
“Is there a difference?” Colter demanded.
“A part of her is familiar with me.” My words were directed at Sabrina as I stared deep into her midnight blue eyes. As if I could will her to remember our night together.
Colter grabbed his phone off a side table. “I’ll call Caroline and we can get this annulled.”
“She won’t help you,” I told him.
Of course, he didn’t listen to me and started going through his contacts. Jana slid the phone from his hand and set it down on the table.
“If anything is going to happen, it will be Sabrina’s choice. Besides, Caroline is Stryker’s friend too. It wouldn’t be fair to ask her to take sides here.”
Sabrina sat still, barely blinking. She was in shock, which was exactly the reaction I feared. Jana reached out and enveloped one of Sabrina’s hands between both of hers. “Brina? What do you want to do?”
She blinked several times and seemed to snap out of her stupor. “I don’t know,” she said softly.
“Can we talk?” I asked her. She nodded.
Jana stood up and walked in front of Colter. “Come help me check on dinner.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but she shook her head. “Now, old man,” she demanded.
Colter rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. “You’re still a brat.”