LITMIR.BIZ

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going to be okay, like she cared. Not because he was the billionaire Dr. Robert Wyatt, but because he was Robert.

      That was what he’d missed this week. Just being... Robert.

      Lost in thought, he didn’t look at the screen of his phone before he answered it. “This is Wyatt.”

      “Bobby?”

      Robert froze, his hand on the elevator buttons. It couldn’t be...

      But no one else called him Bobby. “Mom?”

      “Hi, honey.” Cybil Wyatt’s voice sounded weak. It hit him like a punch to the solar plexus. “How have you been?”

      Almost three years had passed since he’d talked to his mother.

      He quickly retreated to his office. “Can you talk? Are you on speakerphone?”

      “Honey,” she went on, an extra waver in her voice. “You heard from Alexander, right?”

      That was a no, she couldn’t talk freely.

      Alexander was Landon’s assistant, always happy to do the older man’s bidding. “Yes. He said Landon wanted to run for governor.” A terrible idea on both a state level and a personal level.

      Robert knew the only reason Landon Wyatt wanted to be governor was because he’d discovered a way to personally enrich himself. He wasn’t content having politicians and lobbyists in his pocket. He always wanted more.

      “Your father wants you by his side.” The way she cleared her throat made Robert want to throw something. “We want you by our sides,” she corrected because the fiction that they were all one big happy family was a lie that had to be maintained at all costs, no matter what.

      “Are you on speaker?”

      She laughed lightly, a fake sound. “Of course not. All is forgiven, honey. We both know you didn’t mean it.”

      Hmm. If she wasn’t on speaker, she was probably sitting in Landon’s opulent office, where he was watching her through those cold, slitted eyes of his—the same eyes Robert saw in the mirror every damn morning—making sure Mom stuck to the script. “Let me help you, Mom. I can get you away from him.”

      “We’re having a gala to launch his campaign in two weeks.” Her voice cracked but she didn’t stop. “It’s at the Winston art gallery, right off the Magnificent Mile.”

      “I know it.”

      “It’d mean a lot to your father and me to see you there.”

      Robert didn’t doubt that his mother wanted to see him. But to Landon, this was nothing more than another way to exert control over Robert and he’d vowed never to give Landon that much power again—even if it cost him his relationship with his mother.

      “Tell me what I can do to help you, Mom.”

      There was a brief pause. “We’ve missed you, too.”

      Dammit. He didn’t want to pretend to be a happy family, not in private and most certainly not in public. But he knew Landon well enough to know that if he didn’t show, Mom would pay the price.

      Just like she always did.

      Robert couldn’t let that happen. Of all the things Landon Wyatt had done and would continue to do, dangling Cybil as bait to ensure Robert cooperated was one of the meanest.

      He had to fix this. “Think about what I said, okay? We’ll talk at the gallery.”

      She exhaled. “That’s wonderful, dear. It starts at seven but we’d like you to get there earlier. Your father wants to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

      Robert almost growled. Getting on the same page meant threats. Lots of them. “I’ll try. I have to make my rounds. But if I can get you away, will you come with me?” Because after what had happened last time...

      “Thank you, Bobby,” she said and he hoped like hell that was a yes. “I—we can’t wait to see you again.”

      “Me, too, Mom. Love you.”

      She didn’t say it back. The line went dead.

      Robert stared at nothing for a long time.

      This was exactly what he’d been afraid of. Landon was going to force Robert to do this—be this...this lie. He was going to make Robert stand next to him before crowds and cameras. He was going to expect Robert to give speeches of his own, no doubt full of bold-faced lies about Landon’s character and compassion. And if Robert didn’t...

      Would he ever see his mother again?

      Landon would do whatever he wanted, if Robert didn’t stop him. There had to be a way.

      You can do anything you want because you’re Dr. Robert freaking Wyatt, he heard Jeannie say.

      Maybe she was right.

      Now more than ever, he needed a drink.

      “Well?” he said in that silky voice of his.

      Once, Cybil had thought Landon Wyatt’s voice was the most seductive voice she’d ever heard.

      That had been a long time ago. So long ago that all she could remember was the pain of realizing she’d been seduced, all right. She could barely remember the time when she’d been a naive coed right out of college, swept away by the charming billionaire fifteen years her senior.

      She’d been paying for that mistake ever since. “He’s coming.”

      Landon notched an eyebrow—a warning.

      Cybil smiled graciously. “He’ll try to get there early, but he has rounds,” she went on, hoping Landon would dismiss her. Hearing Bobby’s voice again, the anger when he’d promised he could get her away from her husband of thirty-five years...

      God, she’d missed her son. Maybe this time would be different. Bobby had grown into a fine man, a brilliant surgeon. Landon hated that both because Bobby worked for a living and, Cybil suspected, because Landon knew Bobby was far smarter.

      If anyone could outthink Landon Wyatt, it’d be his own son.

      Something warm and light bloomed in her chest. With a start, she realized it was hope.

      What if there really was a way?

      But Landon would never let her go.

      A fact he reinforced when he stood and stroked a hand over her hair. Years of practice kept her from flinching at his touch. “I know you’ve missed him,” he murmured as if he hadn’t been the one keeping her from her son. His hand settled on the back of her neck and he began to squeeze. “So I know you’ll make sure he does what’s expected. Otherwise...”

      “Of course,” Cybil agreed, struggling as his grip tightened.

      Like she did every day, she thanked God Bobby had gotten away. If he were still trapped in this hell with her, she didn’t know how she’d bear it. But the knowledge that he was out there, saving children and living far from this—that kept her going. As long as her son was safe, she could endure.

      She looked up at the man she’d married and smiled because he expected her to act as if she enjoyed being with him. Maybe... Maybe she wouldn’t have to endure much longer.

      “Mr. Wyatt?” The sound of Alexander’s reedy voice cut through the office. “My apologies, but the campaign chairman is on line one.”

      “Now what?” he growled, abruptly letting her go.

      Cybil did not exhale in relief because he’d already forgotten she was here. She merely escaped while she could.

      She didn’t want Bobby to be drawn back into his father’s world, and the fact that Landon was using her to get their son to fall into line sickened her. But Bobby’s anger, his willingness to stand

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