Page 40 of Cash

Christ, I kinda hated myself at the moment.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. When I pulled it out and checked the screen I didn’t recognize the number. I almost rejected the call but then remembered Penny was on her way.

Was that brotherly? Taking a call from an unknown number because your sister was driving and shit happened, which meant the call could be important.

Yeah, I hated myself, or at least this feeling in my gut that wouldn’t let up.

“Hello?” I grunted into my phone, preparing to hang up if it was a telemarketer.

“Cash?” I heard whispered in a voice that sounded like a child.

What the fuck?

“Who is this?”

“My name is Cara Phillips. My Lolo told me if something happened to her to call you,” she rushed out, sounding on the verge of tears.

Cara Phillips?

I gritted my teeth, never more thankful for my inability to father children. Whatever game this kid’s mother was playing, giving her my last name and phone number wasn’t going to work.

Before I could ask the kid to hand the phone off she went on. “Lolo said if I called you, you’d come get me.”

That broke on a sob.

And as much of a total asshole I was, there was no denying I didn’t like this kid crying. But there was no chance I was going anywhere to get some random kid so the mother could suddenly appear and try to pass the kid off as mine.

“Listen, sweetheart, I don’t know who you are or who Lolo is.”

I didn’t finish before Nebraska gasped. “Lolo?”

I glanced over my shoulder to look at Nebraska. Without delay, she passed Savannah to Ivy and started making her way to me.

“Who’s on the phone?” she asked.

“Who’s Lolo?” I returned instead of answering.

“That’s Lore’s nickname. But only Charlie called her that and…” she trailed off and shook her head. “A friend of hers, but I can’t remember his name, I met him a long time ago.”

I shoved aside the jealousy that there was a man out there who’d called Stella Lolo and focused on a new feeling of dread that was filling my chest.

“Cara, is your Lolo’s name Stella?”

“Yes. Lolo said to call you. Are you coming to get me?”

I nodded to Nebraska and asked the little girl, “Do you know where you are?”

“Two-two-five-one Paris Oaks Road Ownings Maryland two-zero-seven-three-six.”

Thirty minutes. Stella had been thirty minutes away this whole time.

“Are you alone? Is Stella there?” I asked as I walked toward the door without a backwards glance. “Cara?”

“I’m…Lolo told me to get into our special room like we practiced and told me to call you.”

Special room?

I took off in a jog down the corridor.