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Claire asked a few more questions about the arrangement. I answered while Kyle watched me from across the table. He reached toward the laptop, but I pulled it back before he could close anything.
“I can’t promise a match until we’ve reviewed the details,” Claire said. “But I can check availability and see who might be suitable.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“Would you mind holding?”
“Of course.”
“That was very specific,” Kyle whispered.
“Should get us to the gold,” I answered.
“Thank you for holding,” Claire said. “I’d like to arrange a consultation so we can go over the placement. Do you have your calendar available?”
I opened it on my laptop and clicked into the week.
“I have it right here. Tell me what you have open.”
10
Melody
Aubrey’s kids and husband were off to school and work. And she stayed behind to keep me company for the day, but tomorrow she has to get back to her life. I hated that I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I felt as if I were at a standstill.
I didn’t know what to do. I needed to save the Banks family from Storie but I wasn’t sure how. No one knew just how evil that little girl was but me. I needed to do something because Dream and Rita were next in line to be her victims.
Justice could protect himself but they couldn’t. Aubrey poured me a cup of coffee but I didn’t even have the appetite for that.
All I could think about was how I let Roman destroy my life and how it was still having effects. I let him poison my son into shooting my daughter. He took my career away and now this… There’s no way I could let him win.
“Can you please eat something? You’ve been avoiding food since you got here,” Aubrey offered.
“I can’t eat right now. All I think about is how Storie could hurt Rita or Dream. I’m just hoping now that I’m gone, she doesn’t feel threatened anymore. I think my presence brought out something in her. She’s jealous.”
“Well, duh. The little girl wants her daddy. That shit is some Shakespearean ratchetness. She needs to be thrown in a vat of holy water. And Justice is dumb if he can’t see it.”
“He’s not dumb. To him that’s his little girl. And she’s good at her manipulations. She almost had me convinced that Kira poisoned that horse too.”
Aubrey shrugged before turning her back and reaching for toast and butter. Her kitchen had recently been remodeled as modern and colorful. She had just put in blue cabinets and white and orange tiles on the floors. Gold accented the handles and most of the appliances. I felt a tinge of jealousy.
Not that I wanted her life. I just wanted a life for myself. Ever since the day my daughter was killed, it had been downhill for me. Spending those years in prison broke me in ways I couldn’t even describe.
Bitches are violent with prisoners who are in jail for child abuse. I had to fight almost every day, except for the stretches of time I spent in solitary confinement. Those were the times that I went internal and thought about my daughter. I thought about getting Keenan away from his father before damage was inflicted. I thought of us being free.
Without money, I wasn’t sure what to do.
“Fine, Mr. Banks isn’t dumb, but I really wish he would listen to you.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I don’t know what to do about Keenan. I wish I could just kill Roman. But I ain’t no killer,” I shook my head and tried to eat the toast Aubrey set before me.
“Well, let’s start by putting some more cash in your pocket. You’ll get Keenan. Between me and Duke we’ll help you figure it out. As a matter of fact, I have a gig that you might be interested in. It doesn’t pay nearly as well as the Banks but it might be a good distraction.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s a similar situation. You’ll be taking care of a senior citizen woman with dementia. It might be a move-in ordeal. I’m waiting for more details. But are you up for an interview in a few days?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, forcing toast down my throat.
