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Worry clouded over her eyes and his cold, unfeeling heart bent a little. She had her mother’s expressive, haunting eyes. He needed to get away from her. The last thing he needed was to see Adri again. Fuck, this is exactly what he had wanted to avoid.
She grabbed his hand tight into her smaller ones.
"They wouldn't bring me if I told them I wanted to meet you. Not Mama or Aunt Lauren. You were my favorite player and I just love your paintings so much, even if Mama says you're not even trying. Is it true? She said you're probably not even showing your best stuff." She paused briefly as if to give him a chance to answer but continued talking. "Anyway, I snuck out of school and took the train here. I only told my best friend Ayla because I planned to be back after recess."
It was amazing. In less than twenty minutes, this kid had rendered him speechless countless times. "Your mother must be worried sick." If she were the Adrianna he remembered, she was on the phone with the local police, the FBI, and the National Guard by now. "Do you know where you live?"
Her eyebrows snapped together. "I'm not a baby."
Her voice was so indignant, Cam mustered all the strength in the world not to smile.
"No, you are not. I can see that." Amazed he could keep a straight face at all, he cleared his throat. "Come on, let's get you home."
He took her hand and started walking, but she stayed rooted.
"Mama's going to be mad. Nuclear. She's going to ground me forever. She'll take away everything, like my salsa lessons and school dances. I love to dance. But, I'm okay with that because I would have to dance with boys. Boys are gross anyway. But I dance with Ayla and all my other friends. What if she takes away my pretty dresses or my painting supplies? What if she forbids me from painting again?"
He tugged at her hand to get her to stop babbling, "I don't think your mom would take away your art supplies, Bron. Even if she is um…nuclear, she wouldn't do that."
She nodded but didn't seem convinced.
He needed to give Adrianna her child back. The kid was making Cam’s heart ache in the worst of ways. And he planned to do just that. Then he would get on the next flight the fuck out of the area and never come back. He would also get a lobotomy or hypnosis or Voodoo if necessary to forget this little episode. He would banish Adrianna to oblivion again.
Now, all he needed to do was face the past he'd put in the rearview mirror so many years ago.
