AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’d locked her bedroom door, and when he’d graced their home with his presence, he slept in a room down the hall.
Once the baby arrived, sick of the pretense, she’d divorced him, gotten sole custody of Kean, a son he’d never wanted, and moved herself, Kean and Ruby to San Diego. This way, she wouldn’t be aware of his shady dealings. And her small family could begin to live a normal, happy life.
Over the next years, her job had ranked number two in her life, second to only her son. Because of her reputation as a dependable agent with certain skills and knowledge about Muslim customs and the Islam faith, on occasion she’d gotten loaned out to different cities.
Her career had blossomed and she’d found a certain happiness in being the person in charge of her destiny. Men had come and gone but none made any difference to her way of life.
During these years, she’d been as gentle as she knew how with her son. She’d even gotten used to his demanding goodnight kisses and the hugs he spread around, but instigating this affectionate behavior was still hard for her.
Unlike the Filipino woman who showered him with all kinds of embraces and smooches. Ruby had a huge heart and her very openness was what had attracted Alia to her in the first place. Such opposing personalities, and yet they’d managed to build a strong and healthy family unit.
But now things were different. With Paul’s threat hanging over her and no one around who she trusted to step into Ruby’s place, this latest option could work. Kean would be safe, they’d be together every day, and maybe he could begin to rely on her as his mother, rather than Ruby.
A wall of insecurity spread over her like syrup. Just thinking about this new mothering role made nerves rattle around in her stomach causing pain and doubts. Fearful of a revolt, with eyes down, she started making her way to the ladies’ room, swallowing the whole time.
“Are you ignoring me on purpose?” Sloan stood in her path, and she looked up, gulped and exhaled slowly.
“Sorry? I was thinking about something and didn’t know you’d arrived.”
“Liar! I noticed your face when you saw me, and I want to know why you looked so angry and just now so frightened. Am I that scary?”
“Don’t be an ass. The only thing that scares me is a loaded gun pointed my way and the IRS.” She gestured to the men waiting in front of the meeting room. “They’re ready for us. They’ll be briefing you on what’s been discussed so far and see if you have anything to add. Something’s come up for me that we’ll need to deal with too.”
