Page 52 of Phoenix


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“Important?” he asked in his little voice. The kid tried to be so grown up. Sometimes he was like a little adult, able to put full sentences together. Other times he was in complete meltdown mode.

“Not important. Just something I need to do.”

I thought I heard a sound and glanced over my shoulder seeing nothing. I lowered my voice even more, heading down the hallway. “Can you be a good boy for Daddy?”

“Hmmm… Don’t wanna.”

“I need you to get some sleep and I heard you’re going to the park tomorrow.” To see the animals. The small zoo offered him some comfort. Shit. Animals. My mind was churning again.

“Really?” Now he was more excited.

“Yes, really, but only if you go to bed and get some sleep. Can you do that?”

“O-tay, Daddy. Miss you.”

“I miss you too, buddy.”

“Thank you,” Betty said. “I tried everything.”

“You did the right thing. I’ll call in the morning.” As I ended the call, I held the phone against my forehead.

“You son of a bitch!” Wren said. “Who is she and why in the hell am I here?”

As I turned around to face her, I could tell there was nothing I was going to be able to say that would matter. So I did the only thing I could do.

I grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the hallway.

CHAPTER9

Wren

Oh, my God.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I’d never asked him if he was involved. What I’d overheard was a clear indication that he had a girlfriend or maybe worse. I was just an inconvenience for him, or maybe because he felt sorry for me he’d allowed himself to be bought for the weekend?

I was sick inside, doing my best to pull out of his strong hold.

“I’m not doing this. You will take me back to my car right now or so help me God!” My demand was met with silence as he dragged me down the hall. If he actually thought he was going to fuck me, I’d find a way to knock him on his ass.

He stopped in front of a closed door, his chest rising and falling. I didn’t need to see his eyes to know he was exasperated with me. So the fuck what?

“You two-timing pig!” I snapped, surprising myself when my punch landed against his jaw. But it was like hitting a brick wall.

All he did was grunt like the pig he was.

Then he yanked me so hard I thought for certain he was going to hit me. I winced and he seemed shocked, his eyes opening wide.

Exhaling, Phoenix looked away briefly, muttering under his breath. “Things aren’t always as they seem, Wren. You need to stop second guessing me. I would never two-time a lady. I’ve done a hell of a lot of things I’m not proud of in my life. There are people in this town who will tell you in gory detail about how horrible I am, but I would never do that. I would also never hurt you.” He twisted his handle around the knob, pushing me inside and turning on the light.

Then he stepped away, breaking his hold and allowing me to gasp at what I saw.

The room was set up for a little boy, complete with a rocket ship for a bed. There were posters of Spiderman and the Avengers on the walls, books in a wooden bookcase, and toys everywhere. But almost instantly I felt sadness in the room. Why?

“I…” There were no words to describe the way I was feeling. None.

“The phone call you just had to listen in on was with the woman I hired to be my son’s part-time nanny. Betty has been a godsend, although I know she’s getting tired of what she constantly has to deal with. My son refused to go to bed without talking to me. He throws temper tantrums that no damn psychiatrist or therapist has been able to help with. I took a chance that he’d like being away from his room and everything he knows for this weekend. But he’s struggling and I am a terrible father because I can’t break through to him.”

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