AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My heart is racing. I don’t want to tell him the truth.I don’t know.The words are so insufficient. They are heartbreaking and horrifying. I don’t want to put him through that. Because I can see how much he cares about Benjamin. How much helovesBenjamin.
He moves towards me so quickly I jump. But I’m not fast enough.
He grabs my arm. “Well? What did your little sidekick say, Piper? Is my son still alive?”
“I don’t have a sidekick. That was—”
He yanks Ashley’s phone out of my hand. Noelle’s name is still on the screen, the “Call Ended” message flashing at the top.
“Noelle,” he spits. “I fucking knew it.”
“No. Listen. I went to see Noelle, and she told me she was working for the Albanians. As soon as I heard, I—”
“I know what you did. You sent her to my fucking house and kidnapped my son.”
“I didn’t!” I clench my fists at my side, wishing more than anything that I could pound the truth into his thick head. “I would never do that. Ever.”
He has a crushing hold on my bicep. My arm is tingling from lack of blood flow, but I stand tall and meet his eyes. “I tried to call you. As soon as I met with Noelle, I tried to call you so I could warn you. But you didn’t fucking answer.”
It’s fleeting, but I see it: Timofey blinks as the new information clatters against the wall he has built.
“You remember that?” I press. “That day before Noelle came to your house, I called you.” The fury starts to pour out and I don’t want it to stop. It singes my words and I want him to feel the scalding heat. “I fucking called you towarn youand youdidn’t. Fucking. Answer.”
I can tell he knows what I’m talking about. And I know I should be relieved when I see horrified realization bloom across his face, or when I feel his grip start to ease.
But I’m not. I’m not relieved at all. What I am is tired. What I am is simplydone with his bullshit. He holds just as much responsibility for this mess as I do, and now, he’s finally seeing it.
“Kindly let go of my best friend.” Ashley’s voice cuts through the tense silence.
I look over Timofey’s shoulder, and she is standing behind him with her arms folded.
I swallow back a groan. There has never been a worse time for her protective best friend routine.
“Oh, Timmy boy,” Ashley says in the most condescending way she can. “Would you mind talking to me for a moment? In private?”
Slowly, finger by finger, Timofey releases my hand. Without another word, he turns and walks away.
15
TIMOFEY
She called me.
Piper called me the day Benjamin was kidnapped.
I can see it all so clearly: Benjamin in his fifth or sixth outfit of the day. A pile of dirty diapers exploding out of the diaper pail. My shirt covered in formula and spit-up. My hands were full, and I couldn’t answer the phone when it rang.
But itdidring. She called.
Is she telling the truth?
The question tickles the back of my mind as Ashley marches confidently ahead of me. She walks past the porch where Piper’s grandmother is sitting and leads me to a bench in the shaded corner of the courtyard. It’s within sight of the porch, but well out of earshot.
She sits down in the center of the bench, arms spread wide, making it clear I’m not welcome to join her. “We need to talk.”
“I’m not sure that’s true,” I tell her. “It’s probably better for both of us if we never talk.”
She shrugs. “You might be right. Every time we do, I want to stab you in the eyes for hurting my friend.”
