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I left his den and headed back down the hall to the kitchen. Christa had a chocolate milkshake moustache and a smile on her face. I hadn't seen her smile in so long.
Clare looked at me, her own smile disappearing. "Your room is still up the stairs. We haven't touched it."
That surprised me. I would have assumed she'd take every pleasure in turning it into something she wanted.
"Thank you for watching Christa."
Clare softened a little. "Of course."
Christa jumped off the stool and took my hand as I led her up the stairs to my old bedroom. It was like opening the door to a time capsule. Nothing had changed. Not a damn thing.
"Is this your bedroom, Mum?"
"Yeah, baby, it is."
She let go of my hand and moved over to the bed, laying down on it. She must have been exhausted. Just like I was. I sat down with her and wrapped my arms around her as we laid down on the soft pillows. There was no fear of being dragged out of bed and hurled against a wall or being yelled at. We were safe here.
Finally.
We were safe.
CHAPTERTHREE
I putthe car in park and looked over to the house that looked like every other house on the street. It was a modest home, not at all like the two I'd lived in my entire life and definitely not one I would think she would live in.
"Are you sure about this?" Caleb asked me from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, she has exactly what I need," I told him. "Don't worry, she's not going to hurt me."
"I ain't leaving you unguarded, Cal. I'm not stupid."
I rolled my eyes and opened the car door, and swiftly crossed the street. Caleb followed behind me. I knocked on the door and waited. My heart was in my throat, but without her, I wouldn't be able to execute the plan to kill Judd.
Slowly, the door opened, and she appeared before me. Her smile disappeared and she looked at me like I was a stranger before faint recognition hit her.
"I was wondering when you would darken my doorstep," she said. Her eyes briefly flicked up to see Caleb standing behind me before coming back to me.
"Hi Mum," I said. "Mind if we have a word?"
"Did Cole send you?"
"No, Dad doesn't know I'm here," I said.
She looked back at Caleb and smirked. "Yes, he does. That kid wouldn't dare keep him out of the loop."
Caleb had been with my father since I was fourteen. I'd even had a crush on him before I met Judd, when he'd been a hot 17-year-old looking for a job and I'd been a young and head in the cloud's teenage girl hit with all sorts of hormones I didn't know how to deal with. He was his head enforcer because he was damn good at his job but also because he'd never let anything happen to my dad. He protected him like he was his own father, and in a way, he was a father to him.
"Can I come in?"
"You can, he can't."
"Hell no," Caleb said. "I go where she goes."
I turned around to face him. "It's okay. I'm right here, you wait in the car."
He didn't want to, but after a brief moment of silence, he finally stepped back and headed back to the car. My mother opened the door and let me inside. The house was light and airy, not at all like the house I grew up in. She had paintings on the walls of plants and a vase full of flowers on her dining table.
"Do you want something to drink?" she asked me.
