AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thanks. I did the best I could.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Only thanks to you.”
He scoffed. “Don’t blame me for your shortcomings.”
“You were the one who said you brought me into this world, so unfortunately, half of my DNA comes from you. Anything good in me is from my mother.”
“This was pointless.”
“You’re right.” I hung up and tossed the phone on my coffee table, and it slid off and fell to the ground.
I had no guilt surrounding the circumstances that put Shane in jail. After my testimony, I never saw him again. I didn’t need to listen to anything he had to say. His actions were unforgivable. I could even see as a kid, him feeling intimidated by our father, but as a grown man, he only got worse.
Just because we were related didn’t mean fuck all. Blood doesn’t make family. Family is the marrow in your bones, the hand holding you steady. It’s the unwavering support that’s present even when you’re alone.
My mom gave me that. Sal gave me that, Bristol, even Beck. And it was too early, way too hasty to put Paris in that category, but the thought of her being mine, my family, for the first time in forever made me excited for the future.
Before we got there, though, I had to prove I could be all those things for her.
I cracked my neck and got to work.
The first thing I did was look into her father, and as soon as I saw that he was the president of Donovan Corporation, I had a sinking suspicion I wouldn’t like what I found.
When I wasn’t consulting with companies, I was the best at gathering incriminating evidence for my clients. Generally speaking, that was illegal, but it wasn’t all I did. Plenty of clients were above board, and those were the ones who paid my bills.
But the women and children who had been abused, coerced, manipulated? Those cases were pro bono. With the exception of his relationship with my mom, I wanted to be Sal to as many women and children as I could. I was lucky enough to be saved from my situation, so the least I could do is dig up some dirt… or plant a seed that would produce its own muddy soil.
It was a joke how easy it was to hack into Donovan Corp’s network, and even easier to steal Mr. Donovan’s credentials and gain access to his files. When I saw one labeled London, I knew I wasn’t going to find pictures of Big Ben or Buckingham Palace.
Sometimes I hated being right.
CHAPTER 5
Paris
I shut down my computer, feeling dead on my feet as I walked out of my room. Mentally, I was exhausted, and I barely had enough strength to feed the cats. I took a cool shower, slid on a pair of canary yellow boy shorts and matching nightie, then went to get some Tylenol for my headache.
On the way to the kitchen, I talked to my babies, and after downing the pills with a glass of water, a breeze whispered against my legs. I didn’t have a fan on, so I searched for the source. When I spotted it, my palms got sweaty, and the glass slipped out of my fingers, shattering at my feet. Black dots floated in front of me, the darkness threatening to choke the breath out of me until it dragged me under.
My patio door was open a couple of inches, and when Henry wandered toward the fresh air, adrenaline forced me to move, and I slammed it shut. I rushed around and counted my cats, realizing one was missing. Shit.
Henry always waited for me to finish work, and I didn’t notice he wasn’t meowing at my heels like usual. No, God no. “Henry!” I made kissy noises and ran around my apartment with no luck, then took off out the back, making sure the slider was closed behind me.
Bright white light lit up my patio as I ran toward the wheat field. “Henry. Come here, baby. Henry!” My voice oozed dread, and I didn’t even try to check the tears rolling down my face. “No God! Please! Henry, where are you?”
“Everything okay?”
My hair flew in the air when I whipped around at Scotty’s presence, swallowing past the fear strangling me. “Henry. My cat, he’s missing.”
“How’d he get out?”
“I don’t know! I finished work twenty minutes ago and just noticed the door was cracked open.” I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and whimpered as I stepped on a stick with my bare foot. “I have to find him.”
“Hey, wait. Stop.”
No way, nothing was stopping me. “No. He needs me.” I got another step in before Scotty’s arms clamp around me from behind. I tried to wiggle out of his hold when he lifted me clear off the ground. “Put me down. I need to find him.”
