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A portion of his tension eased at her deliberate teasing. “Not back then. I was more interested in finding trouble.”
“I’m guessing you were good at that.”
“The best.” His lips twisted at the memory of adolescent pranks and brushes with the law. Looking back, he could only be thankful his stupidity hadn’t landed him in jail. Or the morgue. “My dad was convinced he could beat some sense into me, but it only made my behavior worse. The more he hit me, the more I was determined to show him that I couldn’t be controlled. Thankfully, Darren kept him from doing any permanent damage.” He paused, forced to clear the lump from his throat. “Darren was more of a father to me than Dad. At least I would occasionally listen to him.”
“And your mother?”
Kaden concentrated on the slick road as he caught sight of the cemetery. “She was smart enough to bail when we were just kids.”
He braced himself for the gush of sympathy. There was nothing that prompted pity like being abandoned by your mom
But Lia was never predictable. She studied him in silence before she asked an unexpected question. “Do you resent her?”
Kaden considered his answer as he turned left and drove toward the edge of town.
“I did, but honestly, she had to save herself,” he finally confessed, not bothering to share the terror that had filled his young heart when he first realized she was gone and never coming back. Lia already knew his father was a violent asshole. It was obvious any kid would be horrified to be left alone with him. “If she’d taken us with her, there would have been no way to get my dad out of her life. He might not have loved us, but he considered us his personal property. And eventually he would have hurt her. Maybe even killed her.”
Lia absorbed his words, thankfully not pressing for any more details. The last he’d heard, his mother had remarried and had a new family. As far as he was concerned, she was a ghost who no longer had a place in his life.
“What happened to your dad?” she asked instead.
“He drove his car into a tree not long after I left home. I didn’t even go to his funeral.”
She reached out, touching his arm before quickly withdrawing her hand. “When something’s toxic in your life, you have to remove it. Otherwise it spreads like cancer.”
He wondered if she was speaking from experience.
“I’m not sorry I left. But I wish I had paid more attention to my brother,” he admitted. “After our childhood, I never dreamed he would follow in my father’s destructive footsteps. If I wasn’t so self-absorbed with my career—”
“He was an adult, right?” she firmly interrupted. “He made his own choices.”
“Maybe.” Kaden shrugged, unable to dismiss his duty to his brother so easily. “I failed him once. I won’t fail him again.”
Lia pointed out her window at the narrow lane that was built parallel to the nearby highway.
“Take the outer road. There’s a sign that shows the turn for the meatpacking plant.”
Kaden released a small sigh. He usually shut down anyone digging into his past. It was no one’s damned business who he was before arriving in Hollywood. But he’d wanted Lia to know where he’d come from and how it’d made him a man who was willing to risk everything. Not just because they were currently partners in the quest to discover the truth about Vanna, but because . . .
Because he was starting to think of having Lia in his life long after they solved the mystery.
As Lia promised, the sign for the Pike Meatpacking Plant was placed at the edge of the turnoff, large enough to be seen from the highway. He followed the bumpy lane that ended in a small parking lot in front of the L-shaped building. He pulled into a spot nearest the glass door, glancing around. There were no other buildings in the area and he was assuming the majority of the workers parked in the back lot he’d seen yesterday. It gave the feeling of being isolated from the rest of the world.
He shook off the strange desire to turn around and leave. It was his idea to come here in the first place.
Forcing himself to shut off the engine, Kaden unhooked his seat belt and glanced toward the silent Lia.
“Are you ready?”
She looked as uneasy as he felt about going inside. “I’m not sure.”
“Me either. Let’s go.”
Kaden exited the Jeep and waited for Lia to join him at the door before pulling it open to enter a cramped reception area. A woman with curly brown hair and a long face sat behind a bare desk that looked as if it was found in a thrift shop. The carpeting was worn and the walls were in dire need of a fresh coat of paint. Not that Kaden cared about the shabby appearance. He was just happy he couldn’t see the inner workings of the plant. It might make him a hypocrite, but he didn’t want to see the sausage being made. Even if he did love eating it.
The receptionist looked bored as they entered, but catching sight of Kaden, her eyes widened in surprise. She straightened in her seat, her dark eyes sparkling with a sudden excitement.
“Lia,” she breathed, reaching out to straighten the name plaque that read ‘Marla Walsh, Office Manager’. Kaden tucked away the information, silently wondering if she was related to Cord Walsh. “I haven’t seen you around forever.”
