Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
I moved my investigation upstairs, but not before swiping one of her high school graduation photos for myself and stuffing it inside my back pocket.
Finding Atlas’s bedroom was easy enough.
It was the first room to the right of the stairs, the closed door bearing her name in sky-blue letters and a Keep Out sign. Not wanting to be caught slipping, I checked the bathroom and the other two bedrooms first.
The master bedroom at the end of the hall clearly belonged to her parents. The rumpled bed looked like it might have been slept in recently but was now as empty as the room.
“If you’re here to rob the place, you won’t find anything valuable,” a quiet voice spoke from behind me. I whirled around to find the small outline of a woman lurking in the shadows of the dark hallway. “Just old ghosts.”
Light flooded the space between us a moment later, revealing a woman at least twenty years my senior, clutching a framed photo in her swollen hands. Her brown skin had a gray pallor, while her unruly hair framed her sunken cheeks. Kind brown eyes stared back at me. Behind her, the door to Atlas’s bedroom was now cracked open.
“Kareena?” If Atlas’s mom was surprised I knew her name, she didn’t let on. She only nodded. “I’m Rowdy,” I said foolishly. “Rowdy Wray.”
“Hello, Rowdy Wray. How can I help you?”
“I—” I had no idea what to fucking say. I must have really been off my game to have been caught sneaking around. Although, in the past, whenever I’d broken into someone’s house in the middle of the night, it wasn’t to snoop. “I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“Oh, that’s all right.” Atlas’s mom waved me off. “As long as you forgive my appearance. I would have worn my best pajamas, but I didn’t know I’d be having company.” Kareena gave a weak smile, and I chuckled despite the awkward situation.
At least now I knew where Atlas had gotten her love for sarcasm.
“I know your daughter,” I blurted nervously. My palms were sweating for some reason, and I was frozen to the spot.
I could see the surprise in Kareena’s eyes at my announcement. And then her gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Forgive me, but…” Her head tilted curiously. “How do you know my daughter? Are you one of her professors?”
“No.” I chuckled. “I’m her boss.”
“Boss?” Kareena blinked. “I wasn’t aware my daughter was working. What do you do?”
“I’m a mechanic. I own a shop in Idlewild. Your daughter is my receptionist.”
“Idlewild,” she echoed flatly.
“Yup.”
“So my daughter isn’t at school?”
“Nope.”
“And you’re her boss?”
“Correct.”
I waited patiently while Kareena let the information sink in. There was a calm passivity in her tone when she finally spoke. “Well, if my daughter is there, what are you doing here, Rowdy Wray, the mechanic?”
“Background check,” I answered plainly. It wasn’t a lie since I was absolutely here to fill in some blanks.
“I see.” Kareena’s gaze turned shrewd. “Must be some mechanic shop.”
Yeah, she was definitely Atlas’s mom.
“I like to think so,” I answered humbly.
“Hmmm. And did you find everything you needed to know?”
I shrugged and gave her a pointed look. “More questions than answers, honestly.”
Kareena nodded sympathetically. “My daughter can be complicated.”
“Your daughter is a pain in my ass if I can be honest, Kareena.” I paused. “Excuse my language.”
She waved me off again, but the gesture somehow caused her to sway on her feet, and I rushed across the short hallway to reach her before she could collapse.
“Shit,” I cursed again under my breath before saying fuck it and carrying her inside the bedroom, where I laid her on Atlas’s bed.
I only allowed myself a quick glance around at the teenaged frills decorating the room before refocusing on the woman in front of me. Kareena was close to my mother’s age since my mom had me very young. She’d only been a few years older than Atlas was now. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Kareena gave me another weak smile. “Just a little dizziness. I must have skipped dinner.”
I gaped at Atlas’s mom when she trembled violently. I was no doctor, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t hunger causing her body to convulse.
“You’re sick,” I accused, never one to beat around the bush. For the first time, Kareena avoided my gaze. I sucked in a breath. “Does Atlas know?”
Kareena sobbed suddenly and shook her head. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her after her father died. She’s already been through so much.” I said nothing as I plucked a tissue from the box on the nightstand and handed it to her. Kareena wiped her eyes before saying, “Atlas spent a year watching her father die. I couldn’t do that to her again.” Kareena’s body started trembling again, but I knew this time had nothing to do with whatever sickness was ravaging her body. “I was so cruel to her.”