Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“My attitude. It’s just that—”
“You’re in love with a woman but don’t have the balls to go tell her?”
I glare at him because he’s the fucking hammer and I’m the damn nail he just hit on the head. In other words, he fucking nailed it. All of it. I’m in love. I’m a pussy because I’m scared of what admitting that means. I can only see her rejecting me because she hasn’t even texted back.
“Have you reached out to her?”
“I texted.”
“You texted today?”
“In January.”
“You’re such a fucking idiot.”
I want to growl at him, but somehow manage to keep my calm. Acting like a petulant child won’t get me anywhere but benched because of an attitude problem, and I don’t want to miss out on the next trip. Working has been the only time I’ve managed to lock down at least some of my thoughts.
“You’re fucking miserable.”
“Is that what you needed me for? To tell me I’m useless and stupid and scared and a pussy.”
His grin grows. “So, you’re aware?”
“Very,” I mutter, shoving my hands into my pockets because punching my boss for his happiness over my misery has the power to get me kicked out of Cerberus.
“I have good news.”
I don’t even perk up at his words. What’s good news for him has no ability to be good news for me.
“I need you to go see Sylvie.”
My heart skips a beat in my chest, but then dread settles inside of me. “What’s wrong?”
“That feeling.” He presses a finger to his chest. “The happiness you felt for half a second and then the pain at thinking something has happened to her is love, Spade. It’s fucking special. It doesn’t come along often. I will admit to thinking the two of you were perfect for each other. It’s why I sent you to Telluride with her instead of Aro.”
“You think Aro would’ve fallen for her too?” I ask, admitting that I love the woman for the first time out loud.
“Aro isn’t going to have to go very far to find what he needs in life, but that’s a story for a different day. Nothing bad has happened to Sylvie. I have good news. Max, with the help of Wren from Blackbridge have been able to locate Raelyn’s parents.”
“Raelyn?”
“The little girl from Telluride, and I misspoke. They located her mother. Her father committed suicide not long after she went missing after accusations from law enforcement that he was involved in her disappearance.”
“Was he?”
Kincaid shakes his head. “They haven’t been able to find any proof of that, but their due diligence has delayed her return home. Social services are meeting with the mother today to work out a plan for reunification.”
Sadness fills my gut. If the little girl had been missing for a short time, they wouldn’t hesitate to reunite them. Delaying it means she’s been gone for a while.
“How long?”
“She’s nine now and was abducted when she was four.”
“Five fucking years ago?”
“It’s one of the reasons it took so long to identify her,” Kincaid confirms.
“Varon was one sick fuck.”
“From what Max and Wren uncovered, Varon didn’t abduct her. He bought her from another trafficker. He was planning to keep her, not resell her.”
My stomach turns, hands fisting in my pocket. Some people seriously fucking suck.
“But I wanted you to go give Sylvie the good news. I imagine she’s suffered a lot with guilt over all of this.”
I know for a fact she has. I held her through a lot of her pain, allowed her tears to dry on my skin because there are no words to make something like that better.
“Why are you still standing here?”
I chew the inside of my lip nervously. I’ve waited weeks and weeks for the topic of Sylvie to be brought up, and now that it has, I find myself even scared of speaking her name.
“What if she doesn’t want me back?”
“What if she does?”
“That doesn’t help, Prez. What if I go over there and she breaks my fucking heart?”
“Isn’t your heart already broken?”
A sigh escapes my mouth. “You know this could end up being the worst day of my life?”
“But it could also be the best? Aren’t you excited to see which way it goes?”
Kincaid claps me on the back, walking away before I can argue further.
***
I know exactly where I’ll find Sylvie on a Sunday morning when I drive by her house and see that her car is gone.
I’m eager to see her, to give her the good news about locating Raelyn’s mother, but I’m also filled with trepidation.
What has she told her grandfather about me?
Does the old man hate me?
Am I a huge asshole for hoping she’s been just as miserable as I’ve been the last two months?
Does she care about me at all?
Am I driving toward her with my heart racing only to have her crush it beneath her feet?