I learned a long time ago to choose my battles. If someone wants to give me a handful of fancy clothes while I was here, then so be it. It's not like I'll be taking them with me when I leave because hey, I won't ever need them again. I prefer to be practical instead of shooting myself in the foot. Add the fact that the clothes are new. I can't remember the last time I wore something that wasn't a hand me down or used.I thought all of this before I got a glimpse of one of the price tags. It was obvious that someone had tried tearing some of them off, but there were a few that they'd missed. I held the sheer looking beach top up and almost cried at the waste. Do you know what I can do with a thousand dollars? Who pays that much for a shirt?And why would she give it to me? Does she even know that her brother had brought this stuff to me? I snatched the door back open again. "Did you steal this stuff?""What? Of course not." He looked confused, but I was even more confused by the f
I didn't lose time or place; as soon as I opened my eyes to find myself being cradled in Jason's arms, I knew exactly where I was; and she was there. Leaning over me with a look of concern on her face, and those stupid tears started again and that tightness in my chest that I had to fight unless I wanted to make an ass of myself again. Of all the reactions I imagined I'd have upon seeing her, this was not one of them.I grabbed for and gripped her hand as her husband stepped forward. "No, Hank, she's not hurting me. You made the statement that I was real before you fainted, does that mean that you know me?" I read the confusion on her face as I struggled to sit up. "No baby, you need…" Jason started to stop me, but I patted him with my other hand, trying to console him since he sounded like someone was strangling him. I imagine I'd given everyone a good scare, passing out like that. I didn't feel any aches and pains, so my assessment that he'd caught me before I landed face-first
I'm a trembling mess, but I'm holding it all together for my wife. As soon as Catalina and Lily Anna got up to follow my wife and Roxana inside, I knew what they were up to. Since I didn't have anything set up because I was expecting Roxana to tell Cierra whatever she had to out in the open, I had no choice but to follow them after telling the others to stay put.I had to come up with something quick so as not to alert them to the fact that I was onto them, so I pretended that I had some leftover work in the lab. Catalina was not pleased neither was she amused, but they headed off to their room under the pretense that that is where they were headed all along, and I went into the lab to the computer.I read along to everything Roxana was saying until she got to the part about my wife being the one they'd been after. I know her well enough to know how something like that would hit her. Now she's in warrior mode. At least she was no longer trembling in my arms like a scared little gir
There was still a lot I had left to do; what if I screw up by telling them where I'd come from? My heart felt sick as I realized I was at some sort of crossroads. Honestly, I hadn't thought this far ahead, which is stupid now that I think about it. It would've been my first question had I been the one in her shoes.Jason squeezed me where he was now hugging me around my shoulders, and for some reason, I wanted more than anything to trust him. It's been less than twenty-four hours, and already I find myself wanting to accept that he was genuine, something that scares me more than a little bit. I haven't trusted anyone anywhere for a long-long time. Even uncle Mike has been kept at arm's length since my escape, but that's another story.The look in Jason's eyes was so comforting that I wanted to believe, needed to. For the first time in five years, I realized that I was tired. It felt as if I'd been going on autopilot this whole time, and had they not interrupted me; I'd still be goi
On the screen, Cierra spoke up again. "Okay, so tell me, Roxy, this guy that killed my family, where is he?""What? She knows where he is? How? Is that why she wanted to see you?" Kat asked."What's going on, Mancini?" Lyon came to stand beside me. "How come you let her go without getting what you were after?"I reached beneath my desk and switched off the little device there. "I never told Cierra that Roxana was coming here just to see her.""And? I don't get it." I hit a few more keys on the comp, and another image popped up on the wall next to the room where the women were. "What's that? What's Mengele doing? One of her experiments?""Not exactly." F*ck, I wasn't looking forward to telling him the truth about this, not yet. It's funny; he's, in essence, my boss, the one I'll be passing off the reigns to. I have no issue giving him everything else, but when it comes to his kid, I find myself walking a very tight rope. To him, she's just his little girl, and I doubt that eve
"Come on, Lily Anna, something's wrong." Why does it keep going off? I know I didn't have enough time to plant the device under uncle Hank's desk that first day, but it didn't need that much done to it, and anyway, it had been working just fine when I tested it out at home. Now it keeps going in and out at odd times, so I need to get in there and take care of it, but all of the men are in there still, so nope. Luckily, Bunny's outside the door, where I'd sent him as soon as I knew that's where they were headed, but unless he's inside the room with them, the recording chip in his collar sometimes doesn't pick up everything, and daddy's not about to trust him anywhere near where they're discussing secrets. That's why I don't feel so guilty about playing a trick on uncle Hank because it's his fault daddy found out about Bunny's secret in the first place.I know it's only a matter of time before daddy, uncle Hank or one of the other uncles figures out what I'm doing, but right now, th
"Dafuq!" I've never seen grown men so close to crying."Is this a joke?" Was heard from more than one corner while on the screen, some asshole had made a loop of the NFL theme song and put it up on YouTube."Did our wives do this?" Quinn asked, looking close to tears. "What infraction have we committed this time to warrant this?""That's just pure evil." Devon looked like he was in shock. "They've been acting up a lot lately, you notice?"I kept my eyes on Mancini because he seemed to be the only one not surprised. I knew he was onto something when he started looking around the room as if searching for something. He walked to the TV and ran his fingers over a cord, which he then followed from behind the TV to a place behind the curtain."Oh sh*t , that's just genius." He did one of those fake shivers that teenage girls do, and I rolled my eyes."What is it?" He lifted a very familiar-looking laptop, and my guts started to hurt."But doesn't the TV play YouTube videos? It'
I didn't sleep much the night before, too caught up in her, and trying to understand how she could possibly have gotten under my skin so easily without even trying. Maybe it's a combination of knowing some of what she'd been through and feeling compassionate along with her exotic beauty mixed with the fact that just breathing her in makes me hard; I'm still not sure. But I'm guessing Lyon's thunderbolt comment wasn't too far off the mark. "Where are you taking me? And why are you so fond of manhandling me?" I dropped her hand so fast she was startled. It was her words spoken in just that way that freaked me out. I have to keep reminding myself to go slow with her. That she's not one of my jump-offs that I can just do with as I please and walk away when it's over. But my reaction didn't seem to be what she wanted. "Sorry!" I was looking in her eyes when I apologized, and she didn't look overly bothered or like she was having some sort of flashback.I know I was being this way becau