AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tiberius snorted. “How many guns you handled in real life? If any, you’d know this is not the same.”
Josiah shared Tiberius’s mischievous grin. “Whatever, dude. You suck.”
Tiberius’s laugh was deep and genuine. Guilt leaked like acid in her lungs. He did deserve to know his child.
“Hey,” Bexley said, drawing their attention and unable to continue watching them bond; it was too heart-shattering and reminded her of so much she’d lost. So much they’d all lost. Even so she’d made the right decision in the end.
Hadn’t she?
“Mom, don’t expect much out of Agent Granger. He sucks at gun battle.”
“What did I tell you about saying ‘sucks’?” she reminded him. Josiah’s mouth had slowly been creeping into lewd territory, and he had a bigger brain with more creativity.
“Not to,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “I could say a lot worse, you know.”
Tiberius’s eyebrows rose. What did he think a child he fathered would be like? Obedient and always polite? Pfft. Josiah was Ty’s mini-me when it came to the mischief department. The disrespect was new and all his own, but that snark came from Tiberius.
“Except you won’t.” She gave him the perfected mom-eye.
He sighed but didn’t argue. “I sketched Skipper for Agent Granger. He says I totally have a career in art. So maybe I won’t do architecture like you suggested.”
Bexley’s cheeks heated. Great. Wait... “Who’s Skipper?”
“A man who Ahnah knew. We can talk about it later,” Tiberius offered.
Okay. “Josiah, Agent Granger and I need to leave.” She stressed the words for Tiberius to pick up on. He was here uninvited by her, and she most certainly didn’t want to discuss their son with him in the next room. They needed to take this somewhere far away. “Dinner’s in the slow cooker. You can—”
“Eat alone. Par for the course.” He tossed his controller on the couch and stomped down the narrow hallway before slamming his bedroom door so hard the artwork on the walls rattled.
Tiberius gave her a reprimanding wide-eye. “If he knew who I was, and I was a figure in his life, I’d say something about his lack of respect. Is this a habit of his? And do you let him do this often?”
Bexley rubbed her temples again as the ache became sharper. “He’s a good boy and usually sweet-natured, but lately he’s been...well...the opposite. I’m sure Ahnah’s disappearance has him frazzled and on edge. I know it has me on edge.” She wished she could go to bed. Crawl under the down comforter and bury herself in her pain, pity and pride. “I am sorry for all of this. I know it’s my fault. You deserve an explanation.”
“You think?” He resumed his seat on her worn cream leather sofa, toying with Josiah’s controller. “He’s good at this game, though. Does he do anything else? Sports? Fishing? Books?”
She snorted, snatched Josiah’s shoes by the couch and placed them near the front door. “Drawing. He played basketball for a while, and he was on the swim team in junior high. Now it’s drawing and video games and hating me.”
Tiberius didn’t respond. He hated her too. Couldn’t blame him.
“Girlfriend?”
“No. He’s always been a loner, and his closest friend was Ahnah. She’s been more like a sister than an aunt.”
“Can I see Ahnah’s room?” Tiberius asked. Guess she’d given a good segue into it.
“Sure.” She motioned for him to follow her down the hall; Ahnah’s room was across from Josiah’s. Music filtered from underneath his door. She’d talk to him later about his disrespect, but she’d have to tread lightly. He’d know if she was shrinking him. He hated when she got inside his head.
Ahnah’s room embodied who she was as a person. Neat. Tidy. Colorful.
“Nothing appears to be missing?”
Bexley shook her head. Tiberius perused the room, her photos of them from trips to Nags Head and Disney World. He grunted but said nothing. A vacation like many he’d missed out on. He opened her closet and sorted through her hanging clothes. “No empty hangers. Her luggage bags are in here.” Everything pointed to an abduction, not a vanishing of her own making, but she prayed it was the latter.
“She ever mention a Skipper to you?” he asked.
“The guy Josiah sketched? No. Should she have? Is he someone you’re looking at? Why does Josiah know?”
He raised a hand to halt her. “Slow down. His name came up in connection to Amy-Rose. How long did Ahnah know her?”
