AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I peeked at the oversized guard. “Yes?”
“My name is Hector, but everyone calls me Clip.” He pointed at the guy beside him with vibrant blue eyes. “This is Saro.”
Saro saluted me.
I nodded.
“If you’re hungry, I can bring you something to eat. Bonnie should be here with new clothes soon.” Saro stated.
“When do I get my purse and backpack returned to me?”
“Soon,” Clip bit out.
“I’d like ritz crackers and a few bottles of water.”
Saro darted out of the room.
“Kennedy, once Franco talks to Quinn and he’s handled, you can return to your life,” Clip sighed.
Handled Quinn. What did that mean?
“Listen, Franco and I have been friends since we were kids. He’s dark and damaged. But his interaction with you sparked something inside of him. A dismal light of some kind. I wish you two met under different circumstances.”
I laughed. “That’s funny because I wish we never met.”
A deep chuckle rumbled in his big chest. “Sure.”
Saro entered the room and placed a box of crackers and a basket filled with various drinks on a nearby table. “If you need anything, dial zero on the phone. Someone will come up and assist you.”
“Got it.” I smirked.
They darted out of the room and locked the door.
I opened the drapes. Sunlight poured inside. The beautiful pale gray chaise lounge was the perfect place to take a nap. The oversized king-sized bed was too. But I’d have a better view of the fireplace from the chaise lounge. I could also take in the manicured lawn, basketball court, and outdoor kitchen. He had the perfect backyard to hold large gatherings.
This was my new prison. It wasn’t very different from the one I grew up in.
“Gosh, Quinn, what have you gotten yourself into?” I mumbled.
Curling up in a ball, I slipped a Ritz cracker inside my mouth.
I remembered my tiny feet padding across the black and gold marble floors when I was little. Mom would yell, “No running in the house.”
I smiled at the memory. My father, Anders Carter, was a powerful businessman. He fell hard for my mother. Dad could be a charmer when he wanted to be. He must’ve charmed Mom. They were married eight months after meeting. Dad had two small children when they met. Keziah was five and Isadora was three when their mother ran off. I was born almost two years into my parents’ marriage. Funny thing, my father and his brother Anson married twins Marianne and Mae. They were beautiful women with lush hickory colored skin. Dad had a caramel complexion. My skin tone was more like ground cinnamon spice. In the summer, my skin turned pecan or hickory.
I grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Because I loved playing outside and basking in the sun, my skin tone was mainly a hickory hue.
We lived in a mansion as long as I could remember. Dad spoiled my half-sisters and me. He bought us whatever we wanted. You could say I had the perfect life. I never went without. One of my favorite memories that brought me peace was my mother and her sister Mae dancing to their favorite songs while cooking large feasts for Dad and Uncle Anson’s business acquaintances.
Mom and Auntie Mae could throw down in the kitchen. You could always find Quinn in the kitchen helping his mother, Mae. Mom and her sister worked Quinn half to death. I laughed under my breath. Once I was old enough, Mom said I had to help prepare the feast. She never made Keziah or Isadora help. I never asked why. My cousin Quinn and I were more like siblings than cousins. He was a few years older than me. Quinn protected me like he was my big brother.
One afternoon, Keziah and Isadora called me names. They’d done it so many times I lost count. At the time, I was twelve years old. They usually berated me when no one was around.
I sat on the sofa in the theater room waiting for Quinn. We were about to watch a movie.
Keziah and Isadora plopped down at the opposite end of the long, black sofa.
“Keziah, Ugly’s, monopolizing the theater room again,” Isadora bit out.
