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“Tell me what you’re doing here, kid,” he says, pulling out a cigarette as we move off the sidewalk so a couple can walk by.
“That’ll kill you, you know.”
He grins. “Something’s gotta. Now, stop avoiding. You came back for a reason. What is it?”
Biting my lip, I contemplate if I’m making the right choice here. Cade is refusing to tell me a single thing about his sister, not even her name, but I have to know. I just have to know what went down, and if she’s okay. What if she’s out there somewhere, being held prisoner, and there isn’t a single person in the world fighting for her?
I know how that feels, and I won’t rest until I get to the bottom of this.
“The guy I’m with has a sister who got caught up in some things a while ago and he hasn’t heard from her since. I’m wanting to see if I can find her.”
Charlie narrows his eyes. “What kind of things did she get caught up in?”
I give him a weary smile. “Ah, well, bad things.”
“Addison ...”
I exhale. “Look, I know that the club does things that are illegal, I’m not stupid, but I just need your help with a name, maybe a location. Please, you’re the only one I can turn to.”
He inhales the cigarette, staring at me for a long moment. “I’ll help you, but if I find anything that could lead to danger, I won’t help anymore. Promise me you won’t get hurt if we go down this road.”
“I just want to know she’s okay.”
“And if she’s not—” he exhales “—then what?”
“Then that’s Cade’s problem.”
Charlie’s brows go up. “That his name? Cade?”
I nod.
“Stupid name.”
I laugh, stepping forward and hugging him again. “I missed you, Charlie.”
“Yeah, missed you too, kid.”
I never thought I’d be able to come back here and not feel some kind of pain, but I guess I’ve healed a little more than I realized. Falling in love and having a child will do that to you. I’m grateful for the club and everything they’ve taught me. I might be pissed that Cade kept this from me, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t the very reason I get out of bed each day.
Still, I’ll make him work for my forgiveness. The sex is way too good not to.
Charlie crushes out his cigarette. “Are you going to check out your old place while you’re here?”
My smile fades.
Now that is something I’m not sure I can handle.
Do I dare go back and see the place that shaped who I am?
Or do I leave it in the past where it belongs?
MEMORIES FLOOD MY MIND as I stare up at the home that caused so much trauma in my life. It’s still the same run-down, overgrown, horrible place, and by the looks of it, nothing has changed. The people walking these streets are just as damaged and broken as they were when I lived here. Women with sunken eyes, dazed stares, and breaking teeth. Men with gaunt faces, skin and bones, raging personalities.
It's the very meaning of toxic.
“Addison?”
The familiar voice has a pang of remembrance running up my spine as I slowly turn to face the one person I thought would save me from this world. Billy. I could say it’s my lucky day, running into all these people, but the resentment I hold for him is still swirling around in my stomach like a violent tornado. He promised me freedom, then he took off and never looked back.
