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Tears poured, so thick that it was difficult to see. But I knew what was strewn out in front of me. A little one-piece outfit. Yellow with a giraffe embroidered on the front. The tiny white Vans.
I choked and gasped as lightheadedness swept through me.
My soul screamed and my spirit wept.
Then I picked up the tiny stuffed dog, woven of blue yarn, and I pressed it to my nose. I inhaled deeply as if it could fill the cavern carved out in the middle of me from the years of loss.
I held onto the puppy as I floundered to my feet and stumbled out of River’s room, my shaking hands on the walls to keep myself steady.
Tears kept falling and falling.
Terrified of believing.
The wounds inside me gaped, torn open wide, and I almost tripped over my feet as I raced downstairs and back out the garage door. Raven’s car was still idling where I’d left it, and I jumped in and peeled out as I shoved it into reverse. The rear tires slid as I careened up the drive and out onto the street.
I kept trying to sweep the tears out of my eyes as I drove.
Tried to focus.
To see.
To breathe.
I swerved through traffic, driving manic and reckless. But I couldn’t wait one second longer. I whipped into an open spot on the street, and I bolted out of the car and ran for River’s shop. Without slowing, I tore open the door and staggered inside.
River spun around from where he’d been standing at the display case. Venom curled into his expression, ready to snap into action when he saw the state I was in. Ready to go on a rampage because he’d instantly thought I’d been harmed in some way.
Only he blanched when he saw the stuffed animal I had gripped in my hand, and a different sort of severity blistered across his face and ticked through the muscles of his body.
“Charleigh?”
My name was caution.
Reluctance.
My throat was nearly closed off, but somehow, I managed to force out the garbled words as I gripped at the stuffed puppy as if it could be an anchor.
“Tell me Nolan isn’t actually your son. Tell me he’s mine.”
FIFTY-FOUR
RIVER
FIVE YEARS AGO
“Areyou sure we should take this job?” Theo paced the bedroom where River shoved a couple changes of clothes into a duffle bag.
Agitation seeped from Theo in black waves, his aggression snagged on the cloud of disquiet that covered the air.
“Think it’s a little late to be questioning that,” River rumbled as he dragged the zipper shut.
Theo scuffed a palm over his face. “This fucker is a billionaire. We’ve never gone up against someone this powerful. And Cash is getting ready to strip him of a few of those zeroes. Pretty sure he’s not going to take too kindly to that.”
It was the rich monsters who supported them. Cash was all too quick to hack his way into their assets and divert them to untraceable accounts. They used that money to set up their clients with their new lives.
“This guy isn’t going to just sit aside and act like his wife and kid didn’t just go missing…plus the millions from his accounts,” Theo continued.
Unease clamped in River’s chest. “We already accepted this job. There’s no turning back now.”
