Page 43 of Lethal Weakness

“Yeah, baby. Let’s go put it on a plate.”

* * *

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m ready to look into colleges for Avery yet. She hasn’t even started preschool.” I excuse myself as kindly as I can from an older gentleman who Edmund sprung on me at tonight’s get-together.

Being around these people is exhausting. I snag a glass of champagne and take one big drink before putting it on another tray. I won’t drink more than that, but I need a little liquid courage to survive this night.

Especially when I keep scanning the shadows around the garden for a particular reason.

I’m losing my grip on reality.

Avery’s eating cake at a table next to Merrill, so I wander inside to stop my masked delusions.

I have no business being curious about another man when I already got carried away thinking about my neighbor.

Jack doesn’t care about us. Not the way we’re able to care about him.

Avery and I are just heart-wide-open type people, and that leaves us susceptible to being hurt.

No matter how many times Turner has let her down, she’s been so eager to have his attention. Yet, I can’t even recall the last time she embraced him as her father… I don’t ever hear her call him dad. She probably doesn’t even understand what it means.

But I do. A little girl can only be heartbroken so many times.

My fingers trail across the marble counter in the kitchen, marveling at the splendor of it all. A place so beautiful and only the staff adorn it. Edmund and Merrill wouldn’t be caught dead cooking for themselves.

I walk past the dark hallway, and a light flickering on catches my attention. I didn’t think anyone was inside.

It pulls me in, though, and I take hesitant steps further into the house. I don’t normally snoop when I’m here. I stick to the well-populated areas to avoid being cornered by a disgruntled in-law. But tonight, I can’t stop my inquiring mind.

The lone lit room is an empty-ish rec room of sorts. There are shelves along the walls that look barren without books, and a toy rocking horse in the center. The carpet is a pale yellow, unique to this room that I’ve never seen anywhere else in the house.

There’s an open door across the room, and as I’m looking at it, a light from above turns on, illuminating a wrought-iron spiral staircase.

I don’t dare go higher than the first step, but the light at the top beckons me forward. Where the hell does this go?

My heels clink on each step as I climb higher, and when I reach the landing, the door in front of me is already open.

A room meant for a princess is in front of me. A brightly lit crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and old-fashioned crystal sconces line each wall. Sheer curtains surround the bed, and every wall is filled with toys.

Why haven’t they ever mentioned this room in all the times we’ve been here? All the nights that Avery has ambled around bored to tears because my in-laws never wanted to be bothered by the clutter of toys.

I spin in a slow circle, taking in my surroundings, but stop dead when I see the portrait.

What the hell?

Whoever unknowingly led me to this room has to know what this is all about. I sprint into the dark hallway, but there’s not a soul in sight.

I think it’s time to go.

Chapter Fifteen

O’Connor

Iwatch every inch of her face transform from shock to fear. She is coming to the same conclusion about this room that I did.

I haven’t been able to fight the urge to tell her about it, and even though it goes against everything I’ve been trained to do, I needed her to know.

The same way that it killed me to ignore her at that damn bar. Anyone watching me would know to use her as a threat against me.