by B. B. Reid
Oh, fuck.
Already, I could see the wheels turning in Keenan’s head as he pieced together exactly what my mom was saying.
“Mom, now is not the time. Keenan, there is something I have to tell you, but it can’t be now. Not here.”
“Come again?” Keenan demanded, ignoring my plea.
“Kennedy is three years old. Do the math.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
KEENAN
“SHE’S ONLY THREE,” the troll emphasized as if I were a moron. In a way, I guess I was if I didn’t figure it out from the start. If Melissa’s attempt was to knock me on my ass, she succeeded.
Three.
Three years.
Three fucking years old.
I wouldn’t even insult my intelligence by doing the math.
Kennedy was mine.
Mine.
And this bitch had hidden her from me.
I knew I was the one to run away, but I didn’t need to question if Sheldon would have ever told me. I could tell by the glances she was casting, the nervous stutter, and her pale complexion.
She didn’t want me to know.
Did I even want to know?
When I agreed to return home, I planned for it to only be temporary. I would have done anything not to ever see Sheldon and had every intention of slipping away the first chance I got and disappearing for another four years.
I never expected to return home to face her as the mother of my child. My missing child.
Two men filed in the room while I was struggling to find the words to unfuck this fucked up situation.
This time it was two detectives from the FBI who were here to question Sheldon. I wondered if they might have found something if they were back this soon.
I listened carefully while Sheldon went over details with the detectives, but the rigidness of her spine told me she was very much aware of me. Even now, she watched me from the corner of her eye.
To fuck with her, I moved closer to the bed and let my hand drift down to grip the railing. Her small gasp was barely audible, but I caught it. I reveled in the idea of making her uncomfortable. Involuntarily, I envisioned restraining her to the rails and making her beg for forgiveness and mercy. When my cock twitched, I mentally scolded myself. Now was not the time, but soon it would be. It was the only promise, other than finding the daughter I never got to know.
I had warned her, and now I could make good on the promise I made four years ago. I didn’t realize until this moment that it was exactly what I had wanted. I just needed the perfect alibi.
“She’s mine?” I told myself I would wait until I caught her alone, but it flew out of the window along with my restraint.
I didn’t realize she was crying until her head whipped around. Her amber eyes were filled with pain and fear, and for the first time, I felt remorse.
And I didn’t like it one fucking bit.
I didn’t give myself time to think or rationalize. I gripped the back of her neck to keep her from escaping, and right there in front of the detectives, I licked her tears, starting from the corner of her lip. I repeated my torture on the other side of her face and enjoyed her gasp of breath and the desperate way she gripped my arms.
Was it to keep me close for more or to push me away?
It didn’t really matter because, from this moment forward, she would be mine to do with how I pleased.
“Keenan—”
“Before you say anything, I want you to know that whatever excuse or bullshit argument you are about to throw at me won’t matter.” I dropped my lips to her ear to ensure that only she would hear me. “Do you remember what I promised you?”
To my surprise, she nodded slowly though her eyes flashed with a bit of anger. Well, tough shit. I was angry, too.
The detective who had asked the majority of the questions chose that moment to interrupt. “Excuse me, but are you a relative?”
I ripped my eyes away from Sheldon’s long enough to answer the bushy-faced detective. “No.” Subtly, I gripped her neck tighter and demanded, “Why don’t you tell the nice detectives who I am.”
If looks could kill, I would have died multiple deaths in the short span of time it took her to answer. “He’s—” She stopped to take a deep, shuddery breath. “He’s her father.”
Atta girl.
Now that we got that out of the way, I could concentrate on making her pay for stealing my seed and keeping her from me.
“And were you present at the time of the incident?”
“When my daughter was taken from her mother? No.” I made sure to meet Sheldon’s stare before continuing with my answer. “I wasn’t aware that she existed at the time of the incident.”
How textbook could these people get?
“Ms. Chambers, once again, we will need a complete list of relatives and acquaintances. This is our first time hearing about a father. There could be a connection.”
Did this motherfucker just imply that I had something to do with it?
“That’s because he ran away before she was born.” Melissa’s voice managed to break the connection as we both seemed to jump apart.
“What’s the matter? Did you get a curl out of place?”
“That’s enough, you two,” Sheldon scolded. Her grimace of pain, as she clutched her head, was enough to make me stand down for now. The only thing I wanted causing her pain was me. First, I had to be the one to nurse her back to health.
“There has been a small development. One of the traffic cameras near the gas station your daughter was taken from captured a photo of a black van speeding through a red light.”
“And you think it was the people who took her?”
“Same time. Same place. The van didn’t have any plates for us to track so it could be a while before we have something concrete.”
“And while you’re here, who is out looking for her?”
“We have our best men as well as the state and local police force combing the city for her.”
“And what if they aren’t in the city?” I pressed, letting my aggravation show.
His gaze turned scrutinizing as we stared each other down. “We would search the nearest areas first to rule out a possible family abduction.”
“Such as?”
“A disgruntled parent who decided to take the law into their own hands and remove the child from her legal home because they were unhappy with their parental rights.”
“Oh, yeah?” I knew what he was implying. “And what if they simply wanted to punish the other parent? That’s why I would do it.”
Sheldon’s indrawn breath filled the room. I watched her from the corner of my eye while keeping the detectives under my hard gaze.
“Keenan?”
“Are you confessing?”
“Are you an idiot? I only found out about my daughter twenty minutes ago.”
“We have to cover all angles. It’s our job to be thorough.”
“Your job is to find my daughter.”
“Your daughter?” Sheldon snapped. “She’s not your daughter. You may have contributed to her biological makeup, but she doesn’t belong to you.”
The detectives left wearing smirks on their faces. I waited until the door was completely shut before following behind to lock the door.
“Would you like to repeat that?” I kept my tone even and spoke slowly, giving myself time to rethink my next move.
“You cannot just come back and lay claim to my daughter as if you have any rights.”
I finally turned away from the door, and with only one look, she began to back against the pillows as I stalked her. Self-consciously, she wrapped her hands around her middle, but I wouldn’t let her hide. Not this time. I swiftly wrapped my hand around her chin and lifted her face so I could look into her eyes. “So are you saying it wasn’t my cock that filled your pussy with come? It wasn’t my seed that grew inside you? It wasn’t me you saw each time you looked in her eyes?”
“No. I’m not saying that at all.
What I am saying is that it wasn’t you who watched her grow inside me. It wasn’t you who watched her come into this world. It wasn’t you who helped teach her the first words she spoke. I’m her mother, but I’m also the only father she’s ever known. She doesn’t need you. We don’t need you.”
“That may be, but I’m here now, bitch, and I’m not going anywhere.” I may have walked away from her before, but there was no way I could or would do it again. It was the threat—no the promise—I made to her the night I left her tied to her bed for her parents to find her.
Lake burst through the door with a look filled with dread just as Sheldon was ready to retort. Her chest heaved up and down as if she’d just run a mile rather than come from the waiting just outside the door.
“They’re arresting him!”
* * * * *
Everything erupted in chaos at once, and for the umpteenth time in my life, I watched my brother as he was led away in handcuffs.
Everyone in the vicinity stopped to the watch the scene unfold. Doctors, nurses, and patients all seemed to forget what they were doing as the town’s bad boy was read his rights. Keiran went peacefully, and even more surprisingly, it was Lake and John who yelled endless obscenities and insults. Never mind that Keiran had likely put a man in the hospital because of his violent rage.
The Chambers were in the far corner and already Sheldon’s father was on his phone, no doubt calling his lawyer to bail Keiran out. I watched him make eye contact with John, the man I believed for eighteen years was my father. Some unspoken communication passed between them, and then they were heading for the elevator behind the officers with Keiran in tow.
Lake stepped forward to lay a comforting hand on Keiran’s arm.
“Stay the fuck away from me,” he growled at her. Hatred and anger flashed in his eyes, and I could tell it surprised and hurt her the way she stepped back.
I smiled when I realized that everything wasn’t perfect in happily ever after land. I always wondered.
The hall cleared after the elevator doors closed, and I stood there staring at the empty space, wondering what I should do next.
“What’s going on?” Sheldon asked from her room door.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
She lifted an eyebrow and propped a hand on her hip. “Shouldn’t you be running?”
I stepped into her space until my hips were pressed against hers and curled a finger around a glossy lock. To a passing bystander, it would look like a simple embrace between lovers and not the assertion of power it was.
“I hope you have as much mouth when I have you alone and naked.”
“We’re alone now,” she challenged. “But you won’t be getting me naked, ever.”
“What I’m going to do to you won’t bear having witnesses. Nothing will give me more pleasure than punishing you past your limits. I’m going to make you scream for me, Shelly, and when you do, you’ll be begging.”
Just like you made me beg.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You sound like your brother.”
“I am my brother.” The grittiness in my tone was unrecognizable even to me. The proof of my claim lay in what I helped him do not twenty-four hours ago.
“I’m going to hurt you, Sheldon, and not just where it cuts deepest.” I touched her collarbone and then trailed a finger down her chest while cursing the gown for keeping me from touching her completely.
“So do you actually expect to just pick up where we left off?”
“Second chances can be deadly, but I set you free once. Now you’re mine.”
“I won’t love you again, Keenan. It’s not something I can survive a second time.”
I laughed because I didn’t know how else to react. We had unfinished business, but the only thing I felt for her was anger and lust. Love didn’t have any place here.
“I don’t want your love. I just want you.” I didn’t realize how true it was until I’d spoken the words.
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not anymore,” I whispered reluctantly.
She made a show of hiding it, but I didn’t miss the anguish that flashed in her eyes before they turned into cold, angry flecks of amber.
“Stay away from me, Keenan… and my daughter.”
“I’m going to find our daughter, so get well, Sheldon. I’ll see you both soon.”
I disarmed her and stole her breath simultaneously as I sealed her lips with mine and fuck me if she didn’t still taste as good as ever.
I was going to make it my mission to ruin that.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SHELDON
IT’S BEEN A week since I’ve heard from or seen Keenan, and I still felt his kiss as if he were standing here kissing me senseless at this moment. A huge, frightened part of me hoped he had changed his mind, gave up, and went back to whatever hole he crawled out of—or knowing Keiran, he had been forcefully persuaded from hiding.
The knowledge reminded me that Keenan’s being here was his fault anyway. If he hadn’t insisted on finding him, I wouldn’t be so terrified of myself.
Only angry was more like it because despite what my mouth said, my heart still beat for him. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on him again—that everything about us may have changed, but my feelings remained.
The thought of him still owning any part of me was enough to drive me insane.
I felt as if I were dying inside but living again at the same time.
But I was no longer a naïve teenager. I was also a mother who had a child to protect, and I’d been through too much to give in again.
Sometime over the last four years, it became less about his affair with a teacher and more about the fact that he ran away and left me with the broken pieces of our love.
“I can’t believe how long this is taking,” Dash growled as he paced back and forth. I sat on the couch in my living room, feeling like a scolded child awaiting punishment.
Keiran still had not been released from jail and the investigation was going nowhere. We have been combing every street, alleyway, and sometimes going as far as breaking into places that look abandoned in search of Kennedy.
I helped with the search despite everyone’s protest. The doctor had ordered me to take it easy because, although the bullet had only grazed my temple, any trauma to the left side of the brain could affect my vision, speech, and mobility of my right side.
Our only hope now was that Keiran could lead us to who had taken her. Bail was denied and visitation was limited when the private investigator pressed charges. He had been pretty adamant about burying Keiran after suffering a small skull fracture but an even bigger blow to his ego.
Graduation was in a week, which also meant Keiran would miss his graduation. Lake was devastated and had been camped out with me since his arrest. She said she couldn’t bear flying back to Arizona and leaving him behind despite the way he treated her during his arrest, so we’ve been using each other for comfort.
For the first time in a long time, I thought about Willow and what she would say or do if she were here. It’s been three years since I’ve spoken with her and even longer since I last saw her. I told myself I wouldn’t be, but I was hurt when she decided to leave us all behind. She cut off all contact and even stayed away from Six Forks.
Dash never spoke a word about her, but I knew it had to hurt him twice as much as it did me. Call it twin intuition.
Lake had confessed to ruining their friendship forever when she made the decision to follow Keiran to Arizona. Despite Keiran’s record, Arizona had offered both Keiran and Dash an athletic scholarship among Duke, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. However, Keiran had been prepared to turn them all down when Lake told Keiran that attending college with Willow had been their plan ever since they were little girls. Nebraska was where they would have studied for their humanities degree together—Willow in textiles and fashion, Lake in education.
Somehow, Lake had convinced Keiran that a long distance relationship would work
and that she couldn’t be the cause of Keiran giving up his dream, and so they attended separate colleges.
True to new love, long distance lasted for a semester and then Lake transferred to Arizona, which Willow had taken hard, especially after Willow’s mother disowned her for sticking with her decision to pursue a fashion degree. Her mother wouldn’t approve of a career she believed didn’t offer a future or security.
Lake, Keiran, and Dash had gone in search of Willow after an entire semester without contact to find she was no longer attending the school in Nebraska. When we realized she had not returned home, worry grew into anger. It was as if she just disappeared.
“Sheldon… Sheldon!”
Dash’s voice penetrated my thoughts, and I was snatched back to the present.
“Can you please stop shouting my name?”
“Your daughter is missing and so is your baby daddy,” Dash sneered. “Are you really sitting here day dreaming?”
“No one is more aware that my daughter is missing than I am!” I was off the couch and in his face. I had never hated someone as much as I did my twin just now. I shared a womb with him, but I’d never felt more disconnected from him than I had the last four years.
Ever since Willow had disappeared, he’d turned into a bastard. He was hard and cold and relentless. Despite all his efforts, he managed to become our father, only worse. I’d never known my father to be anything other than a hard man, but Dash had once been easygoing, charming, and easy to talk to.
“I have no idea who took her and why. I don’t know if she’s been fed or if she’s warm at night. I can’t even sleep because all I can hear is her screaming for me. I can’t eat because just the idea of what she’s going through makes me sick. I want to die, Dash.”
My cries were drowned in his chest after pulling me close. I clung to him despite our differences.
“I’m sorry, okay?”
I nodded because speaking was impossible. I’m not sure how long we stood there, but when we finally pulled apart, the entire front of his dress shirt was soaked with my tears.
