Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 74766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Riley followed her into orgasm, growling into her mouth as he emptied his seed inside her. It was only as they were coming down from their coital high that he remembered the child he was sure he’d planted in her. Though it had only been a few weeks, and they had no real proof, he went into a panic worrying about how much she’d had to drink. “I’m going to strangle her.” He fussed out loud as he looked down at her passed-out ass beside him.
Connie was scared for the first time since this all started. She never expected any of this to happen when she sent that message off in anger; she’d only meant to get the other girl away from Ryan, to keep her from stealing the closest thing she had to a dad away from her. She looked around the room in the group home she’d been taken to for the night. The social worker had said something about finding a family to place her with, and no one was answering her questions about when she was going home.
She had no idea what was going on with her mom or Ryan, for that matter. Last she’d heard, he’d been in the hospital, but even then, no one had bothered telling her what was wrong with him. Not that he’d care about her now anyway after what she’d done. She let the tears that she’d been fighting back all day finally fall as she curled into a ball, feeling small and alone.
The rest of the room was quiet, with the others having finally fallen asleep for the night, and all she wanted was her home and her bed. I don’t belong here; she wanted to scream but bit back the words and let the tears flow. Maybe I do belong here. Maybe this is what I deserve for what I’ve done. Connie started feeling sorry for herself as she recalled that no one ever wanted her. Not Ryan and not her dad, the dad who’d never once been around.
Ryan went back to the little house he shared with Misty and her daughter since he had nowhere else to go for now, not on such short notice. He wanted to crawl out of his skin when he thought of what had been done to him here. If they’d let him into the interrogation room down at the station like he’d wanted, he would’ve strangled Misty to death with his bare hands, but it was the kid that was getting to him.
After Pete had told him the whole story, he was still as detached from the situation as he’d ever been. He didn’t want to hear her explanations for why she’d done what she had and was glad to be rid of her and her bitch of a mother. The only thing he was interested in right now was getting a lawyer to have his sham of a marriage annulled and getting the hell out of dodge.
Innocent or not, he knew only too well what it means to be on the wrong side of public opinion, so staying around here was not going to work for him. It sucked that he’d have to leave his home once again and start over somewhere else, especially in the middle of the global situation, but that’s life.
He took a much-needed shower before sitting down at the table to eat the sandwich he’d picked up on his way in. It was the first he’s been able to eat since he’d been arrested, but it still tasted like sawdust in his mouth, and it was all because of the kid, the one who’d started this all.
He still had the note she’d written for him and passed to one of the officers to give to him when he’d refused to see her. He hadn’t taken it from the pocket of his jeans when he took them off earlier and wasn’t sure why he hadn’t just tossed it in the trash. Maybe it was the way she’d looked when he happened to pass the room where she was being held and saw her through the little glass pane in the door.
For the first time since he buried his daughter, he felt a crack in the ice that had formed around his heart. No one should look that desolate and alone, especially not one so young. He was angry at her still, but he guesses he could understand why she’d acted out. If all she’d said to Pete was true, then it was her mother who’d led her astray with lies and empty promises made on his behalf.
The woman was either crazy or diabolical, and he honestly could give a shit about her, but he couldn’t get the look on Connie’s face out of his head, and what’s worse, he keeps wondering what he’d feel if she were his. Had his kid lived and had found herself in a pickle, would he have turned his back on her?