Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Like I said, most of the answers died with him. I’ll never understand the hold that Wendy had on him. It was strong, but the bond he and my mother shared was ultimately stronger.”
“And she was mentally ill.”
“She was. But so was Wendy. Or so is Wendy, I guess I should say, if she is truly alive.”
“You said you watched her die.”
“I did. Or thought I did.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “That day, Ava. That day was one of the most horrific of my life.”
“I’m so sorry. Can you tell me about it? Or is that asking too much? Especially after the panic attack?”
He nods. “I don’t see how I can’t tell you about it now. Wendy, if she is indeed alive—and at this point I’d bet my life that she is—has reached out to you. She’s had someone else reach out to you through these bizarre messages you’ve been receiving. So I’ll tell you the truth. Brace yourself.”
I bite my lip, tug on my lip ring. Then grasp the arms of the recliner, my knuckles white. I breathe in deeply through my nose and out through my mouth three times, just like Aunt Melanie advised.
When I feel relaxed, or as relaxed as I’m going to get, I turn to my father. “Tell me, Daddy. Tell me about that day.”
He begins, and I find my eyes closing, images forming as my father speaks.
Something was wrong. I was living in the guesthouse behind Talon’s house at the time, and Ruby was with me. I went running from the bedroom clad only in boxer briefs.
“Ruby, are you all right?”
Then I saw my mother standing in the entryway to the kitchen. She was supposed to be locked up in a psychiatric ward.
“What the fuck?”
“Watch your language, Ryan. And for goodness’ sake, put some clothes on. You’re clearly just like your father.” Wendy nodded to Ruby. “You too. It’s the middle of the day.”
“Spare me any information about my father’s sex life, please. What are you doing out of psych?” I demanded.
“Really? You think they can hold me there? I could have gotten out long ago, but it suited my purpose to be there.”
I had no idea what she was capable of, how she could escape a locked facility, but clearly she got what she wanted, no matter the cost. I was proof of that. I slowly inched forward, placing myself between Wendy and Ruby. No way was she going to harm the woman I loved.
“Then why are you here? What do you want?”
“I came to see your father, dear. I know he’s home.”
“How do you know that?”
“Do you really think your father makes a move without me knowing it?”
Ruby and I stayed silent. Brad Steel, my father, was smarter than any of us had given him credit for. He’d allowed Wendy to find out what he was doing. That way, she thought they had no secrets, and it gave him the chance to hide Daphne away without Wendy knowing.
I’ll be damned.
“She’s armed, Ryan,” Ruby said.
“No, I’m not.”
“You are.”
Mom moved slowly.
“You’re carrying on an ankle strap,” Ruby said.
“I’m not. Where would I get a gun, coming right out of the mental hospital?”
Good question. However, according to both my father and Ruby’s father, this woman could make just about anything happen. I strode cautiously toward her. I didn’t think she would harm her own son, but she was a madwoman.
I pushed up both legs of her sweat pants and found the strap. I grabbed the weapon and examined it. “Loaded too. Any explanation, Mother?”
“That’s between your father and me.”
“What do you want with him?” I asked.
“Closure,” she said. “This all ends today, Ryan.”
“According to him, you broke a promise by telling me that you’re my mother,” I said, seeming to enunciate my words to draw this out, give us time. “You’ve been the cause of everything horrible that’s happened to my family. My father won’t see you.”
“Oh, he’ll see me.”
“What makes you think he will?”
“You’ll make sure of it.”
“No, I won’t.”
In a flash, she pulled another piece from inside her roomy waistband and pointed it straight at Ruby. “You will. Because if you don’t, I’ll send your girlfriend here to hell.”
The ankle derringer had been a decoy. The woman was good. Once Ruby and I noticed the one she’d wanted us to notice, she knew we’d stop looking. Rookie mistake. I should have known better than to take anything about Wendy at face value.
She’d played me just like Brad had been playing her, letting her find out what he wanted her to find out so she didn’t look any further to find Daphne.
“Don’t you dare harm her, Mother,” I said through clenched teeth, my hands in front of me and my heart beating like a drum, “or I’ll never speak to you again.” I inched backward toward Ruby.