Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
She nodded, but I doubted she’d heed my words. I’d have to keep an extra close eye on her, which wasn’t exactly a hardship.
“Anyway, why don’t you get cleaned up and get dressed. We’re going to go on a road trip.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Will I be in the trunk for this one, too?”
I laughed. “Not unless that’s what floats your boat.”
Maggie ignored that. “Do I get to know where we’re going?”
“Sure.” I gave her a cheerful smile. “We’re going to pay a visit to dear old fake dad.”
“What?” Her skin paled, but I let my answer stand.
There was no doubt in my mind that everything Maggie knew about her father was false. Her only actual blood relative, Nick Roselli, wasn’t going to stop. Even if all else failed, he would come after her. The family fortune was just too important to him. Way more important than his own flesh and blood, if he even considered her that way.
The sooner she accepted that, the safer she’d be.
23
MAGGIE
Sitting in the passenger seat as Slater drove, I gave myself a mental talking to. Seth was the last person I wanted to see, but he’d clear things up. He’d confirm that he was my actual dad, and then these three would give it a rest. And then I could go home.
Except it wasn’t that simple. Nothing was these days.
That conversation I would have with my father? It would the first in my adult life. I hadn’t seen that bastard in eighteen years. Ever since he dumped my mother and me, he pretended we didn’t even exist. Even if he wasn’t my real father, he’d been married to my mom. That had made me his stepdaughter, kind of. Would it have killed him to stick around?
But to Seth, I was apparently a big, fat zero. Something meaningless. Worthless. A nuisance of some sort. Someone he walked out on when she needed him the most.
During that long drive to Queens, I considered discussing all of this with Slater. He wasn’t always in full-on seduction mode. Sometimes he actually seemed to listen and be an understanding guy.
Still, I hadn’t forgiven any of them for the kidnapping last night. Plus, I didn’t trust them. Okay, so I believed that they wanted to keep me safe, but that wasn’t the same as trusting them.
The only one I could count on was myself, so I kept my thoughts to myself. Besides, he’s spent almost all of his childhood in group homes and with foster families. He’d likely never known what it was like to be held by an adult who loved you more than life itself. He never saw a parent walk in the door, smiling, happy to see her child after a hard day’s work.
At least I’d had my mother growing up. It would have been a lot better to have my father around, too, but Slater hadn’t had either parent. Despite his flaws, that hurt my heart, and I was hesitant to talk too much about my childhood when it had clearly been less traumatic than his.
Much later, he pulled up outside of the address he had for Seth. My hands shook so I clasped them in my lap as I looked at the modest, single-family home. A touch made me look down. Slater placed his large hand over mine and squeezed.
The warmth in his gaze offered me a tiny amount of courage. I didn’t tell him, but it was somehow what I needed to get my butt out of his car.
At first glance, Seth seemed to have done well for himself. The house wasn’t new, but it wasn’t in bad shape. There was a blue, pickup truck parked upfront and a white Toyota.
“You’ve got this,” Slater said as we approached the house.
“Jesus…” I whispered, running my fingers through my hair. “I haven’t seen him in almost twenty years. I don’t even know where to start.”
“You had hours to brainstorm that with me on the way over,” Slater pointed out, but not meanly. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because I knew I’d get emotional,” I attempted an explanation. It wasn’t a good one, judging by his frown. “I’m sorry.”
“It won’t be easy, but won’t it be better to know where things stand? Be strong, Maggie.”
“I’ll try,” I promised.
That was easier said than done.
I sucked in a deep breath and headed toward the front door, but the sound of running water made me realize I didn’t have to knock. A man emerged from the side of the house carrying a hose.
Slater stepped in front of me like a bodyguard. “Seth Harper?”
The man flinched slightly while I stared at him, looking for something I remembered.
“Yes?” he said. Well into his sixties, he was actually in pretty decent shape. He had a pair of faded jeans on and a black t-shirt, white hair gracing his head. Beyond him, a sprinkler was watering a rather narrow patch of lawn.