Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
This derelict impregnated her when she was fourteen. Probably thirteen, because she would’ve been fourteen when she had the child.
I’m surprised she only has one.
And now that Griffin is gone, what is this asshole doing to her daughter?
“Is she okay?” I keep my tone even.
“She’s going through a rough time. She misses her mother. She just started… You know.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“She’s bleeding. She became a woman.”
“Jesus Christ.”
If he is abusing her, it won’t be long before he gets her pregnant. How in the world did Griffin get by with only having one child?
I’m going to be so fucking sick…
“I’d like to see her,” I say.
“Then I’d have to tell you where I am.”
“Yes, you’ll have to. I can make it worth your while.”
That seems to pique his interest. “Oh?”
“Yes. I’ve got money.”
“You don’t have shit,” he says.
“Fine. Maybe I don’t. But my girlfriend does.”
Referring to Diana as my girlfriend feels all kinds of right, and equally all kinds of wrong.
It scares me how much I want it. How much I want her. How much I actually want a normal life with a wife and children and a white picket fence.
But normal will never be possible for me.
That’s not important right now. If I have a niece out there, I have to help her. Especially if I can’t help Griffin.
The silence on the other end of the line is deafening, but it’s a silence filled with consideration. That one word—money—has captured his attention as nothing else has. Finally, he grunts in an ambiguous acknowledgment, neither a yes nor a no.
“Maybe we can arrange something,” he replies.
I can almost picture him now, sitting on a too-worn couch in a trailer somewhere, full of filth and neglect, clutching the phone between a grimy ear and shrugged shoulder as he strokes his scruffy chin, contemplating my offer.
Anger flares in me again as I imagine the conditions my niece must be living in. How Griffin was living as well. “I want proof that Bridget is alive and well before any arrangement is made,” I demand.
Silence again.
“You going to respond?”
“And how do you propose I do that without disclosing where we are?”
“Put her on the phone,” I say.
Another pause, and then finally, some shuffling…and then the muted murmur of his voice and a higher, lighter one responding. A child’s voice. Bridget?
I wait.
And wait.
Finally—
“Hello?”
I close my eyes tight, trying to keep my emotions in check. There’s so much I want to say to her, so many questions I want to ask her, but not here, and not with him listening in.
“Hi, Bridget,” I say, forcing my tone to stay calm and friendly. “My name is Dragon. I’m—”
“Dragon?” she gasps. “My mother has a brother named Dragon.”
Oh God… Griffin… She remembered me. She told her kid about me.
I almost feel happy…except that I’m not. I can’t be.
Not in the cards for me.
“Yes, Bridget,” I say, keeping the tremor out of my voice. “I’m your mother’s brother, your uncle.”
Another minute of silence.
“Why are you calling?” she finally asks with a voice so small it nearly breaks my heart.
“I wanted to know how you’re doing,” I reply. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Another pause, and then a soft sigh. “Yeah, I’m okay, just… I miss my mom.”
“I know,” I say, swallowing hard. “I miss her too.”
Once more silence swells between us, and in that silence, I promise myself—no matter what—that I will protect this child from the life Griffin was dealt. She deserves better.
“Can—”
Her voice is cut off.
“Bridget! Bridget?”
“It’s me.” The man’s voice again.
“If you hurt her, I swear…”
“You’ll what? You don’t even know where I am. Who I am.”
“You’re the person who stole my sister all those years ago, you motherfucker, and you’re going to—” I stop abruptly.
Fuck. I need to watch myself.
I can’t alienate this person. He’s my only link to Griffin, and now to Bridget.
He and Alayna and the Order of the Serpent.
“Did you sell Griffin off to that cult?” I demand.
He sniffs. “Why would I do that? I love her, and I love Bridget.”
I’m no expert on love, for sure, but what this derelict is talking about is certainly not love.
Is he the one who wanted Griffin all those years ago?
Is he the one who has had her all this time?
And then somehow, someone from the cult grabbed her? Alayna said they buy women. Why should they buy them when they can steal them? On the other hand, this buttfuck could have easily sold Griffin for cash. The cult could be doing God knows what to her.
Using her as a fucking human sacrifice for all I know.
I’ve got to find her.
Which means I need to know who this guy is, and I need to know how they got her.
“I think you said something about money,” he says.
I draw a breath, willing myself to stay calm. “Yes. Quid pro quo, as they say.”