Page 58 of Relinquish

I shake my head. It’s a disservice. He stopped living life when he came home. Please let him continue to push through his survivor’s guilt and return to the strong, compassionate man I know he is.

Crap. I’ve got to pee. I roll onto my back, and the jewels bounce against my flesh. Why didn’t I take these off earlier? I unfasten the clasp and rise from the mattress without making a sound. I lay the necklace down on the dresser, remove the earrings, and drop them next to the larger piece.

As I’m washing my hands in the bathroom, I stare in the mirror. Even though my hair is a jumbled mess, I can’t stop the smile from overpowering my face. I’ve never been happier. Yeah, my dad is going to hate us being together. But who cares? He hasn’t been a raging fan of anything I’ve done over the last couple of months. Why not chalk up another choice to raise his blood pressure?

I step into the bedroom and pause in front of the dresser. I should return the jewels to the safe. The last thing I want to do is lose one of them. Although I don’t remember my mother, I do believe in honoring her memory. Someday, I want them for my daughter or daughter-in-law. I glance at Cade. How soon will he be on board with making babies?

Girl, don’t rush things. I snatch a pair of sweatpants, a T-shirt, bra, and panties from my suitcase and quickly put them on.

After I’m dressed, I pick up the jewelry and stand over Cade. He lets out a soft snore. Let him sleep. He needs it. I brush my hair and apply a quick coat of lipstick, shoving the tube into my pocket. By now, everyone should be gone, but I don’t want to look like warmed-over death if there are any stragglers.

As I walk past the end table next to the door, I grab my cell phone and shove it into my other pocket. The hallway is quiet as I travel the distance from my bedroom to my father’s upstairs office. There are faint sounds of music floating up the staircase. Three o’clock in the morning, and people are still here? Lord. Thank God we didn’t wait until everyone was in bed before Cade came to my room. I would have died of sexual frustration by now.

I twist the key in the lock and turn the knob. It doesn’t budge. That’s strange. Why was it unlocked? Surely, I locked it when I left. That was hours ago. My heart races. Don’t freak out. Dad has probably been in here working or conducting a meeting.

After I re-unlock the door, I step inside. Patricia shrieks and throws her hand over her mouth. “God, Lola. You scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m sorry.” What is she doing here? I glance around, looking for my father, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Don’t tell me he’s dating someone my age.

She points to the photo above my father’s desk. “You look like her. She’s stunning.”

“Thank you.” I study my mother’s portrait. Her dark hair is piled on her head, with loose tendrils flowing around her cheeks and neck. I turn back to Patricia. “What’re you doing in here? I thought you left hours ago.”

“Oh.” She flushes and wrings her hands on her handbag. “Earlier tonight, I met with your father and Randall and ended up leaving my purse. I had to drive all the way back here to pick it up.” She waves the bag in the air.

“I see.” I step farther into the room. Thank God he’s not dating her, but investing? Don’t tell me he’s investing in Randall’s business. “Is my dad looking to invest?” This is not good. My father doesn’t need to be involved in a Ponzi scheme; I’ve got to warn him.

“He wasn’t, but Randall is so persuasive. I’ve never been around him when he hasn’t convinced someone to…,” she pauses for a second, “invest in his business.”

“He is charismatic.”

She purses her lips. “The man you were with tonight is good-looking. Are you two an item?”

How do I answer that? I need to talk to my dad before we go shouting it to everyone. “It’s complicated.”

She smiles. “Isn’t it always?”

When her eyes shift to the right, goosebumps pop on the back of my neck. Before I can say anything, the lights snap off, and we’re left in darkness.

“Patricia. Be careful.” Shit. I sense more than hear movement behind me. Damn it, we were wrong. Someone is going to make a play on the jewels tonight.

I inhale and smell wood and citrus. Randall. Son of a bitch. We were right all along. I suck in a slow breath and try to loosen my muscles. If I’m stiff, I won’t react. I move into a sparring stance–my feet shoulder-width apart and my weight resting on the balls of my feet. And wait.

Randall, or someone who smells like him, grabs my hand and yanks at the jewels. I lift my arms up to block his attack, pushing him away and kicking his shoulder. The man sharply inhales a gasp of air but doesn’t make another sound. After landing the first hit, I spin away from him and return to a sparring stance.

“Bitch!” Damn, I was right. It is Randall.

“Randall, are you okay, baby? Where are you?” Patricia calls out.

“Hush,” Randall barks.

Motherfucker. They’re in on it together. My teeth clench. Why didn’t I realize that? More importantly, why didn’t you wake Cade up before traipsing in here with bare feet? “Randall, you need to step away.” I lower my hips closer to the ground with my knees loose.

He grabs my arms and holds me in place. “Since she already knows who we are, turn on the fucking light.” The light snaps on, momentarily blinding me. “What were you doing in here gawking anyway? You were supposed to be downstairs distracting Edward.”

“I’m sorry.” Her eyes glisten with tears. “You were taking so long, and I got worried.”

“As you can see, I’m fine.” He glares, shoves me onto the sofa, and rips the jewels out of my hand. “This is what I was looking for.”

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