Page 45 of Virginity Sold

Liam acts as if I'm an idiot.

“You don’t have to speak in code, Uncle Liam. I’m not stupid. I know when the two of you met last night, you were finalizing your plan to use Elena to get to Jeffrey. Which I still think is pointless. He’s not in her life. She told us he left her when she was a child.” I get my plate of food from the microwave, not even caring about warming it up, and sit down at the table.

“Mind who you’re speaking to. And as far as Elena is concerned, you were getting too attached. She is only needed to get to her father, nothing more,” Liam speaks. His words are cold, but I can tell he doesn’t fully mean them.

He said her name. I just need to get him and Killian on my side. Elena will be mine. There’s no one else for me.

“Today she’s Elena, huh?” I mutter under my breath as my uncle stands and leaves the room.

“You’re lucky he didn’t hear you.” Killian kicks me under the table.

“Fuck you. How could you just let him talk about her like that? You can try and hide it, but she got to you, too. You liked her, maybe more than you want to admit.” I reach under the table and rub my shin. If the fucker leaves a bruise, I’m going to kick his ass.

“It doesn’t matter. There was no future with her. She’s the daughter of the man who killed our parents. Every time we looked at her, we’d know that. Eventually, we’d grow to resent her. Not to mention, and I say this again, her father killed our parents. Who do you think she’d be loyal to in the long run, us or him?”

“That's a no-brainer. Us. Did you not listen to a word she said? He ran out on her mother and her when she was a child. She has nothing to do with him. Besides, she's not responsible for what her father did. Our parents would tell you the same thing if they were here.”

I pick up my fork and cut off a piece of omelet, taking my first bite. It’s fucking cold, but I don’t care.

My knee bounces under the table, anxious for my phone to charge so I can check it. I need to talk to Elena. I was in such a hurry I didn’t even think to text my phone from hers, so I’d have her number.

Stupid! How could I make such a rookie mistake?

Uncle Liam comes back into the room, his face void of expression as he holds his phone to his ear.

“When?” he barks to the person on the other end of the line.

Me and Killian raise our eyebrows at each other as I mouth, “What’s that about?” He just shrugs.

“Find out and get back to me,” Liam growls as he ends the call and sits back down at the table.

“What’s going on with John?” I ask anxiously. Since John does all our investigations on people and surveillance, I know this has to be about my ray of sunshine, Elena.

“He’s been looking into her since we got to the penthouse Friday night. I needed to know every detail there was on her.”

I don’t even give him a chance to finish before I’m butting in. “And? Did you find out if she was an A-list actress or telling the truth?” I can’t help the anger seeping through my words.

“From all he could find, she’s had no contact with her father. She’s been supporting her mother since she was able to work. The mother appears to be an alcoholic and evidence suggests she has moved on to drugs. She doesn’t work and recently went missing.”

“So, she’s telling the truth,” I pipe in. Glancing over at Killian, I notice his face is solemn. That’s right, fucker. Your little cookie was nothing but honest and you pushed her away. That’s okay, cause once she reads my note, she’s going to know at least one person cares about her and that’s me.

“What else, Uncle? I don’t see how that alone would have you upset.” Killian shifts in his seat, placing his forearms on the table and leaning forward.

“John went to her home this morning to start following her. He spent last night trying to locate the mother. After some digging, he found out that she had a piece of property, a run-down house on the outskirts of town that was in her parents’ name that was left to her when they passed away. He went there to see if she was there, and found the place empty but lived in. There were empty alcohol bottles, needles, and men’s clothing scattered all about. Someone had been living there,” he pauses, and he gives Killian a knowing look.

No way. I get what they’re thinking.

“That proves nothing as far as Elena goes. It could be someone squatting.” There’s no way my sunshine would know what her father did and cover for him, not with him being the monster he is.

“Like I was saying,” he gives me another pointed look. “He went to Elena’s house this morning to start following her, and to see if the mother reappeared.” He clears his throat and my stomach drops. I’m not going to like what I’m about to hear, I just know it.

“And? Had she left town? Did she lead him to Jeffrey?” I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest.

He doesn’t look me in the eye at first, clearing his throat once again. A knot builds in my throat and I feel like I have a frog stuck in it.

“No, there was police tape around her house and detectives were still there. He managed to speak with a few of the neighbors who were standing around gawking and found out that Elena had been taken to the hospital by ambulance. She’d been badly beaten. There were reports of some screams, but no one called the police. It wasn’t until her landlord showed up at the house that she was found.”

I can feel the color draining from my face as I fight to process what he’s telling me. If I had kept her with me last night, waited until she was done with Edward, even followed her home and claimed her as mine, she would be okay.

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