Page 75 of Caught from Behind

“Yes,” I grind out. “He plays for the Sierra and just signed an eight-year contract because he’s one of their most consistent and highly productive players.”

My dad’s gaze comes to mine, but only for a heartbeat.

Then he looks back to Nova. “Right,” he says softly and stands, glancing down at the kids. “Well, we have a reservation we need to get to.”

That knife yanks upward, rending flesh, tearing through me, spilling all of my vulnerable insides.

“Bye, Steve!” Sophia says, scratching him one more time before my dad lifts her up and settles her on his shoulders again. “Bye!” she calls to me.

I wave, force a smile, then jerk slightly when I feel a little hand on my knee.

“Bye,” Luke says.

I exhale, eyes stinging. “Bye, buddy.”

Anne nods at me then takes Luke’s hand and I can’t help but watch as they walk away.

Not my life.

Not any longer.

“Ella—”

I stand so quickly that my chair almost tips over.

Luckily, I catch it before I can commit pugicide, righting it and grabbing my things. “I-uh—” A breath, voice steadying as I force myself to meet Nova’s gaze. “I need to get back to the salon,” I say. “I can’t be late for Donna.”

A lie because Donna isn’t coming in today.

But Nova, nice person she is, doesn’t call me on it. She just wraps up my sandwich and passes it over to me. “At least try to eat something when you feel up to it.”

I nod, take the sandwich, but the moment I’m out of sight of her, I chuck it in a trash can.

And then I get in my car and I drive to the salon.

I make it through my appointments because I need the distraction, because Kit would know something is up if I canceled them and hid, and…

Because I know Nova will drive by the salon and look for my car, just to be sure I made it this far.

But the moment my last client leaves, I gather my things…

And I do my best to forget the shit show that’s my life.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Riggs

I pull into her driveway, torn between worry and fury.

I’ve called. I’ve texted.

And I haven’t received a single reply.

Only Kit answering the phone at the salon and telling me that she was alive and fine and up to her elbows in bleach kept me sane—or mostly sane, anyway.

Because my spidey sense is tingling and I know this isn’t right and add in Nova texting me earlier, asking if I was going to Ella’s place after the plane landed...

I’m defying the laws of physics to get here, speeding around corners, cutting through side streets, avoiding black ice like it’s my fucking superpower.

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