Page 36 of I Should Hate You-but I Don't

"Mr. Stafford?"

"Yes, I'm still here."

"The visitation is approved."

After thanking the caller, he disconnected, found Razz, and gave him back the phone. It was past time to meet River at the bar.

He rode his Harley down the hill, parked, and walked inside. Not seeing River, he checked the kitchen and found her talking with Lori. The moment she spotted him, she hurried over.

All he wanted to do was take her back to the house, fuck her over and over, and then get eight hours of sleep. Hell, he'd give up sleep to have time with River.

Taking her to the booth in the back, he slid into the same side as her and trapped her against the wall. It was his fucking time. He wasn't going to waste it.

"Is everything okay?" she whispered.

He put his hand under the table and squeezed her thigh. Unable to stop, he kept his hand there and stroked her bare leg with his thumb.

"I've got a lot of shit going on." He stretched his legs out and kicked the other side of the booth. "To top it off, I got a call from the prison. My dad was taken to medical."

"Oh my God, what happened? Is he okay?"

He shrugged. "He's alive. I'm not sure what happened beyond there was a fight in the exercise yard, and he has a laceration and stitches."

"Can you go see him?"

"I've got a visitation with him on Sunday," he said.

"I hope he's okay." She leaned against him. "I can see why you're upset. The thought of someone you love hurt and in pain is an awful feeling, especially when you know there isn't anything you can do."

Pain is what his dad inflicted on others. Ridge Stafford could hold his own. Getting sliced in prison came with the game his dad played. It wasn't the first time he collected damage, and it wouldn't be the last.

"He'll be fine. He always is."

Rebecca approached the table and took their orders. Once she left, he slipped his hand between River's thighs again. He couldn't keep from touching her.

When he got weak, caved, and ended up visiting River, he made sure to keep their relationship confined to the privacy ofthe house. He tried hard never to put her in a position where she had to explain and defend their relationship.

He exhaled, wishing to go back in time to tell his dad to go to hell when he asked for the favor. His dad knew that he would die before he failed. It was the way he was raised. Kingsley was the same way.

He had no idea the little girl who lost her whole family would become more important to him than his own life. Loving her was sweet torture.

"Earlier, you mentioned Kenna could be running away instead of to you." He grabbed the water glass to put some distance between them.

He should've sat on the other side of the table. His exhaustion caused mistakes he couldn't afford.

"I don't know what I was saying or if it would have anything to do with Kenna. I haven't seen her since she was twelve years old." She sighed. "It seems like a lifetime ago."

"Go on with the thought," he urged.

River bowed her head and stared at her lap. He wanted to change his mind and tell her to forget about it. He could sense the pain it caused her. The search for Kenna would go on with or without River's help.

"Kenna was always much braver than I was. No matter what happened, she always cared for me, but..." She frowned.

He waited for her to continue, but she shook her head as if changing her mind. "Anything you know that could help Kingsley—"

"She closed herself off after my dad died." River blew out her breath. "If someone tells her something she doesn't want to hear, she would rather run away than hear the truth."

"Do you think she'd run from Kingsley?"

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