Page 19 of Seven

I’ll be in touch.

Me:

You can’t be serious.

You gotta give me more than that.

When he didn’t respond,I dialed his number again. This time, it went to voicemail without a single ring. I left a message, but I knew it was a waste of time. He wasn’t going to answer me. Damn.

“So, what’s the deal?”

“I don’t know.” I swallowed hard. “I can’t even think right now.”

“Then, let me do the thinking for you,” Shep offered. “Let’s get to my office, and I’ll see if we can track her down.”

I nodded, and Goose and I followed him inside the clubhouse and down to his office. Shep went over and sat down at his desk. Once he powered up his computer, he started hammering away. Shep was a magician with a computer, and if anyone could track down Tallie, it was him. His eyes were still fixed on the screen as he asked, “What’s her full name?”

“Natalie Rae Warren. Last I heard, she was living in New York. I thought she was still there, but her brother said she’s in Hot Springs now.”

“So, you two haven’t been in touch?”

“I tried.” The knot in my stomach tightened as I told him, “Her father wouldn’t even speak to me, and her brother refused to give me any information on how I could contact her. I was overseas and trying to keep from losing my head, and eventually, it got too hard. I gave up.”

“The father sounds like a fucking tool.”

“He was looking out for his daughter. You can’t blame him for that.”

“But you can,” Goose scoffed. “Someone cock blocked me like that, and I’d hold a hell of a grudge.”

“Oh, I did. Still do, not that it’s done me any good.”

“Found her. She’s living in an apartment just outside of Hot Springs, and it looks like she’s leasing a building down on the strip.” Shep’s jaw tightened. “Did the brother mention that their father was just murdered?”

“Yeah, he mentioned it.”

There was a time when I thought the world of Mr. Warren. He was an influential and highly respected lawyer with money pouring out of his pockets, but he wasn’t vain or arrogant. He worked hard and earned it, and I wanted to be just like him.

Until he stabbed me in the back and sent Tallie away.

That’s when he revealed his true feelings about me and my lack of potential, and I’ve spent the past eight years trying to pull that knife out of my back. Over the years, I’d tried to pretend that I was over it, but the dull ache was still there.

I feared it would always be there, but I wasn’t going to let it stop me from finding Tallie. She’d meant too much to me, and there was no way in hell I was going to pass up a chance to see her again.

Not now.

Not ever.

“Hate that for the guy, but hey!” Goose gave me a smirk. “He’s no longer standing in your way.”

“No, he’s not.”

“So, when are you going to see her?”

“Right fucking now.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Goose nodded with approval. “Let’s go get your girl.”

“I’ll go, too,” Shep offered.

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