Page 89 of Cause and Effect

She explained everything to me, and I sat there in shock, listening to each word that escaped her lips.

“I can’t believe that asshole faked his own death.” I cautiously wrapped my arm around her. She accepted it and laid her head on my chest. God, it felt good to hold her again. “Tell me where he’s staying.”

“No, Julian. Morgan is getting him a new identity, and he’s leaving the country tomorrow. He will never come back here again, and the girls will never know.”

“How can you be so sure he won’t return?”

“Because he knows if he does, he’s going to prison. And that’s the last thing he wants.”

“I’m sorry, Laurel.” My grip around her tightened. “I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling right now.”

“He felt trapped and like he couldn’t breathe. Can you believe that?” She lifted her head and looked at me. “Wait. Yeah, you can believe it.”

“Laurel, come on.” I sighed.

My phone pinged. Grabbing it from the nightstand, I saw another alert—this time, a warning of a severe storm approaching.

Laurel’s phone rang. “It’s Morgan. Hello.”

“Hey, I have the girls, and they are safe at my house. A bad storm is coming, so Roman and I will bring them home once it passes.”

“Thank you, Morgan.”

“No problem. Just a heads up. Julian asked where you were. I told him you were sick, so you went home.”

“I’m here, Morgan,” I said.

“Oh. Shit. Hey, Julian. Gotta go. We’ll see you later.”

Suddenly, it grew eerily dark. The wind outside picked up, howling and ripping through the palm trees as sheets of rain slammed against the windows. Laurel reached over and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. Thunder rolled. I climbed off the bed and walked over to the window, staring right into the eye of the storm. The ocean turned into a dark mass of fury, waves crashing over the shores, taking the sand back to its home. The power flickered once—then twice. Then it went out completely.

“Shit,” she sighed. “I don’t like this.”

“I know.” I glanced at her.

Suddenly, I flinched when a loud crash came from downstairs. It sounded like a window shattering. Laurel jumped up from the bed, and I gripped her arm.

“Don’t go down there. Not yet. We have to wait for the storm to pass. In fact, let’s go into the girl’s bathroom where there aren’t any windows.”

We entered the bathroom and sat on the floor with our backs against the tub.

“I’m worried about the girls, Julian.”

“They’re with Morgan. They’re fine.”

All of a sudden, she started laughing.

“What is so funny?” I asked, smiling because it was good to see her laugh.

“Morgan pulled her gun on Jason. I really thought she was going to shoot him.”

“She probably would have.” I chuckled. “I still can’t believe he faked his own death. What kind of man were you married to?”

“I seem to have a habit of picking men with a whole lot of issues.”

“Fair enough,” I said.

Suddenly, all was quiet. The wind had slowed, and the rain could no longer be heard.

---