Page 118 of The Prodigal

“Oh my gosh,” Halle squeaks through laughter. “You are such an asshole. Thanks for spoiling our surprise.”

“You’re welcome,” I tease. “You know I always have your back, even if you’re unwed and carrying a demon’s baby.”

Collective groans and congratulations proceed to go around the room, effectively taking the attention off me for once. “How sore are you?” I whisper to Eden.

“Stop.” She laughs. “We’re not crossing that line yet.”

It wasn’t a no.

“Yet,” I agree. “I’ll check back with you tomorrow.”

I can’t wait to get out of here and drown myself in this woman. Everyone should hug her now because once we’ve recovered, they won’t see her for months. Eden owes me a lifetime, but I’ll start with a semester buried inside her pussy.

“Congressman Albrecht was arrested today.”

My head jerks to the TV, and the room falls silent as the name we all hate grabs our attention.

“He is accused of allegedly running an illegal adoption ring for the past twenty years. Three women were seen dropping off a package at the FBI office, which contained documents that led to the congressman’s arrest.”

My eyes stay locked on the screen, along with everyone else’s.

“Sources say, one of those women is the birth mother of one of the children Congressman Albrecht allegedly trafficked to another politician. No one knows how she came across the information, but one source says she allegedly befriended Congressman Albrecht’s ex-wife, who gladly gave the woman proof once she heard her story.”

It’s like we’re all operating in slow motion as our heads turn to Ramsey, who is sitting in her plastic chair, sketching something on her pad.

“Ray?” Duke growls, but then stops as the newscast continues.

“One thing is for sure. Never doubt the power of a mother’s love. This mother helped the FBI recover twenty-five trafficked children from the documents she delivered with two other women who signed the package, Jude’s Angels.”A picture of security footage fills the screen of three women in hats entering an FBI field office.“This is Channel 5 News, reporting to you live from Girl Power Central, Las Vegas, Nevada.”

“Halle!” I snap. “You told me you couldn’t find my sunglasses!”

She flashes me a sneaky smile. “They looked better on me. I’ll buy you a new pair later, if Vance doesn’t kill me.”

I watch as Vance rises from his chair, his back straight like someone pushed that stick up his ass even further. “I’m going to do more than kill you,” he threatens as his jaw ticks with rage.

“Wave goodbye to Halle,” I whisper to Eden. “The beast is gonna lock her pregnant ass up for several years.”

“He’ll do no such thing,” Halle argues, but she’s already stepping back toward Keagan, who’s locked in a stare-down with Astor. Keagan’s a brave soul. I’ll give her that. But she has no chance against living through one of Astor’s brutal lectures on the way home about safety blah, blah, blah.

But at least she and Halle have some self-preservation and apologize for going behind their partners’ backs to take down Albrecht, unlike my mother.

This nut rises from her plastic chair like the queen she is and faces my father. “I didn’t need to marry Albrecht to help my son,” she says. “I only needed his ex-wife.”

Her back straightens, and her chin lifts. “No one fucks with my son.”

She flashes me this hard look that tightens my chest and sets off the alarms monitoring my heart. Turns out, the peace my adoptive mother spoke of comes in many forms.

It came with a family’s support.

A father’s hug.

A mother’s revenge.

And… loyal woman’s love.

Eden

One year later

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