Page 24 of Beneath Deception
Giving her a long overdue kiss, we proceeded back to the house. It was beginning to get dark and the last thing that I wanted was for us to get lost in the woods, even if it meant being alone with her. As we continued walking, I wanted to know what her relationship was with Colin. I wasn’t sure if she would even tell me. Even though she admitted he was not the man she thought he was, I still believed that she felt connected to him. If he ever found her, I knew that she could never resist going back to him. I had this sick feeling that he had groomed her into being his submissive and she was aware of where the boundaries were with him. This would explain her odd behavior earlier. One thing was for sure, I would never make her feel like she had to be afraid of me.
When we finally made it to the house, it had turned dark and I couldn’t have been happier that we found our way. It was a good thing that Tessa knew her surroundings well enough to know that we ended up off the trail somehow. Luckily, she still had the matches and was able to see that we were walking in the wrong direction.
As I was getting ready to open the front door, it flew open and a very disgruntled Jonathan was on the other side. “I was worried sick about you,myshka.”
“It’s okay, Papa, we are here now,” Tessa replied, giving him a compassionate hug.
I had no idea that these two had gotten so close. I was beginning to think that bringing them together was the best idea I had. Even though my life was messed up, it was nice to see that Tessa could finally have the life she deserved. I just needed to make sure that Colin would never be a part of it.
As we entered the house, Tessa went upstairs to take a bath while Jonathan and I went into the living room to talk. I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell him about my new-found information, but I knew that he deserved to know the truth about Kyle. Before he took a seat, I suggested, “You may want to pour yourself a drink before our chat.” As he looked at me with confusion, I continued, “I’ll take one as well.”
When he handed me a tumbler of what appeared to be vodka, I proceeded to sit on the leather couch while Jonathan took a seat across from me, on the leather chair. Taking a large sip of liquid courage, I placed my glass on the small table and began explaining what I had learned. “What do you know about Kyle Lincoln?” I asked bluntly.
I gazed over at him, gauging his reaction to Kyle’s name. Either he was a great actor, or he had no clue who he was. “I have never heard of him. Should I somehow know this man?” he questioned.
“He seems to know who you are,” I admitted. “He has the notion that you are his father and Tessa is his sister.” There wasn’t even a flinch as I told Jonathan what I had found out.
“I think this Kyle person has received the wrong information,” Jonathan responded evenly.
“He had a birth certificate from Russia that proves it.”
“Anyone can forge a document these days. I wouldn’t be surprised if his entire identity is fake. There are many people in this world who hide behind a fake name to keep people away from knowing who they really are.”
I wasn’t sure what Jonathan was implying, but I felt as though his statement was aimed at me. There wasn’t any way that he could have known my true identity. I hardly knew the man and he certainly didn’t know me.
Assuming that he was talking about himself, I went along with what he was saying and offered a solution. “How about we test Mr. Lincoln’s theory and have a DNA test done like the one you did on Tessa?”
“I am for that. It would definitely put an end to this nonsense.”
