Page 287 of Second Sets Omnibus
“Oh, yeah?” I grin, setting my chin in my palm, watching with rapt attention as she hums into her ice cream and babbles more. I think I could listen to my baby girl talk all day long and never get bored.
Me
Hey man, My card got declined. I got an alert, too, that there was fraud charges? Just looking in to see what’s going on.
Teddy
Hey, Kieran. Let me take a look.
I tap my nail on the table, waiting patiently for a response from Teddy. It could be something as simple as fraudulent charges or something else.
I furrow my brow when my phone lights up with a call from Teddy. He never calls. It’s usually just text messages or face-to-face meetings with this guy. It’s fine by me, too. I loathe talking on the phone.
“Hey, Ly. Daddy needs to take this, okay? It’s an important call.” She nods, digging into more ice cream, and licks her lips.
“Hello?” I ask, leaning back in my chair, keeping a sharp eye on my daughter.
“Hey, Kieran. Sorry for the call. I was just checking over your accounts. And there’s a problem.”
“What is it?” My heart leaps into my throat at his hesitation. I know I’ll still have money in other accounts, but years of living hand-to-mouth have me panicking. I know what it would feel like to wake up with nothing.
“It got declined because there’s been a stop put on the card by the bank.”
I blink several times, my head fucking spinning.
“I’ve been out of the city for a while. Why would the bank do that? And is that because of the fraudulent charges?” I try to get the world to stop spinning as his mouse clicks in the background.
“I’m looking at it right now. It looks like there were hundreds of charges at places around town within the last two weeks.” With every word he says, the more strained he becomes.
“What places?” My jaw tics on instinct, no matter how hard I try to hide it. “And why wasn’t I notified immediately?”
“Sorry, K. I’m not sure why you weren’t notified. I’m looking into this immediately. There’s been charges at Riggs. Jenni’s Purple and Lace. Blooming Deals. There were more purchases at several clothing shops and even a purchase at the Coach and Prada stores…” he trails off, clicking more. “It looks like the last purchase was made about an hour ago at Florence’s, a department store downtown. They tried to spend—” he chokes off, coughing into the phone. “Twenty grand there.” Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Twenty grand? At a damn clothing shop? Who the hell has enough balls to not only spend my money but do it in the same town I reside in? Maybe that’s why they didn’t fucking call?
Either way, I’m fuming. That’s my hard-earned money someone is blowing through. They have no right. I stood on stage for hours on end, singing my heart out. Sweating. Fucking losing my personal time. All for my career to pay for the things I need.
“It was just used?” My teeth clench together. “How is that fucking possible? I didn’t give anyone access to it.”
I had an extra card in my wallet for emergencies. A duplicate card to hand to my fucking mother so she could buy a few groceries. But I always made her give it back to me. Shit… Pulling my wallet out, I check through my cards, and my heart drops. It’s gone. Someone used it in town. Someone took my card. Either Gloria stole it from right under my nose, or someone took off with it.
My stomach turns several times when my phone beeps, alerting me to a new call straight from Florence’s Department Store.
“Hey, Teddy. I gotta go. Thanks for the information. The store is calling right now. I’m going to head there.” We quickly say our goodbyes and hang up in time for me to answer the call from the store.
“Hello?” I ask, still watching Lyric happily eat the rest of her ice cream, oblivious to the murderous feeling churning inside me. She hasn’t moved an inch since this whole shit show came to my attention.
“Hi, this is Angie, the store manager down here at Florence’s. Am I speaking to a Mister Kieran Knight?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” I say, stiffening my spine as a wailing echoes through the damn phone.
“I’m calling to inform you that we've detained a Gloria Montgomery for theft of merchandise. She’s asked us to call you before the police get here. We were also concerned after confiscating a credit card with your name on it after it came up as stolen. The police have been called.”
I swallow hard. My rage swells like a violent storm pounding through me. I curl my fingers into a fist, ready to pummel my hanging bag to let out some of my aggression. But first, I’ll have a few words with Gloria before I let them haul her conniving ass away.
Now, I need to focus on keeping this aggression locked inside so Lyric never sees this side of me.
Not only did Gloria steal merchandise from an upscale department store, but she also stole from me. Not only my money but she also robbed me of fatherhood. It’s time to let her manipulative ass rot in jail. Because after today? She won’t have anyone on her side to bail her out.
“Do you want to stop this? Or—” she trails off over the phone, knowing full well who I am.
