Page 89 of Already At Risk
Korey looked like he wanted to snap my neck despite the tight grin on his face. His pale skin had a flush working across it.
“Yes.”
For a split second, emotion wormed its way through my professional defense walls, making my heart ache for Chloe. She deserved a father who actually showed up for her. I was thankful she at least had uncles and other family members who did, but damn, this man had failed his daughter in so many ways. And it pissed me the fuck off.
“With the distance, how would you manage it if she had practice more than once a week?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, struggling to maintain the fake nonchalance. “There is a private skating club around Springfield.”
“What is it called?”
“I—” Korey’s voice cut out. “I…I can’t remember at the moment.”
Figures.
“What else are you involved in?”
“What else are you curious about?” he shot back.
There were so many things left. He realized that, right? He realized everything that went into being a parent, didn’t he?
“Do you typically attend parent–teacher conferences?”
“No, but I would.”
A defensive tone snuck into his response, but I didn’t need his excuses.
“Just a yes or no is fine,” I said before asking, “Do you attend field trips?”
“No.”
“Do you attend doctor appointments?”
“No.”
“Do you manage Chloe’s medical prescriptions?”
“No.”
Korey Abrams continued to say no for most of the morning.
And damn if it wasn’t satisfying getting to prove how pathetically incompetent he was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
natalie
IT HAD BEEN NEARLY a week since I last talked to Cameron.
He called me after his deposition with Korey to discuss how it went, evaluate further howmydeposition went, given the results of Korey’s, and go over next steps. He hadn’t asked me to come into the office. He didn’t mention the night we spent together or speak in a way that was even remotely flirtatious. His tone had been even and his cadence patient as I wrapped my head around the details I needed to know. Nothing like how he’d spoken to me while I was splayed out on his bed.
He said the judge might order a mediation to avoid the case going to trial. But he then followed up by saying it was possible the judge would skip it, considering this wasn’t our first custody case rodeo, and Korey and I had clearly been unsuccessful with coming to terms on this.
I also suspected Korey didn’twantto come to terms.
He wanted to play this little game for as long as he could, keeping us tangled in his web.
When Cameron and I hung up, I felt…lost.
