Page 35 of Bone's Destiny

I thought for a second. “Almost twenty-two.”

“Oh, she’s older than me. I bet she’s pretty. I mean, you’re a good-looking guy. It must run in the family genetics.”

My fair mood plummeted. “She looks like her mother. Almost spitting image, just a younger version.” The weight of her stare made me shift in my seat.

“You both don’t have the same mom?”

“No. Same father.” For whatever reason, the words just spilled from my lips.

“At least you know your parents. When I look in the mirror, I don’t know if I have my mom’s hair color, my father’s nose, or where my sky-blue eyes come from. I’m a mutt with no records, no pedigree.” She blinked back tears and forced a smile. Her words hurt my heart.

“Were you adopted at birth?”

“No, I was around three months, I think. There weren’t any pictures of me before then.”

“Your adoptive parents didn’t tell you anything about your real parents?”

“Debbie had said they didn’t want me. That they were just teenagers.” She popped her shoulders and sniffled. “Makes sense, I guess. What about you? Do your birth mom and stepmom get along?”

Stepmom? I’d never thought of Lady M as my stepmom. I rubbed a spot on my chest. “My dad never married my birth mom. She died a long time ago. I’ve only ever known—”

“Your mom,” she said, the words I couldn’t.

“Yeah.”

“Well, as long as she loves you and treats you well, I’d say you’re pretty lucky.”

“I guess your adoptive parents weren’t great.”

“Things were better before Debbie left. Roland is a piece of shit. I mean, what father, adoptive or real, pimps his daughter out.”

I dropped my head and stared at my feet, feeling sick.

“The only good thing he did for me was let me stay a virgin.”

“What?” I didn’t understand what she was saying.

“Oh, how embarrassing. This conversation took a dark turn. Nevermind.”

“No, finish. How are you still a virgin if men pay you for sex?”

“I have two other holes, you know. You’ve experienced one, then there’s the other.”

“Jesus Christ,” I growled, vaulting to my feet and knocking over the metal chair.

“Shh, relax. That got way too heavy.”

I fisted my hands, needing to beat the crap out of someone… out of Roland.

“How about we change the subject?”

“Sure.” See? Resilient.

She held a picture for me to see. “Thanksgiving. If I could eat one meal every day for the rest of my life, it would be a Thanksgiving feast like this one.”

And I was done.

Yesterday when I’d brought her a turkey sandwich and chips for lunch, she’d told me she hadn’t eaten three meals a day since before her adoptive mom left them. It explained why she was so thin. Apparently, Roland was an alcoholic and never gave Destiny money to buy food, but there was always booze. When she turned eighteen, she’d been forced to turn tricks to earn money, and the fucker had taken most of her earnings. If I ever came face to face with him, I’d kill him.

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