Page 62 of Shifter's Secret Baby

I grabbed my purse and moved toward the door.

“Briar!”

Glancing over my shoulder, I met Rachel’s eyes.

“I need you to promise me that you’ll be careful. You’re not stupid. Don’t make desperation blind you. Remember, desperate people do very stupid things.”

“You’re wrong,” I said, spinning away. “I am stupid.”

If I hadn’t been stupid, I wouldn’t have been in this predicament in the first place.

Chapter24

Briar

Returning home from lunch, I didn’t feel any better than before I’d left. I wondered if I’d made a mistake in telling Rachel, if I would have been better off just keeping it a secret. All I’d done really was put Rachel in an awkward position, and it still only put the decision on Ash’s shoulders again.

I didn’t even know if Rachel would tell him. Maybe she would decide he was better off not knowing.

But I did find myself wondering what she’d meant when she’d said that he wanted to be with me, but it was complicated. How complicated could it be? If he really did care about me, all he had to do was say so, didn’t he?

It all seemed very simple to me. Ash didn’t want me cramping his independent style. He had no trouble turning me away, freezing me out when it suited him, and using me when his bed was cold.

And yet that didn’t seem right, either. The way I felt with him when we were together didn’t feel one-sided.

I’d done all I could do. If Rachel told him, the ball was in Ash’s court now. If she chose not to tell him, that was on her, too. But I should warn my father that Ash might learn the truth one way or another.

“Father?” I called as I entered the house, closing the door at my back.

My heart thumped nervously in anticipation. I hadn’t discussed this with him, and I suspected he wouldn’t like the idea of me informing the demon. But it had been the right thing to do.

“Father?” I called again, making my way toward his office.

The door was closed, and I rapped gently on it, but there was no response. His car had been in the driveway, and I was confused that he wasn’t responding.

“Father, are you here?”

I tried the handle, and it gave way without issue, allowing me to enter the room and look around. My father was nowhere to be seen, but his desk was covered in paperwork that almost spilled off the table's edges.

Curious, I inched toward the center of the room, eying the overflow with a raised brow. I’d never seen my father’s belongings in such disarray before, and it piqued my interest.

A large ledger sat open, notations in his even penmanship in varying inks first catching my attention.

At the top of the page, the columns were broken into date, name, and sex of child. I drew in a breath as I realized what I was seeing.

It was the adoption book from when my father had helped all the women re-home their children. Along with the basic information were the babies’ new home addresses… and a monetary value in the last column.

I drew in a shaky breath.

That must be the cost of expenses,I told myself, ignoring the twinge of panic formulating in my gut.

To the left of the ledger were several thick files, each with a name. I gasped to see one I recognized, my eyes popping.

Annabelle Madison.

I drew back in shock, shaking my head.

No. That’s… a coincidence? Or Mama went to Father for some other kind of treatment.

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