Page 33 of Finding Redemption

I hummed my understanding.“Okay.You won’t get any judgment from me.My own mother was too in love with the idea of love to worry about being a mom.And my stepmother hated me simply for existing.And also because my dad had been dating her and my mom at the same time and got them both pregnant.But she won because Daddy Dearest married her.”I made a face that had Sariah smiling.“Although if you ask me, with him as the prize, she didn’t actually win anything.”

“They missed out on having you in their lives, so they both lost.”

I balled up my napkin and tossed it at her.“Don’t you sweet-talk me, Sariah Grant.”

Laughing, she tossed the crumpled napkin back.“Just stating a fact.Anyone who meets you can’t help but love you, and I sure as hell don’t trust anyone who doesn’t.You haven’t let the past define you or make you bitter.Even now, you could have walked away without giving me a chance to explain or make up for what I’ve done.But you didn’t even hesitate.”

“I wanted to,” I grumbled a little petulantly.

“But you didn’t.”Reaching over, she grasped my hand.“I’m sorry I hurt you.”

I turned my hand over in hers, squeezing her fingers.“I need you to tell me why you did it.”

“Luck—” I flinched, and she blew out a sigh.“If you want me to explain, I need you not to do that every time I say his name.”

“I can’t make any promises,” I muttered, sounding like Bella.

With a sad smile, Sariah shook her head.“Luck owns the restaurant where I work.He and Paxton have been friends since way back before Paxton became an MMA champion.He’s even Bella’s godfather.”

“Not sure I would trust him with that kind of responsibility, but to each their own.”I dropped my spoon into the container we were sharing and sat back.

“I know you have plenty of reasons to think otherwise, but Luck is one of the good guys,” she defended.“He was wild when he was younger, but when your mom died, it changed him.He wanted you to be a part of his life so badly, Brooke.”

Pain sliced through me, and I was thankful that my migraine had mostly eased.“You have such blind faith in him.”

“It’s not blind faith,” she argued.“I watched the change in him with my own eyes.I was eighteen when I met him for the first time.If it weren’t for him and Paxton, I don’t know what would have happened to me.More than likely, I would have killed myself.”

I gasped.She meant what she said.I could see it written all over her face.Realizing that she’d been so close to ending her life made me want to curl into a ball and cry.

“I’m not trying to be dramatic, just giving it to you straight.Back then, I was in a very bad place.And yes, I know that was around the same time that Luck let you down, but I’m telling you he didn’t want to.Losing Maggie hurt him badly, but losing you was a hundred times worse.”

“How do you know this?”I choked out, still stuck on her being suicidal.

“Because he’s my friend.He saved me, and I’ve been trying to find a way to repay him for years.”She leaned forward, her brown eyes searching mine for a long moment.“He tried to get custody of you when your mom died, but your dad and stepmother blocked him.”

“But why?”I cried, jumping to my feet in agitation.“Why would they stop him from taking me if they were just going to send me off to that…that…” Emotion choked me, and I closed my eyes in an attempt to get control.“Why?”

“I don’t know their reasons, but at a guess, your stepmother is a monster.We can put a hit out on her if you want.”

A half laugh, half sob escaped me, but Sariah didn’t even crack a smile.My eyes widened.“You’re not serious.”

“I know people,” she said with a lift of one shoulder.“Just say the word.No questions asked.”

“Riah!”I admonished.

“They’ll never find the body.”

Snorting, I walked over to fill the kettle.“We’re never talking about this again.”Mostly because I believed her, and that changed everything.Sariah always seemed so soft, as if a too-strong wind would knock her over.This was a side of her I’d never seen before, but I liked it.“Get back to explaining what happened at Bella’s party.”

“When you escaped from St.Andrew’s, the cops went to Luck.They thought maybe he helped you or at the least knew where you were.”I shuddered, thinking about what it had taken to get away from that place—and what came after.

“After I was out of there…and had to live on the streets for a few nights, I thought about going to him,” I admitted, keeping my back to her.“But I figured he would just send me back.”

“He went a little crazy,” she said softly.“When the cops showed up, he nearly killed your dad.He was arrested for assault.I had to bail him out of jail.”

“Really?”I turned and gaped at her in surprise.That changed things too.Luck beating up my dad gave me a feeling of vindication.I didn’t want to go so far as to put out a hit on my father and stepmother as my friend had offered, but knowing one of them had possibly shed a little blood didn’t exactly make me sad.

Sariah nodded.“I’m not sure Paxton even knows about that.Luck didn’t explain why he was arrested at the time.He didn’t say much of anything about you or what happened for a long while.It was only about a year ago that everything kind of spilled out of him.I started looking for you myself with the mind-set that if I could reunite the two of you, it might make up for all the chaos I’d caused him over the years.”

---