Page 52 of Finding Redemption

How long had my best friend been fucking my—

“Daddy!”Bella shouted.“Hurry up.”

Brooke’s head peeked around the corner, causing my heart to leap at the sight of her.“You are allowed to have emotions, Bella.But you are not allowed to take them out on others.”

Bella’s shoulders dropped.“Sorry.”

“Who should you be apologizing to?”Brooke asked, her tone equally firm and gentle, brows raised.

Turning, my daughter gave me a cool glare but mumbled, “Sorry, Daddy.”

Brooke turned away before Bella was finished, not sparing me a second glance as she answered another mundane question Luck tossed at her.I wished she would go back to ignoring the traitor’s existence.

“Daddy.”Bella’s sigh drew my gaze back to her.“Please.”

Crouching down, I reached for her, but she took a step back.“What’s up, Bella-Boo?”

“Nothing,” she dismissed, crossing her arms over her chest, her hip popping to the side.So much attitude in a small package, it almost made me smile.Brooke was rubbing off on her.“Can we go now?”Her jaw worked as she clenched and unclenched her teeth, gritting out another, “Please.”

“We’re not going anywhere until you tell me what your deal is.”I tried to give her the same stern look Brooke did that never failed to keep her in line.From the way she stared back at me, unblinking, I must have fallen flat.“Bella, it’s too early for this shit.”

“It’s four thirty,” she informed me with a huff.“And don’t curse.”

“Four thirty?”I groaned when she nodded in confirmation.“Jesus.”

“Paxton?”Sariah called out, her voice only slightly hesitant.She popped around the same corner Brooke had disappeared back behind.As soon as I saw her face, I knew something had happened.

All thoughts of her with Luck disappeared, and I took a step forward, needing to get to her, to figure out whatever was wrong.“What is it?”I demanded, reaching for her.“Tell me.”

Her sharp inhale was followed by a gulp.My hands tightened on her arms, and I tried not to shake her.“Tell me what the hell happened, Riah.”

Nervously, she licked her lips.“Jannel,” she whispered.

My blood ran ice-cold for a moment before turning into an inferno of rage.“What?”I barked.“She was here?Why didn’t you come get me?”

“There wasn’t time.I found her with Brooke and Bella at the breakfast buffet—”

“She was where?”I bellowed.A twisted, sick sensation filled my gut.That malicious, vile cunt had been near my girls?Fuck.Fuck.I couldn’t see straight for a moment.“How did she get that close to either of them?Luck!”

He was barely out of the kitchen before I was on him.“How the fuck did that woman get that close to my girls?Where was Henry?There is a restraining order in place!She isn’t supposed to be within five hundred feet of anyone in this family.”

“Pax, man, you need to calm down.”He placed his hands on my shoulders, squeezing.

Calm down?How the hell was I supposed to do that when the bitch who had destroyed Sariah had been allowed to breathe the same air as Brooke and Bella?

“Brooke didn’t know anything about Jannel until this morning,” Luck explained.“She thought it was okay to take Bella to get something to eat without Henry.”

“What did she say to her?”I pushed away from him.“What did she do?”

They were questions I should have been asking Brooke, even Bella.

Fuck!

“Kitten?”I entered the kitchen to find Brooke leaning against the giant island that took up most of the room.Just seeing her was enough to help me take a deep breath.As long as my eyes were on her, she was safe.Rounding the island, I pulled her into my arms and buried my face in her hair.

But while her scent filled my nose, I realized she wasn’t holding me like I was her.Her arms were stiff at her sides, her spine rigid.She was in my arms, her front molded to mine, but her walls were back up.I could feel the mental distance she’d snapped into place between us.

Something inside me howled with pain.No.Whatever Jannel had done or said, I would fix it.

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