Page 110 of Voracious

I mean, I do, but that’s beside the point.

31

STACEY

Once I arrive at the institution, I pop up the pram and place a sleeping Eva into it. I show my badge and tell the receptionist I’m here to see Tobias Mitchell.

She beams down at the little girl with Barry’s eyes and Lisa’s blonde hair then tells me she’ll call my name once Tobias is set up in the room – the special room we always meet in, the one I went to the very first time I visited him, to ask for help with Kade. He managed to pull some strings a few months back because we felt like we needed more privacy for the subjects of our conversations, and it seems he’s persuasive.

Or maybe he’s a violent bastard who threatened the workers here? Who knows?

Once she calls my fake name, I head down the corridor, push the pram off the elevator and a guard opens the door to the room. Tobias is sitting silently, arms crossed, glaring at the table, legs parted like he’s thirty years younger.

His voice is deep as he huffs and says, “I’ve been waiting here for five minutes.”

I sigh and pull off my scarf and jacket. “You say this every day.”

“Because it’s true and keeps happening.” He turns, his face lighting up when he sees the pram. He gets to his feet and smiles down at Eva. “Hello, little princess.”

I’ll never tell anyone, but Tobias has the most beautiful eyes, especially when he smiles. They’re blue, almost silver, and when the light shines on them, they glint. Despite being in his late forties, he’s fit and has kept his chiselled features, the dimples and the straight white smile.

I get why Aria still isn’t over him, even twenty plus years later.

Eva grins and kicks her legs as Tobias lifts her from the pram, sitting at the table and ignoring me while I set up the chessboard between us.

Ten minutes pass of him and Eva ignoring my presence, and I watch as he walks her around the room, telling her pointless facts about the books he’s read from the bookcase.

He does this whenever I bring her, and we never get any work done. The man dotes on Eva.

Luciella always said that despite her father’s illness and struggles, he was always so loving and caring when it came to her and Kade. I can see it, the side of him they got to see growing up. It makes me envious of my best friend, because although my dad died when I was nineteen, we were never as close as those two.

I smile as Tobias tries to read a passage from some ancient book to her, in the most babyish voice ever. She grabs the book and throws it, then breaks out in a giggle as he tickles her.

A few minutes later, she’s cuddling into his shoulder as Tobias hums a tune to her, and he sways until she falls asleep then carefully places her back in the pram. Rolling it to the side, he pulls up the hood to shade her from the lamp light and gives me his full attention.

“I think I like her company more than yours,” he says, stretching his arms above his head, his white top riding up ever so slightly to show that, even at his age, he has abs for days. “But that isn’t much of a competition, since you’re a pain in my ass.”

“Shut up. It’s because she has no choice but to tolerate you.”

Telling Tobias to shut up is risky, but not for me. I’ve thrown every insult under the sun at him and he doesn’t flinch – he just insults me right back.

He snorts and drops onto the single bed in the corner of the room – the room he has set up for visitations with Aria – the fact there is a bed here makes me question a lot, but I keep my mouth shut. He’s lifting a book and pretending to read it. I cross my arms, lean back on my chair and glare at the older version of Kade. “Are you going to take your turn?”

He glances at the chessboard then back to the book. “No. I’m not in the mood.”

I roll my eyes, making sure he can’t see. He says it’s rude when I roll my eyes, which I do a lot. “Remind me why I’m here? You’re pissing me off.”

Kade’s father hums, flipping the page of his book and folding his arm behind his head. “I ask myself that same question every day.” Then his narrowing eyes lift to me. “And watch your fucking language.”

I toss a chess piece at his head, and even though it makes contact, he doesn’t flinch. “Imagine I stopped visiting? You’d only have Aria and Luciella coming to see you once a month. And you get sad when I’m too busy to come.”

He doesn’t look away as he speaks with a smirk. “You always come, little one.”

I groan and turn back to the chessboard. He taught me how to play, along with every other board game he could get his hands on. “I don’t know how Aria has been able to deal with you for over twenty years. I can barely last one without wanting to strangle you.”

“You could try. But that kink is specifically for one woman and one woman only.”

I snap my head at him. “You said you stopped sleeping with her. Did you lie?”

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