Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Without thinking, I replied, “He might be a lying asshole, but I genuinely don’t think Joshua would let anything happen to me.”
For all of his faults, he wasn’t an abuser or the type of man I could picture standing back while someone hurt a woman. If he were, surely, they’d have resorted to that instead of pretending to date me.
“Who’s Joshua?”
Shooting her a strained smile, I tried to answer it as breezily as I could, even though just thinking about him hurt badly. Giving her a brief outline and description, I watched the emotions flit across her face until she settled on one—anger.
“When I get out of here, I’m going to smash his nuts between two bricks. I also don’t care that he’s trying to help his uncle out, but Harry will be right behind him in line for it, too.”
“It’s okay, Mom, it doesn’t matter. Men come, men go, you know that.”
“Oh, yeah?” she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest, and leaning back in her seat, looking for all the world like the mom I remembered growing up, regardless of where we were. “So, why do you look like your heart’s been broken and stomped on? Why, when I said his name, did you look like you wanted to throw up?”
Because both were true.
I tried to stay strong and focused on what we’d been talking about before this, but she was my mom. I just couldn’t.
The first sob was quiet, and the only indication of its existence was when my shoulders jerked, but the second one forced a whimper out of me before I could stop it from happening.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Mom soothed, reaching out for me again. I was grateful she was in this prison and not one where the prisoners were violent and couldn’t even hold a visitor’s hand.
The extra part of the story came pouring out, which also involved me having to tell her about how I’d struggled to open up to men before him. My intention was for her to understand how much he meant to me, but instead, it made her flinch as my reasons became clear.
“I’m so sorry, Eva. So very sorry.” Something about that extra tidbit lit a new fire within her. “Here’s what we’re going to do—we’re going to find that money, get it back to the Owens guy, get my lawyer to fight my case and bring the new evidence to the courts, and we’re going to get someone who can track down that little asshole, Roy. After that, I’ll find this Joshua and—”
“Mom,” I hissed, looking around us to make sure no one was listening, “you’re not going to do anything to him. Let’s focus on your case, the money, and Roy.”
She didn’t agree or disagree. She just reeled off information that she remembered about Roy Green, giving me a starting point.
It was just as I was leaving, after the guard had stood next to us while she hugged me goodbye—another thing I was grateful she could do, especially after the conversation we’d had—that she remembered the most crucial piece of information for the money.
“Hang on a second, Roy left a notebook at the house. I don’t know what was in it, but I put it in the spare wheel in case the police searched the car. I’ve only just remembered about it. I was so angry and scared when they said they’d found those lockbox keys on the back of the drawer unit in my bedroom and the accounts in your names that I forgot all about it.”
Glancing at the guard, I whispered, “Did he know you had it?”
“I don’t know. I guess he must have, but it’s not like Roy could get close enough to me to ask while the case was going on.”
“That must have been why he showed up at the house after you were brought here.”
“I’ll just give you two a minute,” Larna muttered as she moved away from us.
“Can she be trusted?” I said under my breath the second she was far enough away.
“Yes. She’s one of the good ones.” Leaning in as close as she could, Mom added, “Where did you put my car?”
“It’s in Laura’s garage. I can stop by after I leave here.” I’d called out to work this morning, something I’d never done before, so they weren’t assholes about it. Now I had the rest of the day to do whatever needed to be done.
“Don’t tell her. I don’t want her worrying over this. It’s bad enough you have to.”
For the first time in twenty-four hours, my smile was genuine. It wasn’t complete, but at least it was real. “There’s nothing else in the world I’d rather be doing than finally fixing this shit, Mom.”
She knew as well as I did that the sentiment wasn’t just for her. I wanted to bring peace to my family, my grandparents included. I wanted justice to be given to the right person and for Roy Green to pay for what he’d done to all those people and my mom. I also wanted James Owens to get back the eye-watering amount of money that’d been stolen from him, regardless of how his nephew and Joshua had gone about involving me in it.