Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Using the chance to escape while I could, I gave Conleigh one single quelling stare, and she started marching toward my car.
After making sure she was settled, I ripped her a new one.
“Tell me why you were there,” I demanded.
“I went to the mall.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. I knew that part.
“And Cohen was there with his girlfriend.”
I hadn’t seen the girlfriend in the car with Angelina when I’d gone to drop Cody off with Matt, but it didn’t surprise me that she was in there. Angelina took the kids anywhere they wanted to go, and always had.
They must’ve gone straight there after I’d left.
“And…”
“And Cohen’s girlfriend called you a whore, and I took offense to it.”
I closed my eyes.
“Conleigh,” I breathed. “With Matt being a cop, everyone knows him in the city. Since they don’t want to think that a cop is one of the bad guys, they’re going to find it easier to blame the other person, and that’s me, unfortunately.”
Conleigh didn’t say anything.
“I don’t want you to do anything stupid because of something they call me. I’m an adult, I can handle it…and so can you,” I said softly.
Conleigh’s jaw tightened and she looked away to study the very uninteresting landscape as we made our way home.
“Why do you have Cody?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Seems that Matt was working today and that Angelina was picking him up. I refused to give him to her.”
“Is that legal?”
I shrugged. “We don’t have any sort of formal visitation agreement. Hell, we don’t even have anything registered with the court, yet. He could take me to court for custody, but I don’t think he will. He’s just not interested enough.”
“I saw him out with his new family yesterday.”
I sighed.
“Yeah, I saw them come into the hospital yesterday, too,” I admitted. “He came in with the youngest because she fell off the bunk beds. Held her like he used to hold Cody. He never once asked how Cody was. Didn’t even seem to care, even when I was the tech that helped clean her up. Pissed me the hell off.”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk about seeing patients.”
I snorted. Conleigh lecturing me on what was right and wrong was quite comical.
“I’m not,” I admitted.
“Well, it’ll be our secret then.”
Rolling my eyes, I drove my little family home, refusing to let my mind wander to the sexy older officer at the scene who was starting to take over my daily thoughts lately.
***
I had groceries in one hand—more than I’d intended on getting—and my purse in the other when my phone started to ring.
I grimaced when I saw who was calling.
If there was one person on this planet who I never wanted to talk to, it would be Matt.
Fucking jerk.
“Hello?” I answered as calmly as I could manage.
“Did you know that the chief of police took Conleigh to a scene today that was volatile?”
Volatile?
I would hardly call some man’s dick being rolled up in a car window volatile.
“I was there, yes,” I answered breathlessly. “He didn’t take her to a scene on purpose. He was bringing her home from the mall.”
At least, that was what Conleigh had told me on the way home.
I hadn’t gotten much info on it before Cody had started throwing the world’s worst temper tantrum.
He wanted his daddy.
The daddy who’d neglected to pick him up today like he’d said he would.
“Well, she saw some guy’s dick and balls,” Matt fumed.
Fumed.
What. The. Fuck?
“Matt, did you forget that you were picking Cody up today?”
“I sent Angelina.”
I knew that.
“Yes, but if you’re not going to pick him up, which is something we’ve discussed before, then I’m not giving him to Angelina. She doesn’t watch the kids well enough for me to allow her to have my child,” I said carefully, trying not to let Winnie the Shrew out to play.
“Angelina watches her kids,” he contradicted me.
“Then why did you have a child fall off the bunk beds, and your new wife say that she hadn’t been watching them?” I countered. “Which was just a few days ago.”
Matt grunted. “I was calling to talk to you about the Chief taking our girl to that scene today.”
Our girl.
Now that made me mad.
He’d never called Conleigh his. Had never even offered to adopt her or give her his name. All of which I was grateful for now, but still.
“Conleigh is sixteen, Matt. She has a good head on her shoulders, and Steel is very nice. He wouldn’t have taken her to a scene if he thought she could be hurt. Trust me.”
“I’ve heard that she’s been bad lately. In fact, Steel,” he sounded like he sneered. “Came in to tell me that I needed to keep a better eye on her because she was acting strangely.”
I was sure there was more to it than that, but I wasn’t going to get that information out of Matt.