It’s time.
If my reaction to the sound of a couple motorcycles is anything to go by, I need to start doing whatever it takes to end all this and put it behind me—starting with confronting my parents. I watch Rajah and Horseman for another moment before glancing over at the back door. It’s right next to the bathroom, and I bet I could slip out unnoticed if I moved quickly. Falcon will be pissed when he finds out that I went out on my own but confronting my parents isn’t something I want to do with an audience. Hell, I haven’t even told anyone that Geno might be my real father because saying it out loud will make it too damn real, and I’m not ready for that yet.
As Rajah and Horseman stand to help the woman up, I grab my bag off the table and slip out of the booth. The moment I’m upright, Callie and Nama look up at me. I force a smile to my face as I slip my small purse behind my back where they won’t be able to see it.
“Bathroom break.”
They nod, satisfied with my answer, and go back to their tasks. I breathe a sigh of relief and take a peek out of the front as I start making my way through the dining room. Rajah and Horseman are helping the woman to her feet, but she’s struggling to get her legs under her, giving me another few precious seconds to slip out. When I reach the bathroom door, I do a quick glance to make sure no one is watching me before moving to the back door and slipping out into the alley. I haven’t been out here since the night I was taken, but I ignore that thought as I put my head down and make my way toward my car.
The cameras will catch me leaving, so it won’t be long before Falcon knows that I bailed without my escorts, but if I can just get out of here before Rajah or Horseman notice I’m missing, I’ll deal with Falcon later. Once I reach my car, I dig my keys out of my purse and unlock it, slipping behind the wheel. After starting it, I pull my phone out of my bag and stare at the blank screen for a moment.
“Please forgive me for this,” I whisper as I unlock it and turn it off so Falcon can’t interrupt my task. He’s going to be pissed, but I need to do this, and I need to do it alone. With my phone off, I set it back in the passenger’s seat and back out of my parking space.
My belly does a little flip as I start off toward my parents’ house, and my heart hammers in my chest. I’m nervous as hell about this conversation. As much as I want answers, I also don’t want to know the truth. I’d love to go back to a time in my life when everything made sense, but I know that’s impossible. There’s also a part of me that is angry as hell at them for lying to me. Because as much as I didn’t want to admit it to Geno, I do believe he was telling me the truth. He is my father—biologically, of course—and I can’t understand why they would keep that from me.
Once I get to my parents’ house, I consider parking out front, but I don’t want Falcon to know I’m here, and I’m sure he knows where they live, so I swing around back and park in the alley. The back door to the house opens as soon as I step out of the car, and my mom scowls at me.
“Hermoine?” she calls. She’s not wearing her glasses, and she probably isn’t one hundred percent sure that it’s me without them, so I nod.
“Yeah, Mom. It’s me.”
She huffs. “What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the day? The shop isn’t closed today.”
It’s not surprising that she’s asking this question since I very rarely take time off from my business, and I’m usually way too busy to drop by their house in the middle of the day. When I reach the bottom of the steps, she can finally see me clearly, and she gasps as she takes in the bruises still coloring my face.
“Hermoine . . . what happened to you, baby?”
I glance behind her to the kitchen. “Is Dad here? We need to talk.”
She nods, standing back to allow me to step past her, and once I’m in the kitchen, she shuts the door and ushers me into the living room. Gently but forcefully, she pushes me into one of the seats on the couch and looks at the stairs to the second floor.
“Bert,” she yells, the worry clear in her voice. “Get down here now.”
I can hear my dad grumbling as he makes his way down the stairs, and I glance over my shoulder as he steps into the room. There’s a scowl on his face, but when he sees me, it falls away. He’s about to smile when his gaze flicks to the discoloration on my cheeks.
“Hermoine . . .”
I force a smile because I am not about to tell my parents what was done to me in that motel room now or anytime soon, if ever. Besides, if they have been lying to me, then I deserve answers, and I deserve them now.
“You guys should sit.”
They share a worried glance, and Mom plops down in the chair across from me as Dad steps into the room and sinks into the one on the other side of the fireplace.
“What happened to you, sweetie?” Mom asks, her gaze roaming over my face again and again, almost like she’s memorizing the bruises that are still visible, and I shake my head.
“Does the name Geno mean anything to you, Mom?”
She gasps, fear flooding her eyes, and just like that, I have my answer.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Falcon
As I sit in my office, the silence consumes me. It’s been a while since things have been this quiet, quite literally. I don’t hear my brother’s laughter in the background, and I don’t hear any of the clubwhores giving anyone hell. It’s just total and uninterrupted silence. With all the chaos that’s been going on, it’s a breath of fresh air. A much needed one, if you ask me.
Rajah and Horseman are at The Java Zone with Hermoine, and as much as I’m trying to distract myself, nothing is working. I keep continuously worrying about her, even though I know she’s in perfectly safe hands. Truth be told, when I put my brothers on a protection detail for her, it was mainly for my peace of mind.
Over the past couple of weeks, the feelings I have for Hermoine have come out of the cracks. I think deep down, I always knew I had immense feelings for her, but I was too afraid to bring them to light because I didn’t want them to ruin our friendship. Then with her abduction, I realized she’s the type of woman I can’t live without.
Sometimes, people make lists of what they want in a partner . . . and Hermoine hits everything on that list. She’s not only beautiful, but she’s intelligent, has a good head on her shoulders, and has a heart purer than anyone else I’ve ever met in my entire life.
Rajah was supposed to go with her the other day to The Java Zone, but it was so close to her abduction that I didn’t feel right sending him along with Hermoine. Instead, I went and made sure things went smoothly. Of course, they naturally did, with Hermoine back into the thick of things and all. It was an uneventful day, which is something we all needed.
So far, Hermoine hasn’t reached out to me once today. It’s not typical of her to not check in every few hours, and while I’m trying to keep my anxiety at bay, I keep glancing over at my phone whenever I can. The fact of the matter is that unless I’m the one around her, I feel like she isn’t going to be protected or watched properly.
I scoop up my phone and decide to head into the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat. Maybe that’ll distract me for a little bit, and I figure it can’t hurt. I leave my office and head into the kitchen. Thankfully, no one’s here. If they were, I’d be really aggravated, and I wouldn’t be the best company at the moment. I’ve got too much shit on my mind. Hell, if I’m being honest with myself, I’m fucking aggravated that bastard slipped us when we got Hermoine. Now, I’m not going to let him slip away from us. I’m going to hunt him down like the rabid wolf he is. The only difference is I’d be merciful to a rabid wolf, but I won’t be merciful to this son of a bitch.