Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
“This is she.” I look at Caleb, trying not to show that I’m a little freaked out. “Who is this?”
“You need to stop what you are doing.”
“Who is this?”
“Doesn’t matter,” she replies, and I feel Caleb beside me.
“Is this Ms. Casey?” I ask, but she doesn’t answer.
“You need to stop what you are doing before you get hurt.” Her voice trails off.
“I am not going to stop looking until I find out everything,” I announce, my voice coming out shaky at the end.
“You’ve been warned,” she says before she disconnects, and the phone goes back to my screen picture.
“That had to be her, right?” I look up at Caleb, who is looking like he wants to throw something across the room. The anguish on his face makes me take a step back. “Are you okay?”
He shakes his head, and I don’t know why, but something inside me turns to stone when he says the next words. “This is over.”
Chapter 28
Caleb
“That had to be her, right?” she asks. All I can do is look at her and then back down at the phone in her hand, and then back up at her. My body locks up, and the rage creeps in. She takes one look at me and takes a step back. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “This is over”—the blood drains from her face—“fucking over, Sierra.”
“What are you talking about?” I know I should calm down. I know I should sit and maybe count to, I don’t know, a hundred, but it’s just all too fucking much.
“I’m talking about all of that.” I point at her office where the fucking whiteboard is. “I’m talking about you going around asking questions that maybe you shouldn’t.”
She looks as if I just slapped her in the face. “If you think I’m going to let a couple of phone calls and—”
“And a rock through your fucking window.” My voice goes higher and higher. “And then a fucking note in your mail. Honestly, Sierra, it has to fucking stop, and it stops now, right here. You promise me this is over. You gave your DNA, and you are in the system. If they want to find you, they will find you, but your search for them is over.”
“No, it’s not.” Her voice is low as she shakes her head. “It’s not over.”
“I’m not going to sit here and watch you get dragged down.” The words come out of my mouth before I can even process them.
“Then you should go.” She doesn’t even miss a beat.
“Sierra,” I say, my heart feeling like it’s literally being shattered in my chest, begging her to choose me, holding my breath.
“You should go,” she repeats. I take one more look at her before I walk to the front door, grab my keys from the table, and walk out. Better yet, storm out, slamming the door behind me.
I take five steps and stop, ready to turn around and storm back in there, but my feet have other plans. I go to my truck and get in, driving away from her house. The whole time wanting to turn back around and go to her. Instead, I make my way over to my office, parking in the driveway. The front door is locked since it’s the weekend. I put the key in the door, opening it before the alarm starts beeping. I put in the code, then walk toward my office, tossing my keys on my desk and sitting down.
Looking at the stack of papers I’ve been neglecting, I lean back in the chair and look up at the ceiling when my phone rings.
I reach around to my back pocket, taking it out, hoping it’s her telling me to come back so we can talk about this, but it’s not. It’s my father, and he’s FaceTiming me.
I exhale and press the green camera button and wait until it connects. “Hey, buddy,” he greets with a smile on his face, and I see he’s sitting at home in the kitchen. “Why are you at work on a Saturday? I thought you were taking the weekend off, finally,” he jokes with me. I look at the side, trying to come up with an excuse to get him off my back, but I know he’ll probably see right through me. I exhale deeply before looking back at him. “What’s wrong?” he asks immediately, and I look up, trying to get a hold of myself. “Are you okay?” The worry in his voice makes my mother come into the screen.
“I’m fine,” I reply, and then I shake my head. “I don’t know, Dad.”
“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” he urges softly, and I wish I was sitting in front of him instead of on the phone.
“I met someone,” I finally tell him and shock fills his face and my mother’s eyes go big.