She giggles and follows me. “My Dad owns this place so I get a feel for the regular Joes and you’re becoming one.”
“Is that so? Maybe you should steer clear of me then. Can’t be good news if I’m a regular at a booze shop.” I wink and she blushes and moves closer.
“I’m a bad news kinda girl anyway.”
This is easier than I thought.
“You’re a little young to be flirting with me, aren’t you?”
“I can be as old or as young as you want me to be. I don’t discriminate against age.”
I nod and offer her a piece of paper with my number on it.
“You’re only as old as the person you’re fucking, right?” I say, to Gauge if she’s all talk but she snatches the paper and enters my number into her phone. “Exactly, and I’m nineteen.”
Ha, she’s a little liar as well. How did she end up so close to my niece? They seem worlds apart. Guess I’ll be spending time finding out.
I CAN’T CONCENTRATE ON ANYTHING other than my brother being free and out there to do damage. Fear is not something I’m used to but it lives inside me constantly since his release. Not fear for myself, but for Melody, and for him learning about Cereus. I want to pack them both up and flee somewhere far away so he can never find them. I won’t have Melody knowing of his freedom. I found a letter from the hospital addressed to me but she had it in her pile by mistake; I ripped it up and hid it from her. She’s completely oblivious that he’s out there and that I’ve been tracking her car every time she leaves the house. I have the school on alert without letting my wife or daughter know and the deceit is eating away at our once impenetrable bond. She’s growing tired of my darkened mood with no explanation other than work is wearing on me.
I used my resources to locate him, and I keep an eye on his movements as much as I can but he doesn’t seem to do much. He leaves occasionally, taking the subway somewhere, and returns an hour later with shopping. He attends all his counseling sessions and is supposedly well liked amongst the others where he’s staying. They don’t know my brother like I do, though. They don’t know what a world-class manipulator he is. He molds and conforms to the person he’s with. He can be your best friend, your boyfriend or your brother, and you would never know the demon is sitting there staring at you and designing your demise, until it’s too late.
“Dad!” I startle at Cereus shouting at me across the kitchen counter and nearly drop my mug of now cold coffee.
“What, baby girl?”
“I need some money. I’m going to the mall with Stacy.”
“So you don’t need money, you just want money?” I smile a tired smile at her and she shrugs and offers a wink.
“If you want me to eat, I need money.”
That’s fair enough.
“I’ll drop you off if you like. I’m going to meet Sean for coffee,” Mel tells her as she walks into the room. She looks beautiful in her casual jeans and basic white t-shirt. Her hair flows free down her back, and the sun bleeding in through the window highlights the natural red strands she denies having.
“How is Sean?” I ask, placing my mug in the sink and stalking over to my wife. “He’s fine. He thinks Jeremy is going to propose tonight and needs me to calm his nerves and keep his feet on the ground.”
She busies herself with her purse, adding her wallet and sunglasses to it. I inhale the fruity scent she’s spritzed over her skin and burrow into her neck from behind, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“I’ll be home early tonight. We can all go out for dinner if you like?” I murmur.
“Count me out! I’m busy,” Cereus informs us.
“Busy doing . . . ?” I prompt.
“Band practice at Lucy’s.”
I like Lucy and she only lives a few doors up from us. When Cereus decided to join her band I was pleased she’s hanging out with other friends that aren’t Stacy.
“Dinner at home then.” I waggle my brows, gaining me a gagging face from our daughter and a little giggle from Mel. She turns in my arms and lifts up on her tiptoes to drop a kiss on my lips.
“That sounds really good.”
Waving them goodbye as Mel pulls off the drive, I pull my cell free.
I LISTEN TO THE CALL end after Jason tells the person on the other end I haven’t signed out today and that I’m in my room. I shift my eyes to the satisfied face of Isabella.
“I told you someone was checking up on you. Jason likes to spill the beans when he spills his come in my mouth.”
So she’s moved up to seducing him with more than flashes of her tits and ass on the cameras now.