Page 99 of My Best Bet

Dread spiraled down my spine and my mouth gapped open. “What?”

He nodded. “I’m dying.” He blew out a sigh. “And I wanted to see true love just one more time.” His watery blue eyes held mine. He patted my arm with his shaky hand. “Just one more time before I died. So, please don’t be angry with me.”

“No, I'm…” I choked up. “I don’t know what to say. What’s…” My eyes scanned over him. “What’s wrong? Do you need help? Can I help?”

He shook his head. “It’s my heart.” He patted his chest. “Nothing I need from you except forgiveness for tampering. To be honest, I tried first with Piper and Richard, but…” He bit out an amused chuckle, “those two have too much fun hating each other, if you ask me. And Jameson…Well, that situation needs time.” He patted my shoulder. “I just wanted you and Ms. Bennett to have your happy ending. I knew it would happen, or maybe that itshouldhappen, and I wanted to be alive to see it.”

I swallowed the burning lump in my throat. “I’m grateful, Hans, truly.” My eyes went up to the street. “Do you know where Mer lives? Where I can find her? I’m not letting her get away this time.”

“Good,” he said firmly. “I don’t know where she lives… but,” He stretched to look back at my house again, “I bet there’s a certain someone up there who does.”

The likely answer slammed into me: Piper the Viper.

“Let’s get back to the party, yeah?” he asked. “I wanna see little Lu open my present, alright?”

“Yeah.” I stood on shaky legs and helped him to his feet, my mind reeling from everything he just told me.

I’d have to plant a smile on my face the rest of the day, but I really wanted to demand her address and then drive like a madman over to her.

________

When I asked Piper for Mer’s address, she thankfully didn’t put up a fight, she just pulled it up on her phone and handed it to me, murmuring, “You’re not gonna like it.”

My chest tightened at her warning. “Like what?”

“Where she’s living,” she dropped.

Piper’s ominous words only fueled my anxiety, and I was thankful when people started saying their goodbyes and the party started dying down.

JP, Kappy, and Piper all stayed behind to help me clean.

Lucy, who had an awesome day with her little skating buddies, was completely wiped out. About five minutes into cleaning up, she fell asleep on the living room floor. I went to lift her, but Kappy pushed me aside. “Your shoulder, dude. I’ve got this.”

He gently placed her on the couch, and I covered her with a blanket.

“Hey dude.” Kappy clapped me on the back as I stared down at my daughter who looked so serene in her sleep. “I’ve got this. Go get her.”

JP, who was holding a trash bag while Piper dumped random discarded plates and cups in it, nodded. “Yeah, we’ve got this. Go.”

“Seriously.” Piper added with a hard edge to her voice. “I’m not leaving ‘til you bring her back.”

Swallowing hard, I grabbed my jacket and keys and tore out of the house.

After plugging her address in my truck, I drove straight into the heart of the city. I was surprised she chose to live in such a busy part of town considering the fact that she’d never been much of a city girl. As a teen she’d get stressed drivingon an almost wide open highway, so I had trouble seeing her comfortable on these busy city streets.

At least her street, a quiet one-way lined with old trees, made a little more sense.

But the closer I came to her address on the GPS, the more my anxiety shot up. When I pulled my truck to a stop, my stomach sank. With its broken windows and cracked siding, the townhome she lived in was basically falling apart.

Climbing out of my truck and into the frigid night, I crossed the street to face the front door only to realize that this wasn’t even the right address.

Looking around, I quickly pieced together that she didn’t live in the main house, she lived in the basement apartment.

“You’re shitting me, Mer,” I mumbled to myself as I climbed down the narrow cement stairs.

Facing her front door, anger licked at me. There’s no fucking way she should’ve been living here alone. Knocking on the door, I noticed it was actually giving way a couple centimeters, alerting me that anyone walking by could easily break in.

“Mer, it’s me!” I pounded on the door. “Can I please come in?” I yelled, my breath hanging in the cold air.

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