Page 79 of Forecasting the Forward

The cops both wince when they see how Thunder holds Rodney in place. “Damn. Never met a truly vicious golden retriever before.”

“He’s not. He does protect me though, and jumped into action whenhehit me.”

“The man hit you?” I nod. “Would you like to press charges?”

I stare at my brother, writhing in pain on the floor. “Yes. Yes, I would. He punched me in the stomach, too.”

“No, Rebecca. You don’t understand! You have to marry Richard. We owe the Gaines Family millions, and they’re only willing to forgive the debt if you marry him,” Rodney blurts out.

“So I’m some kind of collateral?”

“Yes.”

“How is Mom okay with this? I know I wasn’t the closest with Dad, but I never thought Mom would just sell me up the river like that,” I wonder aloud as I pull Thunder away from Rodney.

He cups his balls and groans. “Mom doesn’t give a fuck about you. You could die and she wouldn’t care.”

“That’s an awful thing to say about our mother!” I whisper-shout.

He gives me a vicious smile. “She’s not your mother.”

Three hours later,after following the police to the precinct to officially press a variety of charges against Rodney, I arrive back at Jacob’s apartment in a daze. Rodney had no problem telling the officers about our family dynamic, and how I came to be. Our father had many affairs, and evidently I was the product of one of them. My birth mother was part of a housekeeping company that worked on cleaning buildings before my father listed them for sale. She didn’t tell him about me until she decided to drop me at his door and run.

I was originally given to a nanny until DNA testing could confirm I was indeed another offspring. This explains my mother’s cold and callous relationship with me from the get-go. I was only acceptable when I could bring success to the family. Now that my dad is dead, she has no other reason to be nice to me, especially with my refusal to marry someone they’d picked out for me.

I look around the empty apartment, and I know I’m two seconds away from a breakdown. I miss Jacob, and I desperately need him right now. With Rodney now behind bars, will he even want to stay married to me? I might lose everything.

I hear a slight squeal, and on auto pilot, I go to the fridge and grab a bag of vegetables to feed the pigs. As soon as I enter their room, their happy sounds make me even more depressed. I slowly feed them, then collapse in the chair in the corner as tearsfall from my eyes. Soon I’m fully bawling, and I don’t realize I never shut the door completely until Thunder jumps into my lap. I bury my face in his fur as big, gut-wrenching sobs break from my body. I’ve never felt so alone.

“Baby, answer your phone,” I hear muffled from somewhere in the room.

“What?” I ask, sniffling as I wipe my nose with my sleeve.

“Answer your phone, darlin’.”

The phone vibrates in my pocket, and upon pulling it out, I see I have ten missed calls and a bunch of unread texts, all from Jacob.

“Hi,” I whisper, afraid to say anything else.

“Did he hurt you?” Jacob demands. “Why were you at the police station? Where is the little cocksucker? I should have flown home. As soon as I got the notification he was there, I should have flown home.”

“Wait. What? What notification? And how did you know I was at the police station?” I ask, pushing Thunder off my lap so I can sit up straight.

“Fuck,” Jacob mutters. “The building notified me a man had been cleared to go up to our apartment by a new security trainee. Your brother said he wasmybrother, and naturally the security guy let him up. I made sure the team fired that guy, since I don’t have a brother, and I have a very clear list of who is allowed up to my apartment. Honestly, I’m so fucking thankful we’ve got a doorbell camera, Spitfire. I about had a heart attack when I saw him get through the door.”

“Okay,” I answer slowly. “And the police station?”

Jacob sighs. “You’re gonna hate this.”

“Answer the question, Jacob.”

“I track your location.” It’s a simple response, and one I expected when he knew where I’d been. But I’m still pissed.

“Why didn’t you just ask? I would have let you follow my location. Why be dishonest about it?”

“Technically, I wasn’t dishonest about it. I just wasn’t honest either.” I hear the remorse in his voice. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I should have told you. Does it help if I say that you can track my location too?”

“If you think I’m going to let this go because of that trivial technicality, you’re mistaken,” I say angrily.

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