Page 79 of Ruthless Redemption

“Maybe next time.” I open my arms, wordlessly beckoning her forward. “But nice try.”

She walks to me, nestling her head against my shoulder, her arms around my waist.

She’s not a little girl anymore. She’s not a child, despite her age.

My heart hurts over the playful years she was denied. I ache for all the innocent years she’s missed.

“He told you, didn’t he,” she murmurs into my neck. “I knew he would. He learned his lesson about keeping things from you.”

I close my eyes and squeeze her tighter. “Stella, it’s dangerous to dig into the lives of powerful people.”

“I know. But it’s also wrong for those same people to get away with murder.”

My pulse falters. What is this beautiful girl planning?

“That’s true.” I swallow over the dryness taking over my throat. I need to appease her. To temper her thirst for revenge. “But I would never let that happen.”

She pulls back, her eyes questioning as they meet mine. “It’s been years, Mom. Nothing has happened to them.”

“It will.”

Her gaze narrows. Her head cocks to one side. “Is that why you and Matthew are working together?”

I give a somber smile. “I need you to trust that we’ve got this under control.”

“What are you—”

I shake my head. “I’m not discussing this with you, little fish. I’m your mother. I was Benji’s wife. It’s my duty to take care of them, and I will. But you need to be aware you’re risking your life and mine by snooping. If you’re caught—”

“I’ll stop,” she vows. “We won’t do it anymore. I promise.”

I want to believe her. I wish I could. But as I stare down at her, I struggle to recognize my little girl in the woman she’s growing into. She’s far more independent than I’ve ever been. A lot more cunning, too.

“Good.” I lean in to kiss her forehead. “Because I’d hate to have to drag you back to Portland to keep a closer eye on you.”

“You won’t. I’ll speak to Tobias. I’ll tell him you’re handling it.”

Her statement strikes through me, her words making it clear they had plans of their own.

“Stella, do you realize what could’ve happened if you were caught? If Emmanuel—”

“We weren’t going to get caught. Tobias has a whole heap of money in his savings account from Uncle Cole, so we’ve been paying someone to do the digging for us.”

“You can always get caught. If they found the person you paid, they could find you. Everything is traceable.”

“It’s just information, Mom. It’s not—”

“Listen to me.” I cup her cheek with my palm, calm yet determined as I force her to hold my gaze. “If something ever happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to live through it. Losing you would kill me. So I need you to be safe for the both of us, okay?”

Her face falls. “I know. And I already promised. I won’t do it again.”

“Tobias either.”

She nods. “Tobias either.”

“It’s time to go,” Decker shouts down the hall.

I ignore him, my palm still cupping her cheek, my eyes holding hers.

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