Page 42 of First Chance

“Have you met him?”

“No. I’ve only seen photos.” Everything he did to exonerate me was done through lawyers and heaps of paperwork. “Will you introduce me?”

“Oh, um. I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”

“I need to shake his hand, Jo. He saved my life.” She glances back and forth between me and her father, looking unsure.

“Okay, but let me do most of the talking. I don’t think he’s going to be who you think he is,” she mutters under her breath.

I’m too overwhelmed to register why she’s biting her lip. My focus is entirely in my own head, determining what I should say to the man who listened to my grandfather’s pleas to free me.

It’s like static in my ears, drowning out all the other noise around me.

“JoAnna, I’m happy you saw reason and decided to join us tonight,” the well-dressed but pensive woman beside him says. There is hardly any resemblance, but I assume it’s her mother.

“Mom, Dad,” she ignores her mother’s comment, “This isLochlan Dane, he wanted to introduce himself.”

I look down on the man by a few inches, but I watch him size me up regardless. There is obvious scrutiny on his face, but nothing that tells me he recognizes my name. I see the moment he looks at the scars on my face and the judgment that passes over him.

“Sir, it’s an honor to meet you, finally.” I hold out my hand to shake his, needing this moment to erase all the years of pressure I’ve built up thinking about this interaction.

He grabs my hand but doesn’t shake it. “How exactly do you know my daughter?”

“He’s my boss, Dad. I’m interning at Second Chance Sanctuary.”Interning?

He drops my hand without giving me a chance to say anything, without actually shaking it.

“Second Chance Sanctuary? Never heard of it.”

“It’s for school.”

I finally register how slumped her shoulders are and how the vibrant woman is wilting right in front of me.

“This is ridiculous,” her mother snips.

“We had a deal,” Jo argues, looking at her father pointedly.

“I hope your boss knows how important this election is for your brother, JoAnna,” he says directly to her as if no one else is present, talking down to her in a way that I’d never accept from anyone at the sanctuary. Anyone, period.

“I’ll give it the same level of concern that any of you have ever given me.” As soon as the words leave her mouth, she looks surprised that she said them and clears her throat.

Her mother glares at me for the briefest moment before returning her attention to her husband. “Honey, this is a family matter. Let’s discuss this later.”

“Was there something else, then?” Her father asks, redirecting his attention back to me. This is the part where I should say thank you. I should praise his kindness for getting me out of prison.

“No.” I turn my back on him and walk away, but not before hearing him scoff. I clear the doors and grab the handrail along the stairs to keep myself from doubling over.

The gnawing pit in my stomach has turned to fiery anger.

“I’m so sorry, Lochlan,” Jo says, busting through the doors behind me. “I ruined it. You didn’t even have a chance to talk to him.”

“Stop,” I sigh.

“No, it’s my fault, they were too focused on scolding me and-”

“Jo, stop!” I snap at her, and she slams her mouth shut.

“I wasn’t going to stand there and kiss his ass after hearing the way he spoke to you.”

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