Page 46 of Cursed Fox

Better than fine actually. I could've gone the rest of my life without ever seeing my father again and been happy as a clam.

"Exactly," he snapped. "I left your mother destitute. She was supposed to fail. To live on the streets and know that everything was her fault. Not raise a son who went to the NFL and a daughter about to go to medical school."

So he was pissed that Mom made something of our lives after he left us with absolutely nothing? What a piece of shit.

"Sorry Mom didn't suffer like you wanted, but I assure you our childhood wasn't all sunshine and roses. There were times when things were hard and she had to tell us no, but we got through it together. As a family. Something you don't seem to understand or know a thing about."

"You weren't supposed to get through it," he seethed.

Talk about egotistical. I didn't know what my mother ever saw in him, but there were no redeeming qualities I could find. Maybe he was different when we were kids, but somehow I didn't think so. I barely remembered him, so obviously there weren't any happy memories.

"So what do you plan to do with me? You have to know who Mom works for. There's no way they aren't out looking for me already. And they're going to find me. They always do. And when they do, they're going to kill you."

"Oh yes, the precious Westley," he mocked. "The whole reason your mother has everything she does today. I wonder if she spread her legs for him like she's doing for the current man in her life. She always did need a man to hold her hand and tell her how to act."

Okay, now I was pissed. Before I was just slightly annoyed, but for this asshat to speak about my mother like that? Hell fucking no. After this asshole left, she did everything on her own. Wes got her started, but she’d paid every cent back to him and made sure she worked hard to prove she was worth the risk he took on her.

"You don't have the right to say shit about my mother. And there are some men in this world who are nice without expecting anything in return. Wes is one of those guys. Maybe you should take a few pointers from him."

I didn't see the slap coming, but I sure felt the sting on my cheek as my head whipped to the side, my body straining under the pressure of the rope keeping me anchored to the chair.

I guess my mother was correct and my mouth finally did get me in trouble one day.

"Is that the best you got?" I couldn't help but taunt. I was letting my anger get the better of me, and apparently when I was angry, my mouth had a mind of its own. Who knew? Obviously not me. Until now.

"You little bitch. So much like your mother. You don't know when to keep your mouth shut."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said before I could think better of it, and unfortunately it earned me another slap—this one much harder than the last. Hard enough that the chairwobbled and almost tipped over to the side. Thankfully I was saved from crashing to the dirty floor.

If I had any hopes of surviving this ordeal, I needed to learn to hold my tongue.

"You never answered my question. What are you going to do with me?"

"You really want to know?" He paused for dramatic effect until I nodded my head yes, because if I were asking, then clearly I wanted the answer. "I'm going to ruin your brother's and your life like you ruined mine, and then I'm going to kill your mother for ever bringing you into this world."

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Nancy

"We have to find her."

I was beginning to sound like a broken record, but I didn't care. The thought that Thomas had Jessie was making me sick to my stomach.

"We will," Lex reassured me. "We won't stop looking until we find her."

He held my hand as we drove to the hotel just outside her university. We didn't know where Jessie could be, but I wanted to be close to her last location just in case.

"I just don't understand. If Thomas did take her, then why? She's a broke college student just trying to get by. If Thomas is mad about Jimmy being successful, then taking Jessie doesn't make any sense."

"Didn't you say she got into med school?"

"Well, yeah, but she's not a doctor yet."

But could that be enough for Thomas? Just knowing that she got into medical school. There was no way to know what my exwas thinking. I hadn't been able to figure it out when we were married, and I sure as hell couldn't now.

I was about to say as such to Lex, but my phone ringing stopped me. I didn't recognize the number, but the area code was Oklahoma, so I quickly answered. "Hello."

"Well, if it isn't the bitch herself."

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