Page 75 of Skid
“That’s funny, coming from you. Tell her, Eddie. She’s strong enough to handle it, and she doesn’t deserve any more deception,” I answered, and she cut her worried eyes to me.
“Deception? Eddie’s never lied to me.” Withdrawing her hand from mine, she leaned back defensively.
Clearing his throat through the phone, Eddie spoke, and I could see the emotions overtaking Grace as she listened to him explain. “I haven’t lied to you, but I have kept something from you, Grace. Please understand I didn’t want to cause you any pain after those years, and then after time, I was afraid you would be madder for me waiting, so I just kept my mouth shut.”
“What?”
“Your father was my half-brother. When you were six, I tried to adopt you from foster care, but the state wouldn’t let a single, active-duty soldier be responsible for a young girl. It was only after Rhys contacted me, a few days after you showed up, that I realized I could have a part in your life and never have to burden you with the truth.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all those years ago?” she asked, her voice breaking as she began to cry.
“You were so hurt, and I didn’t want you to ever think I’d manipulated you like they did. I just wanted to be around you, however you would have me.”
I could hear him crying through the phone, and I pulled Grace to my chest as her tears fell. Looking up at me, she smiled. “Dalton, I’d like you to meet Uncle Eddie.”
I laughed and replied, “It’s nice to meet you, Uncle Eddie.”
Eddie laughed, and I kissed her on the temple before leaving the two of them to speak alone for a few minutes while I checked on Devlin and James. I was ready to get Grace home, so she could truly put the past behind her, but I knew the Callahans. They were going to dig through every one of those fuckers’ lives until they had every name. With Rhys helping them, I had no doubt they would find them all and save any girls still being brainwashed by their sickness.
When I got to the sunroom, Regan was busy talking to James at the table, and I looked for Devlin and Rhys. “They went into Rhys’s office,” James remarked with a rare smile and turned back to an animated Regan.
I left them to talk and walked back through the house to Rhys’s office. The door was open, and I walked in to see the two men leaning over a laptop on the coffee table, pointing at the screen. They looked up at me as I sat down in a chair across them and waited for an update. I might not be an active part of what they were planning, but if there was to be a reckoning, the Death Hounds were going to get their piece of vengeance.
“She’s talking to Eddie, and then I want to get her home. She’s had a long night, and I want her in my bed when she finally crashes,” I said, and they both leaned back to observe me.
“Are you going to be able to handle what’s to come?” Devlin asked, and I grew curious at his unspoken meaning.
“What’s coming?” I asked, and he shrugged.
“Could be nothing. Could be something, and until I have a better understanding of timing and participants, I don’t want to speak prematurely,” Devlin replied, and Rhys looked on without speaking.
His silent treatment toward me was pissing me off, and I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees as I maintained eye contact with him. “Do you have a problem with me, Rhys?”
He shook his head and said, “I generally don’t like anyone, but seeing how you treat that beautiful young woman, I have to say, you’re not so bad.”
“Then why the attitude?”
“He’s a moody dickhead, that’s why,” James stated as he walked into the office with Grace and Regan in tow.
The two women were smiling as they walked in, and it was good to see Grace with happiness on her face instead of the fear and shame that I saw when she ran from me. She walked in front of me, and I tugged her by the wrist, causing her to fall into my lap. She smiled at me and snuggled into my chest as Regan took a seat next to me.
“I invited Regan to come to Portstill for a few weeks to meet Amaya and . . .” James cleared his throat and said, “We’d love for you to join us.”
Rhys gave James a shit-eating grin and sat back in his chair. Devlin shook his head at the two men and looked at me. “The plane will be ready in an hour to take us home. Grace, I need to ask one more thing of you, and I promise, it will never be mentioned again.”
I didn’t want to discuss it anymore, but I knew what he wanted without him saying. She stood from my lap and walked to the desk before taking a pen from the cup and writing something down on a piece of paper. Folding it, she reached her small hand out and dropped it into Devlin’s open palm.
“The name you’re looking for is on that, and from this point forward, the only time I’ll discuss this is to verify only.” She looked at me and nodded at me to follow before she pulled Regan into a hug and walked out of the office.
“It’s over for Grace, Devlin. She deserves peace of mind and to put this behind her. Find them and send them to hell where they belong, but never ask anything of her again—any of you. Or I swear, I’ll rain fire down on all of you. Are we clear?”
Regan smiled at me, and I extended my hand to her. “It was nice to meet you, Regan. I hope to see you when you come for a visit. Rhys, no offense and thank you for taking care of Grace, but I hope never to see you again.”
With that, I walked out of the office to James’s laughter and found Grace waiting for me down the hall. She looked up at me as I walked to her and squealed when I lifted her into the air and hugged her to me.
“We need to leave soon. Do you have everything ready?” I asked, and she shook her head. Placing her on her feet, I linked my hand with hers and said, “Lead the way.”
Her small duffle bag was resting on a bed in the back of the house, and I looked around the room as she pushed a few pieces of clothes into the bag. There were pictures on the dresser, and when I picked one up, I saw a young Grace with a younger Rhys. She was smiling up at him, and part of me wanted to walk back into his office and punch him in his face.
