Page 35 of Lose to Win: Lost Trilogy: Part 3
I am about to walk Emily to the car when Devereaux’s cell phone rings. And from what I can gather, it is not good news.
“Change of plans,” he says when he hangs up. “She’s going to stay at my house. The safe house is not so safe after all.”
“How?” I stare at him. “Arlene is there, and…”
“Arlene knows how this world works, Mr. Puck,” Devereaux cuts me off. “That should be the least of your worries.”
I nod in understanding. He is right. I take a deep breath in and pull Emily into me when I let it all out.
“This will make it easier for me to see her whenever I want to,” I drop a kiss to her head. “And she’ll be safer there anyway.”
I talk it all out loud, almost as I want to convince myself of all this. Deep down, I am not sure of anything anymore.
“I just need one thing.” Emily speaks, and the sound comes out muffled from where I am holding her tightly against me.
“Anything, babe.” I give her a quick squeeze of reassurance.
“You shouldn’t make promises you’re not sure you can keep, Puck.”
My eyebrows go up in surprise.
“Why? What do you need?”
“A lawyer.”
11
Emily
The house is extremelyquiet when we walk inside.
“Where’s Arlene?” I ask my dad. The two of them have been joint at the hip since reuniting, and now I find it odd when she is not around. I got used to her being here.
“She went to visit Becca.”
Hearing the name of the person who I considered a best friend for the longest time creates tension in my body. I still want her to be my best friend, and now I regret ignoring her messages every time she tried to reach out to me. What if she dies because of me?
My hands start shaking. I need to tell someone about this. My dad and Puck need to know. But before I get us all in even more trouble, I need to take care of some personal matters.
Puck ran to his house for a bit, so it’s just me and dad.
“I really need a lawyer,” I remind him of my request from earlier. At the time, Puck cut me off so fast, my head spun. I’m pretty sure he thought I needed a lawyer to file for a divorce or an annulment. But that’s not it at all.
“What do you need a lawyer for?”
“I want to have legal papers drawn to transfer all the money to Steve.”
My mind is made up. I need this money off my hands. My initial assumption that this is blood money held true. It’s cursed, and I need to get rid of it.
Dad watches me thoughtfully for a minute.
“I don’t agree with your decision,” he finally says. “But I respect it.”
“Thank you.”
I feel myself getting teary eyed once again. I am an emotional mess, always have been, but so much worse lately. And now that I know I’m pregnant, it makes more sense why.
“What about the baby?” Am I showing every thought in my head on my face?
