Page 20 of Rock Hard
“Several.”
“Okay.” His grin widened as he ticked items off on his fingers. “Well, for one thing, I’m bored.”
“Hm.” Alice knew that was a crock of clumpy kitty litter. Johnny was always doing something educational, enlightening, or worthwhile. He was never bored.
“And for another, I’ve never been to the Big Apple. It’s been on my bucket list for a while now.”
“Never?”
“Never. But I know you have, so you’ll be the perfect tour guide.”
They sounded like self-serving reasons, which was no doubt what he had intended. However, Alice knew better.
“Carly isn’t your responsibility, Johnny,” she said quietly.
“She’s as much my responsibility as yours.”
“How do you figure that?” she asked, frowning. “I’m the one who left that little girl to fend for herself, proving that I care more about my own backside than hers. Hell, I’m no better than Rex in that regard.”
For the first time in a very long time, Johnny’s eyes turned dark, almost feral. “You are nothing like him. And you are not her parent.”
“You and I both know being a parent doesn’t have as much to do with blood as it does with love, Johnny. And I do love that girl. If not as a mother, then at least as a big sister. You and I had each other. Who does she have?”
He thought about that for a moment then nodded. “You’re right. But I’m still coming along.” He reached between them and placed his hand on hers. “I’ll always have your back, Alice, you know that.”
“Yeah”—she smiled back at him—“I know.”
“And maybe she’d like a big brother, too.”
***
JOHNNY CHECKED THEMinto the Ritz, under an assumed name, of course. After they freshened up, Alice went alone to Carly’s room, leaving Johnny to fend for himself for a little while.
Carly was still in her pajamas, but her face was washed, and her teeth and hair brushed, suggesting she had been up for a while.
After squeals and welcoming hugs, Alice stepped back. “I swear you are more grown up every time I see you. You are blossoming into a beautiful young woman.”
The color rose in Carly’s cheeks. “You see me practically every day.”
“True, but seeing you on a computer screen isn’t the same thing as seeing you in person. You could be using a SnapCat filter for all I know.”
Carly laughed at the deliberate pun and pointed to the domed room service trays on the table. “I ordered breakfast. Hungry?”
“Famished. And is that coffee I smell?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s sit down and eat. And while we’re eating, you can tell me what’s going on.”
An hour later, the delicious omelet and toast sat heavily in Alice’s stomach. Carly had tried to downplay the situation, but it was easy enough to read between the lines. Instead of stepping up as she had hoped, Rex had spiraled even further downward. According to Carly, his latest personal assistant was a tigress named Valerie who liked bossing everyone else around ... and hated her.
“Did you talk to your dad?” Alice frowned.
Carly shrugged. “I tried to, but she’salwaysthere. She doesn’t let him out of her sight, and she got him to hire her two skanky friends asherpersonal assistants. They keep him drunk and happy, if you know what I mean.”
Yeah, Alice knew exactly what she meant. And it broke her heart.
“Okay,” Alice said, summoning a smile. “Enough of that. We’re burning daylight. Go on and get dressed. We’ve got a full day ahead of us.”
