I can feel all the color draining from my face.
I have no idea what to say.
“I don’t have any living family members besides Adeline,” he says, still looking amused. “The clerk knew it was a fraudulent call and wanted to get the police involved, but I told her to let it slide this time.”
I swallow. “I appreciate that.”
“Good. For the record, you know far more about me than most people do already.” He bends down and presses his mouth against mine, biting my bottom lip before slowly letting go.
“Let me know if she finds anything interesting in her research. I’m intrigued…”
End of Episode 4
An Unexpected Variable
EPISODE 5
Ryder
Adeline snores softly as I tuck her under a blanket.
To my surprise, she didn’t spend our dinner peppering me with different flavors of the “When are you sending me back to London?” question.
Instead, she filled me in on all her classmates’ lives and asked if they could join her in coming home next time.
She knows damn well that the answer is “no,” but I’ve always struggled to say that word to her. I always settle for a “We’ll see.”
As I turn off her lamp’s light, a soft knock sounds against her door.
Looking over my shoulder, I spot Chester, and he motions for me to meet him in the hallway.
“We’ll talk about London in the morning.” I kiss Adeline’s cheek and shut the door behind me.
“Good to see that she’s adjusting well to her life in London,” Chester says. “I won’t say ‘I told you so,’ when it comes to daughters needing their fathers.”
“If you need a friend to bother late at night, let me know and I’ll hire one for you.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” He follows me to the staircase. “You’ll need to hold off on the next job for another week or so.”
“Did someone make a mistake or a miscalculation?”
“Yes.” He stops walking. “It wasyou.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Autumn Jane can’t go to Canada.”
“So, you’re on this again.” I hold back a sigh. “Is it because you don’t want her to?”
“I’ve never wanted her to be here in the first place.”
“It’s not your call to make. She’s going.”
“It’s not fucking possible.” He steps closer. “She. Can’t. Go.”
My chest tightens.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
