he spoke.
“I need to go home,” she snapped.
“You can’t take a second to talk? There are things I need to tell you.”
Hell. There were things she needed to tell him too. But she didn’t plan to reveal her secret in the middle of the hall. It was time to make him work for the shit he’d put her through for years.
“You had six years to call and talk,” she muttered as he ran a hand down her arm. “Please don’t, Hudson.”
“I’ve missed you, Siena.”
“Don’t.” God, I'm going to cave. ”I’m at work. This is not the place.” She stepped into her room and grabbed her purse.
He waited for her at the door. “Have dinner with me?”
“No.” She flipped off the lights to her classroom.
“You can’t spare a little time for dinner?” he asked.
She looked up at Hudson, and his blue eyes bore deep into her soul. She flashed back to the day they’d first met. He bumped into her at the grocery store when she had a bottle of maple syrup in her hand. The glass bottle shattered on the floor. To apologize, he asked her to dinner. Yes, he’d charmed her into dinner as syrup stuck to the bottom of her high heels.
If it hadn’t been for Mia, she would have walked out of the school and straight home to cry herself to sleep. She deserved an explanation of why he’d decided to break all contact with her, and she needed to tell him about his daughter. She didn’t need or want his money to help with Mia, but she wouldn’t hide her daughter from him if he wanted to meet her.
“Not tonight.” A few days would give her balance.
“Saturday?” he asked.
The longer she postponed the dinner, the more her mind would fixate on it. Siena would have to ask her neighbor to babysit Mia again. Her neighbor Angel sold real estate all over the world. She left for long periods of time and then came back for a few weeks. Siena didn’t understand why she didn’t sell local real estate, but she didn’t pry into her friend’s life.
“Yes, where do you want to meet?” she said.
“How about I pick you up?”
“Nope.” She rattled off her number. ”Text me the location and time.” He entered her number in his phone, and seconds later, her purse vibrated. See you Saturday
She turned and walked down the hall to the employee parking lot. When she got outside, she let out a breath because Hudson hadn’t followed. Rushing to her car, she didn’t pay attention to her surroundings until a man stepped out from behind an SUV. His hat was pulled down over his face, and he had on a hoodie.
“We need to talk, Siena.” Kyle’s nasal voice set her nerves on edge. The detective had never called to tell her Kyle was out of jail.
“What are you doing here?”
His gaze dropped to her purse and back to her eyes. ”You ruined my life. But you’re going to help me not go to prison or die, because you crossed the wrong organization.”
“What are you talking about?”
She took a couple of deep breaths, and the smell of alcohol assaulted her. Kyle took a step forward and stumbled. When they dated he barley drank.
“I need the rest of my product,” Kyle said. “You have it. And very dangerous people want their drugs.”
“Why are you asking me for it?” she yelled.
“God, you’re dumb. Did you not listen to me? You have drugs. In your house.”
“My house?” What the hell? He kept drugs in my house? “Tell me where they are, and I’ll give them to you.”
“See, that’s where we have an issue. I went looking, and everything’s gone—the million dollars I had stored along with a kilo of cocaine.”
“I didn’t take it,” she whispered.
Kyle took a step forward, pinning her against the car. ”You have one week to give me back the money and product. You think these people will stop at just coming after me? They know you called the police. Remember, I know what means the most to you, Siena. Give me my stuff back, or your daughter is dead.”
She didn’t have anyone to turn to. Kyle gripped her arm. His nails dug into her skin as he leaned forward. The parking lot was empty. Nobody would hear her scream.
2
Hudson
Siena was his one true love who got away. Well, that was a lie. She was the one woman he’d loved and walked away from. Hudson hadn’t given her a reason. Instead, he’d put in