Desire (Desire, Book 1) - By Missy Johnson Page 0,31
down on the couch, the box in my lap. It was full of letters, receipts, notes, all in mom’s handwriting. Most of it wasn’t dated, and most of it meant nothing to me. I picked out a letter with familiar handwriting. Turning it over, I froze. It was from him.
I dropped the letter in disgust. I wanted nothing to do with him, or his letters. Why had he written to mom? Mom had come to her senses and left him once he had pleaded guilty. I looked at the stamp. It was dated three weeks ago. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it felt like a slap in the face.
“Devon.” My voice cracked. I coughed, clearing my throat. “Devon.” I said again, this time in a calmer voice. He sensed my discomfort and was by my side quickly. He picked up the letter I was pointing to. I peered over his shoulder as he read it.
My darling Kathrine,
Thank you for coming to visit me, it was wonderful seeing you again. You look just as good as you did two years ago. I think about you every day, and hearing you say you still love me, and want to be with me are words I will always cherish.
Love
John.
“Kait.” Devon spoke quietly. “Talk to me. Who is this guy? You know him?”
What was there to say? That my mother had forgiven the man who molested me? Is that why she’d left? To get ready for her ‘new life’ with him? Any emotion I felt for my mother, and feelings of guilt I felt over her disappearance had vanished. I’d moved past this. Why was this all coming back to haunt me now?
“Kait.”
“What? What do you want from me, Devon? I don’t have to talk to you. You asked for my help, and I am giving it to you, but I don’t have to talk to you.” Devon backed up, annoyance overclouding the hurt in his eyes.
“Actually Kaitlin, you do have to talk to me.” His voice was stiff. “In case you forgot, I’m a detective investigating your mother’s disappearance. If you know something, then you do have to tell me. You don’t have to like it, but you do have to do it.”
“Fine.” I said, staring straight ahead at the wall. “The letter is from my stepfather. The same one I put in prison.” I turned to glare at him. How dare he pretend not to know what the hell happened to me? He knew Neri and Sam’s father was in prison, he told me as much that first day. Was I to believe he hadn’t looked up the reason he was in prison?
“You put him in prison?” Devon looked shocked. “What happened?”
“What happened is he raped me for two years.” I snapped. Silence filled the air as Devon struggled to find something to say.
“Kait. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He said gently.
“You didn’t know? And you call yourself a detective?” I sneered.
I didn’t believe he hadn’t known for one second. He would have had access to his file. Hell, the first day he spoke about Neri and Sam’s father being imprisoned. Surely he would have taken the time to find out why?
“Kait-“
“No, I’ve had enough of this for today.” I snapped, standing up. I walked over to the window that overlooked the street.
“Well, if there is nothing else in the box, I will take you home then.” He said stiffly.
“Fine.” I said, walking out the door. I waited for him by the car. A few minutes passed before Devon finally appeared at the car.
“Kait, does this mean anything to you?” He handed me a photo. In the photo was mom, and a man. They were hugging. She looked happy.
“No, why? Should it?” I handed the picture to back to him without making eye contact.
“It’s dated the day before your mom went missing.” I grabbed the picture back off him and stared at it again. She looked happy. Happier than I’d ever seen her. Who was this guy? And what did he have to do with my mother? “Maybe Neri might know him.” I mumbled.
“Come-on. Let’s get you home.”
Chapter Fifteen
The drive back was quiet, my mind wandered as I tried to run through things in my head. Every now and then, I got the feeling he was staring at me, but when I turned to catch him, he was staring straight ahead.
I glanced out the window as Devon’s phone rang.
Hooked up to hands free, he answered. “Detective Walkerson speaking.” His voice was