Holden's Resurrection (Gemini Group #6) - Riley Edwards Page 0,2

marrying me. He’d loved Faith from the very first moment I’d told him.

He would’ve been an excellent father.

“And you’re a whore who got knocked-up on purpose to trap my brother. And once you had his ring on your finger, you lied and cheated on him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Faith wasn’t even his.”

That was so far from the truth it was laughable. Though I wasn’t laughing, I was feeling homicidal.

Hindsight being what it was, the very first time they’d called me a whore and denied Faith was Paul’s daughter, I should’ve told them they were right. Maybe that would’ve been the time to come clean. But there’d been a reason Paul was so eager to marry me and claim Faith even though he knew the truth. I should’ve signed over Paul’s life insurance and walked away, keeping my daughter protected from Paul’s family.

But I couldn’t do it.

Paul hated his family with a passion. He never wanted them to have a penny of his money. Before he’d married me, all of his money was to be donated to the Navy SEAL foundation. Maybe that’s what I needed to do. That would be the right thing to do. I hadn’t touched any of it. I couldn’t, not when I still had secrets that could ruin everything.

“This is a waste of time. You’re not getting near Faith.”

“We’ll see,” Patricia said in a know-it-all tone. “She’s as good as ours. We have pictures of you cheating on Paul.”

Pictures?

That was impossible. I never cheated on my husband and I never lied to him. Paul was very aware I was in love with Holden even though I was married to him. As I said, we were not a love match; Paul and I were friends who’d slept together once, in a drunken one-night stand. Then we did what he felt was best for my unborn child.

Or did we?

Paul had spent the last eight months of his life in a loveless marriage.

And I’ve spent the last eight years mourning the loss of a friend I’d done wrong, while harboring so much guilt there were days I wasn’t sure I could breathe. Then there was Holden. I’d never stop grieving the man I loved.

“You’re full of shit, Patty.”

And with that, I hung up.

I wouldn’t put it past them to make up more lies about me and I was sure they knew plenty of shady people who they could get to lie for them, too. But pictures? Bullshit. They didn’t have any because none existed.

For the five millionth time, I wished Paul was here.

And for the five millionth time, I was reminded I was all alone.

Me and Faith.

The dynamic duo.

No matter what, the two of us would be okay.

2

Something was going on.

Holden heard it in Nixon Swagger’s curt tone when he’d called and told him to come into the office early. He saw it on Jameson’s face when he’d mutely passed him in the hallway. The vibe in the Gemini Group office was tense—the atmosphere so thick, Holden Stanford could guess what the problem was, or more to the point—who.

Charleigh Towler.

The woman drove Holden mad. He avoided her at all costs. Truthfully, he avoided her daughter, Faith. The very sight of the little girl cut so deep, hurt so badly, he couldn’t bear to be within a hundred feet of her. Her cute face and pretty brown eyes sent Holden reeling back to a time and place he couldn’t afford to revisit. For years, he’d wished Faith was his. Cursed the universe for taking away his chance while dangling the one thing he’d wanted so desperately in front of him. Family. Something Holden would never have.

But Faith was not his, she was Paul Towler’s. She was Charleigh’s. She was theirs.

Fuck life.

“She’s moving.” Holden heard McKenna tell her husband as he approached Nix’s office. He stopped just before the door and listened. “She said she was going to wait until the school year was over, but she’d made up her mind.”

“That might not be a bad idea.”

“Nix,” Micky huffed. “That’s a horrible idea. I don’t want her to leave. Plus, with those people trying to take Faith from her, she needs to be close so we can help her.”

Holden’s anger skyrocketed.

“Those people” could only be Paul’s mom and sister. It wasn’t the first time they’d fucked with Charleigh. Almost two years ago, Holden went down to Virginia to help Charleigh when Beatrice Towler tried to sue Charleigh. It was a bogus lawsuit and had been thrown out, but what