Holden's Resurrection (Gemini Group #6) - Riley Edwards Page 0,28

had been like a thousand razor blades slicing his flesh.

When Holden had pulled into a shopping center and parked, Charleigh had followed. But, there was no missing the tentative steps she took to stand before him. She’d never looked more beautiful. And when the words “I’m pregnant” fell from her lips, Holden’s life ended. Totally and completely imploded. Despair wound around his heart and his soul died.

His life was over and he’d lost the woman he adored. She was having another man’s baby. Irrational hate had consumed him. He hated Paul Towler. Hated the world. Hated himself. Pure unadulterated hate enveloped him as he came to the understanding his future had vanished.

And in all the years since, all of the days he’d live without Charleigh, he’d never stopped loving her. All the minutes that had passed had never stopped him from wishing that Faith was his. But he’d been right that drunken night—the truth couldn’t set him free. It killed him. The doctor hadn’t made a mistake. And a DNA test would’ve been the nail he couldn’t withstand.

11

An hour later, Holden, Jameson, and Rhode stood in Patricia Towler’s kitchen shuffling through a stack of legal documents. Their play to kidnap Faith becoming more apparent with every page they turned. No amount of money was going to help them win a case against Charleigh. Holden had read a letter from a lawyer outlining the reasons his firm wouldn’t take a case they’d deemed unwinnable, therefore Hodgkin and Associates believed it would be ethically wrong to file the suit.

Holden had to admit, he was surprised a lawyer had turned down a case. However, the Towlers had found a new law firm, one that didn’t care if they couldn’t win. And after racking up the billable hours, they’d recently sent the Towlers a letter explaining that after further examination, there was very little possibility the court would find in their favor and urged them to drop the case.

So why’d they send the PI to Kent County to follow Charleigh after they’d received the letter from the attorney?

“What do we know about the PI? Chad Bullock, right?” Holden asked.

“He’s mainly a fuckwit,” Rhode said. “Ambulance-chaser type.”

“How did Patricia and Beatrice hook up with him? Does he work with the lawyer?”

Jameson’s gaze lifted from the loan documents he was looking at. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m trying to piece this together. The lawyer advised them to drop the case, then they hired a PI. I want to know where they found him. I want to understand who this guy is and if he’s an accomplice, or if Patty and Bea used him to keep tabs on Charleigh until they could strike.”

“You think he nabbed Faith for them?”

“Yes.”

The admission made Holden’s stomach knot up. It was one thing to run every possible scenario; it was another to conclude that an unknown man had taken Faith. Somehow, thinking the Towlers had the little girl was an easier pill to swallow. They were total money-grabbing assholes, but Holden didn’t believe they’d hurt Faith, they’d keep her safe until they could ransom her. Faith being held by a strange man made him sick.

“How much of a mess can I make?” Rhode asked.

“What do you mean?”

“In here. Do you care how we leave the place?”

Rhode’s intentions became clear. Holden gave zero fucks how big of a mess they left. He knew the Towlers were behind Faith’s kidnapping, and the sooner they found her, the better. If that meant Rhode tore the place apart while he searched, so be it.

“Do your worst, brother.”

A satanic smile formed on Rhode’s face before he stalked down the hall toward Patty’s bedroom. The house was decent enough, not great, not horrible. However, it was better than he’d expected since Patty didn’t believe in working all that hard. One thing Holden did remember about Paul was he despised his lazy family. He’d complained about them ad nauseum. Apparently, one or both of the women would hit him up monthly for money. He’d also bitched about his sister’s poor choices in men. More than once, Holden had heard about the deadbeats Patty brought into her life, and Paul hated how he always had to clean up the mess after they took what little money she had—which was probably Paul’s money—and dumped her.

During those times, Holden had been happy he was an only child, and while his parents had divorced when he was a teenager, their split had been perfectly amicable. Compared to some of his teammates, Holden’s family