Holden's Resurrection (Gemini Group #6) - Riley Edwards Page 0,57
for Faith. And a dog. Jameson had mentioned how much Faith loved Tank. It wasn’t beneath him to bribe Faith into wanting to live with him. Nothing was off-limits, he was willing to play as dirty as he needed to in order to win.
“I’ll help you find some clothes.”
Faith turned back to Holden, leaned forward, and kissed him on his cheek.
“Thank you.”
Faith skipped off, Charleigh stared down at him in horror, and Holden felt like his legs were going to give out as he stood.
“That wasn’t cool, Holden, and you know it.”
“You don’t win wars by being cool, Leigh-Leigh. You win them by pulling out all the stops.”
“My daughter’s not a tool to use in this war.”
“You’re right, baby, she’s not a tool. She’s the prize I’m gonna win. Her and her momma.”
Charleigh shook her head and her eyes turned glossy.
“She’s not a prize, either.”
Without thinking, Holden stepped into Charleigh’s space, his hands went to cradle her cheeks, and he held her where he wanted her as he leaned in close.
“Wrong. She’s the ultimate prize. You both are. The jackpot, the trophy, the medal, the windfall. The family I will go to war to earn, then once I have, I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting. There’s not going to be anything cool about it, or fair, or decent. I warned you last night, baby, but I see you didn’t prepare. I’m gonna wear you down by any means necessary. Together, we’re winning this. Together, we’re gonna finally find happy. Together, we’re gonna be whole so we can show Faith that when you love someone, you go the distance. I forgot that, baby, but mark this—I remembered.”
Holden closed the small space between them and brushed his lips against Charleigh’s, the faintest graze that left him wanting more. “Now, go get your daughter ready for school and I’ll make coffee.”
“Holden—”
“Shh, Leigh-Leigh. If I wasn’t sure, I’d walk out that door. If I didn’t know you loved me down to the deepest part of your soul, I’d leave you be. If I didn’t know I was ready for Faith, I never would’ve made promises. I’m a dick, not a piece of shit. I’d never hurt that girl. And I’ll never leave you again.”
Charleigh’s forehead wrinkled but she didn’t say a word, not in protest or in agreement. She simply walked away unconvinced.
The last two hours had zipped past in a blur. Being as Holden didn’t have children, he had no idea the amount of effort it took to get one pint-sized human up and out the door. In the preceding hours, his respect for Charleigh had grown tremendously. Through all the wrangling, the directing, and finally corralling Faith out to the car, she hadn’t broken a sweat. Holden was impressed. Which had led him to think about his friend, Alec Hall, who quite literally had an infant daughter sprung on him without warning. He’d gone from a single man to a single father in a matter of days and Holden hadn’t seen him skip a beat. Sure, Alec had struggled a bit in the sleep department but he’d never heard the man complain. Nor had Alec thought twice about taking in a child he hadn’t known he helped create, until her mother had died, thrusting Alec and Joss together with only a letter explaining her conception.
The point was, Holden was mentally tired from nothing more than driving Faith to school. He hated that Charleigh had performed the morning ritual on her own for the last eight years. Holden learned that morning that before Faith had started school, she’d gone to full-time daycare. He didn’t want to think about those early years when Faith needed to be dressed and fed in the mornings, meaning Charleigh would have to get up extra early to get Faith and herself ready. At least now for the most part Faith was self-sufficient. She could feed and dress herself, and she needed less coaxing to keep on task, though she still needed reminders about the time, and even that wore him out mentally.
“You know this is ridiculous, right?” Charleigh complained, breaking the silence.
Holden pulled into the parking lot behind Gemini Group’s office. Which, incidentally, was catty-corner from Charleigh’s old apartment. She might not know she wouldn’t be going back but he did, therefore, it was her old place. He’d find something more suitable for them all within the week.
“Nope. I don’t see how spending the day with you is ridiculous.”
“Seriously, Holden. Stop playing games. My apartment is