Holden's Resurrection (Gemini Group #6) - Riley Edwards Page 0,8

to deal with the vipers whose sole mission was to make my life miserable and steal my daughter for her money and to punish me.

“Jameson’s right, it’s cold. You should get in the house.”

“You’re coming in, right? Faith’s bread should be done any minute.”

Shit. I didn’t want to go in. Over the months it had become increasingly harder not to fall in love with Kennedy. I adored Micky and it would be hard enough to leave her. But there was something about Kennedy’s personality that made me want to unload my burdens. She was tough and smart and I figured she’d be the type of friend who would tell you to pull your head out of your ass if you were doing something stupid. Like, say, still being madly in love with a man who hated you.

I needed friends.

I needed a tribe of women I could trust and lean on, and in return, I’d repay the favor and be a loyal friend.

But it wouldn’t be the wives of my dead husband’s teammates.

Sometimes, life sucked.

Sometimes, everything crashed in and you couldn’t see a way out.

Tank barked and my head turned toward the dog dancing around Faith, pushing her onto the grass as an SUV pulled into the driveway.

I didn’t have time to think about what a great dog Tank was. Not when my heart was thundering in my chest. It was time to leave.

“Faith, sweets, time to go.”

My daughter’s head swiveled between the Suburban slowly making its way up the lane to me, then to Kennedy, then back to the SUV.

“Okay.”

Faith ran across the yard and stopped in front of Kennedy. “Thank you for teaching me how to make bread and for letting me feel your tummy and for letting me play with Tank.”

“Don’t you want to…” Kennedy paused as she glanced at Holden’s SUV. Understanding dawned. “I’ll bring your bread by tomorrow and we’ll do a taste test.”

Jameson had come off the porch, his large frame strung tight as he stalked down the brick walkway. At the same time, I heard a door slam behind me but I refused to look. I knew he’d gotten out of his vehicle. Faith moved closer to me and I prayed Holden hadn’t blocked me in because I needed to leave, and it would suck to have to go all Dukes of Hazzard and drive over Kennedy’s flower beds, but I totally would.

“What’s wrong?” Jameson called out.

“I tried calling but you didn’t answer. Jonny needs us.” Holden’s voice slammed into me and my eyes drifted closed.

Would hearing his voice ever stop hurting?

Once upon a time, his voice had soothed me, lulled me to sleep at night, made me feel safe and loved. It could also turn me on and make me want to rip his clothes off. But none of those applied anymore. All I felt was pain. Deep, biting, razor’s edge pain that sliced my soul.

“Sorry, I was working on the baby’s room.”

In an effort not to look over my shoulder, I stared at Kennedy with laser focus, therefore, I didn’t miss her flinch.

God, why is everything so uncomfortable?

“What’s Jonny got going on?” Jameson inquired.

I didn’t want to know what Jonny Spencer had going on that would require Holden to drive out to Jameson’s house. Jonny was a local cop, a super-nice guy with beautiful sorrow-filled blue eyes.

“Two missing teens.”

My arm tightened around Faith’s shoulders and I pulled her closer.

“You’re gonna find them, right, Uncle Jameson?” Faith asked, and I watched Kennedy snap to attention.

I really, really wanted to look back at Holden to see what had made Kennedy go stiff but I didn’t dare. I had a pretty good idea he had the same pained expression he always had on his face when he was around Faith. But when he heard her speak or when she called one of his teammates “uncle” that pain turned indignant.

Something worth noting—Faith never called Holden “uncle”. As a matter of fact, since we’d moved to Maryland, she’d only spoken to him directly a handful of times. During those exchanges, he’d been soft and cautious with her. On more than one occasion, when he thought no one was looking, I’d caught him staring at her. Not with loathing or hurt, but studiously watching her every move.

The fuck of it was, I’d never stopped wondering about Faith’s paternity. I’d always wondered, even after I had to seek Holden out to tell him I was pregnant and he’d exploded. In my moment of deepest shame, he’d denied the baby