that happens after that. Everything is a blur, even when Helen and Holden join me in the ambulance with Tennessee. All of it is just—blank. All I can do is stare at Tennessee, who doesn’t stare back because she’s barely breathing.
Susan will not get away with this. No way in fucking hell will I allow her to breathe free after this shit. She’ll be lucky if she’s breathing at all by the time I’m through with her.
Fuck Susan and her fucked-up shit.
I wasted the first half of my life with her, I should have left as soon as she gave me my three beautiful children. I will not allow her to take away the second half of my life, the bit of happiness and love that I’ve found despite all of her shit.
I spend countless hours in the hospital waiting. Thankfully, Helen and Holden are perfectly fine. Hansen sits with us, though I wouldn’t call what he’s doing actually sitting. He seems to be just getting up and down every few minutes, talking on the phone and pacing.
“Detective Campbell will be here in a few, he has an update for us,” Hansen announces.
“Andry,” Holden calls out, his arms outstretched from Helen’s lap.
He’s been quiet this entire time. Eating snacks and drinking water as Helen holds him in her lap. I wondered if he even realized that I was here next to him. It’s okay, I know that he hasn’t seen his grandmother for a while and although I love him, we’re still learning one another.
But that changes the second that Helen releases him, and he crawls over to me. Picking him up, I hold him against my chest. He nuzzles his face in my neck and simply lets out a breath. Then he quickly lifts his head, his blue eyes finding mine.
He frowns, slapping his palms against my cheeks as he looks into my eyes, holding on to me.
“Andry,” he says in a little toddler shout.
“Holden,” I murmur.
His frown slowly turns into a smile. “Mama okay. No sad.”
Helen can’t hold her shit together, I hear her whimper beside us. Placing my palm against Holden’s back, I gently pat him.
“Yes, Holden. Mama okay,” I lie.
That’s how Detective Campbell finds us. He clears his throat and dips his chin to me, then I watch as his gaze flicks over to Helen. His eyes widen and his lips twitch as he looks her over. I almost say something to him, but decide I don’t care if he wants to flirt with Helen, I honestly don’t care about anything other than Tennessee’s health and nailing Susan to a goddamn prison cell wall.
“Landry?” Detective Campbell asks when he finally looks over at me.
“Hansen said you had news?” I ask.
He nods his head once. “The man in the living room was Danny Bradley, Tennessee’s biological father.”
Helen snorts next to me. “Sperm donor is more like it,” she snaps. “I could have told you all of that, what else do you have?”
His gaze flicks to hers, and his lips twitch again before it slides back to meet mine. “We found phone records from his cell, not hers. She had a burner, and it was on her, so we got the call history. But Susan and Bradley had been in contact over the last month. This was planned, premeditated, and that makes all of it even worse for them.”
“She’s in jail?” I ask on a growl.
He nods his head. “She is, though she’s already asked for an attorney. But we are going to get more evidence. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he explains.
Nodding my head once, I give him the only smile I can muster, it isn’t much, it’s barely a grin. “Thank you, Detective Campbell. Whatever you need from us, you have it.”
He dips his chin, says his goodbyes, then leaves. I turn to Helen to open my mouth, to say something, when a doctor asks for us. All conversation drops as we jump to our feet and practically sprint over to him.
TENNESSEE
Everything hurts. My neck, my head, my entire body. But worst of all, my heart. I don’t know where Holden and my mom are, I hope they’re safe. I don’t know where Landry is, but I have a feeling that Susan had something up her puffy sleeve for him too, and maybe he isn’t here? I am filled with anxiety and panic as I wait for the doctors and nurses to come back in here.