Abigail
"And then I said, ’You have a problem with eating chips, Carla? That’s nacho business!’" Angel cackled. "Get it? Not your business, but Nacho’s business?"
Our picnic blanket was spread out under a cluster of shady trees in the park that Finnegan’s n had cleared out completely for us. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves in golden patches.
Angel was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach, River was trying and failing to keep a straight face, while Annette shook her head.
"I guess the dry jokes run in the family."
"Oh, you have no idea," River groaned.
"Finnegan’s jokes are the driest."
"Hey, that’s my baby y’all are talking about," I shot back playfully, leaning back on my elbows. "His jokes may be dry, but they sure as hell get wet—"
"Abby, there’s a kid here," Annette coughed.
"Set," I covered up quickly. "I ant he gets things set."
Angel blinked between us, eyes clouding with confusion. Oh, great — she didn’t catch the dirty joke. The last thing I wanted to do was corrupt the poor kid’s innocence.
Angel had insisted on this girls-only outing, and I was so glad she did. We’d played a wildly chaotic ga of frisbee earlier, with Angel and teaming up to destroy River and Annette.
And destroy them we did. Now we were lounging and munching on nachos, which I was starting to think were Angel’s favorite.
My mind, however, kept drifting to Finnegan.
I wondered what he was doing right now. Was he still brooding after the confrontation with his mother?
Did he miss the way I missed him? The thought of his strong hands on my body had shivering lightly with pleasure.
He had snuck into my room last night, and I’d slept with his cock buried in . Heat pooled low in my belly. I shifted on the blanket, pressing my thighs together.
I slipped my phone out, angled it carefully, and snapped a quick picture, arching my back slightly so the sundress rode up my thighs.
I smiled to myself, biting my lip.
God, I was so gone for him. I was so going to crawl into his lap the second I saw him again.
Angel nudged with her foot. "Earth to Abigail. You’re smiling at your phone like a lovesick teenager. Is it Dad?"
I laughed, tucking my phone away. "Maybe."
River smirked. "He’s been smiling more lately, too. It’s disgusting how cute you two are."
We kept chatting and playing silly gas —truth or dare, where Angel dared Annette to do her best impression of Finnegan being grumpy.
Yeah, it was scarily accurate. I dared River to belt out the national anthem in a terrible British accent.
For a while, everything felt... good. A little too good. I should have known it couldn’t last forever. Robert Greene did say nothing gold can stay.
Things were all fine until River’s phone rang.
She answered it, and her brows shot up imdiately. "What?! ... Yes, I’m with them. We’re leaving right now."
She hung up, eyes wide with fright as she scanned the park frantically. I half expected a zombie to appear and lunge at us.
"We have to get Angel ho. ASAP."
All three of us straightened up.
"What’s going on?" I asked, dropping to my knees to clear things off the blanket.
River was moving fast, shoving items into the basket. "That was Finnegan. Victoria is on the news right now, holding a press conference. She’s broadcasting their marriage to the entire world and ntioning Angel."
My stomach plumted. "She what?"
Of all the things I expected to hear, that was the last thing.
Angel’s face paled. "Mom’s talking about on TV?"
River nodded grimly. "She’s painting herself as the victim. Saying she’s been trying to keep the family together while Finnegan has been distant. The world didn’t even know he was married before this. Now everyone knows he has a daughter."
I felt a surge of anger on Finnegan’s behalf. This was the last thing he wanted. Angel was getting dragged into the spotlight after he had worked so hard to protect her privacy for fourteen years.
What sort of mother would willingly throw their child to the wolves like that?
We packed up everything as quickly as we could, rushing to the car. While River stomped on the gas, questions flew around the car.
"Why would she do that?" Annette asked from the front seat, throwing her hands up. "That just sounds like terrible decision-making."
"Because she’s my mom, and all she does is ruin everything!" Angel snapped, flinging her hands up. I pulled her against in a hug.
"She’s trying to paint herself as the victim to make the divorce harder. Classic manipulation." I scoffed, running my hands down Angel’s back.
River’s hands tightened on the wheel. "She knows Finnegan values Angel’s privacy above everything. This is her way of striking back."
When we arrived at the current penthouse, security was already detaining a few paparazzi lurking near the entrance. River cursed under her breath.
"We can’t stay here," she said. "It’s too exposed. We’re heading to one of Finnegan’s private hos in the suburbs. It’s more secure."
The drive to the suburban estate was tense. The house was beautiful — a sprawling mansion with high walls and heavy security, and I had to admit, the mont we stepped inside, I felt a little safer.
Annette pulled aside into one of the bathrooms while River helped Angel settle in.
"What’s the plan?" she whispered urgently.
"The device location is still with Gavin. It hasn’t moved much."
I nodded, my mind racing. It was weird that the location of the device just popped back up like that. What was going on?
Wasn’t the tracker destroyed?
"He’s baiting . But we can’t go after him tonight and I can’t leave Finnegan like this. On Monday we’ll... we’ll take action. But for now...uh, is the Sanctuary open?"
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