Avenging Alex Read Online Free PDF Page A

weren’t watching them?”
    â€œThey were playing in the back yard like they always do. I was in the house with Chloe. I can’t be in two places at the same time.”
    â€œWhere’s Chloe?”
    â€œI left her with Mrs. Emerson. Is that all right with you?”
    â€œMom, can we go home now?” the boy whined.
    â€œYes, sweetie. We’re going.”
    â€œAre you coming too, Dad?”
    John looked into his wife’s sparkling blue eyes. “I’ll be right behind you, son.”
    After seeing his wife and son to her car, John ran and jumped into his truck. He tapped on the Bluetooth device hanging from his ear as he drove off and tried to call Alex. She didn’t answer. He didn’t leave a message.
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    John pulled up in the drive of the custom-bricked, split-level house in Pasadena he used to share with his wife. He sat in his Ram pickup truck for a few minutes contemplating the scene they were certain to have once he went inside. Time and lack of communication began to erode what he’d once considered to be a solid foundation between him and the former Rose Bowl Queen long before Alex Solomon entered the picture.
    When he threw open the door of his truck a little girl with sandy-colored curls and a face dotted with freckles bolted from the house. “Daddy!”
    He swept her up in his arms. The soft whiskers of his goatee tickled her neck as he kissed her.
    â€œDaddy, are you coming to see me dance on Thursday?”
    John feigned surprise. “You’re dancing?”
    â€œYes.” She nodded.
    â€œAre you the best dancer?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWell, in that case I have to be there, don’t I?”
    â€œYes.” The little girl hugged his neck and he continued inside. His wife met them at the door.
    â€œWhere’s John Michael?”
    â€œHe’s up in his room.”
    John put the little girl down and started for the stairs.
    â€œWhere are you going?” the woman asked.
    â€œI’m gonna go up and see my son if that’s all right with you,” John answered evenly. He didn’t wait for a response and bounded up the staircase. He found his son amid a cache of the latest electronic gadgets that any boy his age would envy. He looked up helplessly. John pitied the boy’s attempt to manipulate the controls of his Xbox. “It’s going to be pretty hard to beat me now that your arm is all busted up like that.”
    â€œI’ll betcha I still can though.”
    â€œWell, maybe we should see what you got after you get some rest.” John took the controller from the boy’s hand and laid it to the side. He examined his cast. “Does it hurt really bad?”
    â€œA little,” the boy responded.
    â€œWhy don’t you try to take a little nap and maybe it’ll feel better when you wake up.”
    Without argument the boy awkwardly climbed up on the bed and lay on his back, looking up at John. “Dad, can I ask you something?”
    â€œYeah, sure.”
    â€œMom says that you might be moving back home, is that true?”
    â€œTell you what, why don’t we talk about that later, okay?” John ran his hand over the boy’s bushy mane and kissed his forehead. “No matter what happens I love you, you know that, right?”
    â€œI love you too, Dad.”
    John left his son’s room and made his way back downstairs to find his wife perched at the bar that divided the large living room area from a formal dining room.
    â€œWhere’s Chloe?”
    â€œShe’s in the family room.”
    â€œI’d better go say good-bye.”
    â€œGood-bye? Rushing back to your girlfriend so soon?”
    John stopped in his tracks and turned to face his wife.
    â€œI hear she’s pretty.”
    John scoffed. “I didn’t figure Caren Wallace would waste much time. Does she have you on speed dial?”
    â€œI thought we were going to try to make